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Branch Reports 2019 - 20

Presented to AGM 26 September 2020

WPSQ… working for wildlife

for more than 56 years

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Note In accordance with section 17.8 of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland constitution each branch of the society was requested to submit a report on their activities for the preceding financial year. Please note that the Branch reports have not been presented in this document in strict alphabetical order.

B R A N C H N A M E P A G E N U M B E R

Bayside

3

Brisbane

5

Capricorn

8

Cassowary Coast - Hinchinbrook

10

Far North Qld

4

Fraser Coast

12

Gold Coast & Hinterland

15

Kedron Brook Catchment

16

Logan

18

Scenic Rim

20

Sunshine Coast & Hinterland 23 Toowoomba

24

Townsville

25

Upper Dawson 27

Photographs throughout generally supplied by each branch Front cover photograph D Payne

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BAYSIDE BRANCH Steve Homewood, President The Branch had continued its programme of monthly meetings with a speaker at its new venue, our attendance was regularly increasing until March when restrictions caused us to cancel meetings until next year. Subjects covered by our speakers, Butterflies, Bandicoots, Bats, Owls and Dolphins, our regular speaker from Geckoes Wildlife brought along some snakes for a lively show. There is always plenty of new information to be garnered from these meetings. Our monthly newspaper and Wildlife diary are circulated around the community with information on wildlife issues and local walks, we always welcome articles even about issues outside the Bayside area. In September we had a display at the “Welcome Back Shorebirds” event at GJ Walter park, this now regular event is to highlight the importance of mudflats to wading birds particularly the Critically Endangered Eastern Curlew. The area around the “Toondah Harbour“ is now a designated Priority Development Area, 3600 apartments proposed on an Internationally protected Ramsar site!!! It is currently in the Environmental Impact Stage, the Branch along with other community groups are united against this huge project which has the ability to destroy so much of shoreline local flora and fauna in the Toondah area. In March we had 90 helpers at our regular Clean Up Australia event at Redland Bay, we also had a sausage sizzle provided by Rotary, disconcertingly there is still plenty of rubbish to be collected, particularly around the island ferry terminal. In all 37 full bags of rubbish were collected plus many container recyclables, larger items included half a surf ski, a chair and a truck mudflap. Our annual Cicada Film Festival, featuring environment inspired films by our local youth, has been extended until September and will be run as an on-line event, prize money totals $4500 thanks to some great sponsors. Previous films can always be viewed on “You Tube” under Cicada Film Festival. The container deposit scheme and other recycling contributed $2100 to branch funds and we were able to donate to the Wildlife Land Fund, Dolphin Research and two community groups. Thanks to everyone’s support of the scheme to date we have recycled 45000 containers. The Branch continues to face local challenges with the security of bushland and consequently our wildlife in many areas threatened with commercialisation through development and tourism. The long awaited SEQ Koala Conservation strategy was a lamentable, with mapping leaving out many areas, including the Redlands, of viable koala habitat and creating areas where koalas have rarely been sighted. Planning exemptions mean it is “business as usual” for further habitat destruction and creating enclaves.

Clean up Day Participants Redland Bay

Welcome back to Shorebirds Event GJ Walter Park Cleveland

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Bayside Branch is financially strong and whilst in common with many groups our membership has declined slightly, we continue to be involved with the community and other organisations. Once again, I thank all our members, supporters and our committee and WPSQ for all their input, help and guidance throughout this mixed year, our local environment cannot survive without your advocacy. This current year of uncertainty will continue to present a challenge until groups can meet again, whilst initially our environment had some relief due to travel restrictions from our growing population, there is now an unbridled focus on local tourism and job creation with all its downsides. “We owe it to ourselves and to the next generation to conserve the environment so that we can bequeath our children a sustainable world that benefits all”. Wangari Maathai

FAR NORTH BRANCH Dr Andrew Dennis, President No report had been received at the time of compilation of this document.

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BRISBANE BRANCH Leanne Bowden, President GENERAL OVERVIEW Brisbane Branch – - Commenced its third year in our Albion Peace Hall venue; - Held 6 public monthly Environmental Education meetings: 5 in 2019, and 1

in 2020; - Cancelled the rest of 2020 meetings due to COVID 19 restrictions, and hope

to restart in February 2021; - Attracted an average of 24 attendees per meeting, with approximately 10 being visitors; - Received advice from Head Office of several new members, despite COVID; - Promoted knowledge of environmental campaigns and issues such as the Mt Coot-tha Zipline,

Toondah Harbour development and the Adani mine; - Supported Head Office through donating back our portion of membership fees; providing speaker

gifts of WPSQ merchandise including annual subscriptions to WAM magazine and GoodWill wine; assisting in Head Office, assisting on Batty Boat Cruises and attending fundraising events;

- Raised almost $400 through sales of Entertainment memberships; - Published items to our Facebook site, which now has just over 2500 followers; - Produced 4 newsletters to keep our members informed; - Had discussions with Head Office on the future of the Branch.

COMMITTEE At our August 2019 AGM, most committee members were re-elected - Leanne Bowden as President for her 8th year and 18 years on Committee; Susan Vernon as Treasurer for her 8th year and 14 years on Committee; Ginny Barbour for her first time as Secretary and 4 years on committee; Greg Miller as committee member for his 18th year. Thanks were given to Leonie Markwell who stood down after 4 years as Secretary and 16 years on committee; and to John Markwell who stood down after 18 years on committee including time as Treasurer and Batty Boat Co-ordinator. We are grateful for assistance from non-committee members Jeremy Thompson, who helps us at meetings and Bob Durrington who prints the hard copies of our newsletters; Linda Sulakatku, who produces our meeting flyers and sends emails to members through our MailChimp program; and Jo Towsey who assists Head Office with co-ordination of Batty Boat Cruises, and provides on-board arrangements and commentary. BRANCH FUTURE The smaller committee has found it increasingly difficult to manage keeping the Branch going with even our very minimal projects. We have had discussions with Head Office about future possibilities, as it would not be viable to the Society to lose Brisbane Branch. We have planned to recommence meetings in February 2021, COVID permitting, which will need to be our Annual General Meeting, postponed from August 2020. In July, members’ input was sought via email on what activities they would like to see when the Branch is able to recommence, as realistically, under 20% of members actually attend our public meetings. Expressions of interest from members to be on the committee were also requested. Only one response was received, suggesting that our talks be provided via electronic presentation. We will campaign our membership again towards the end of 2020, in the hope that others will offer more assistance and join the committee by then, to allow some current members to step down. Standing down members would ensure that they assisted on the committee long enough to ensure that new members are comfortable with their tasks.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES - Speaker Program

Leanne continues to organise our evening monthly speaker program on the 4th Tuesday of the month. Our public meeting venue has been the Albion Peace Hall Windsor since March 2018. Five meetings were held from July to November 2019, and one on February 2020. Advice was provided to members via email and on Facebook as we started to postpone our meetings from March. In July, advice was provided that the Branch would not hold any further meetings during 2020.

Average attendance was 24, divided between 14 members and 10 visitors. It is to be hoped that our visitors opt to become members. Attendance ranged from 35 attendees down to only 7 on a particularly rainy night. In July 2019, John Kirkwood from Griffith University attracted a large audience of members, visitors and students for his presentation on preservation of Antarctic Wildlife. Despite it being our AGM in August, a number of visitors came to hear Adriana Bramley from the Brisbane City Council talk on the Council’s efforts towards 40% natural habitat cover. September was a rainy night for Adam Nicolson’s discussion on Containers for Change. In October we heard about the University of Queensland’s Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre and some of its projects. November also attracted a large audience for Ben Diggles to tell us about Oyster Reef Restoration in the Pumicestone Passage, and stay on for a special End of Year supper. Our one and only talk for 2020, David Exton explaining all about Phylum Cnidaria (Jellyfish) resulted in quite a lengthy question time as they are a wildlife species that our attendees had little knowledge about, and everyone learnt something new. Our speaker gifts contribute back to the Society, with 5 annual subscriptions to Wildlife Australia Magazine given to non-subscribers and 2 bottles of Goodwill Wine, given to subscribers. Speakers that had been organised from March up until September were all advised of our need to cancel, and all have indicated that they would be happy to present once the opportunity arises. Our meetings also provided a platform to promote: - Knowledge of environmental campaigns and issues such as the Mt Coot-tha Zipline, Toondah Harbour development and the Adani mine; - the wealth of conservation, campaign, environmental education and merchandise information available on the Wildlife Queensland Website; - Head Office fundraising and educational events; and - our own fundraising activities. PUBLISHING, PROMOTION & PUBLICITY Electronic Media Our Facebook site, which started in March 2012, attracted another 700 Likers since July last year, and we now have around 2,700 followers. The promotion of our monthly Environmental Education lectures as Events on Facebook continue to attract many non-members to our meetings. As well, posting of the availability of Entertainment Memberships is most likely responsible for a number of orders from people who are neither members nor meeting visitors.

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Newsletter Whilst it has been a struggle to do so, Megapodium has been produced four times during the year, issued electronically, and posted on Facebook. Some hard copies are printed for the benefit of visitors to meetings and for handouts during Batty Boat Cruise Season. FUND RAISING Entertainment Books Leanne and Greg are in their fourteenth year of selling Entertainment Memberships for the Branch, promoted in our newsletter, on Facebook and by email to our database of members and meeting visitors. In 2020, the company changed to digital memberships only, with memberships valid for 12 months from date of sale, rather than from the set expiry date of 1 June every year. The outbreak of COVID and the inability of people to utilise their membership to earn discounts at restaurants, theatres, accommodation and amusement parks etc has meant that sales have dropped by at least one third. Never-the-less, around $400 has been raised. Grill’d Local Matters program We had been successful in making application to and receiving a donation from the Grill’d Burgers Local Matters community donation program every year since 2012. It is always rewarding to collect the cheque as we did near the end of 2019. Sadly the program didn’t run in 2020 due to COVID. Batty Boat Cruises We are grateful to Head Office in keeping the long tradition of Batty Boat Cruises alive, as it is very doubtful that the Branch will be able to return to running them. Members assisted on cruises in October and December 2019; and February and March 2020, displaying promotional material and raising further funds through raffles. HEAD OFFICE ASSISTANCE Our own fundraising keeps us viable, and so we continue our tradition of donating our portion of membership fees back to Head Office. A few Brisbane branch members volunteer in Head Office on a regular basis and for Batty Boat Cruises. CONCLUSION & FUTURE PLANS COVID restrictions and lack of committee members has taken its toll this year. Whilst it is hoped to maintain the Branch into the future, even with reducing our minimal activities further, new committee members will really need to come forward. It is hoped that a campaign to members at the end of 2020 will encourage other Branch members to join the committee, to allow some current members to step down.

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CAPRICORN BRANCH John McCabe, Vice President Introduction Branch activities have been relatively quiet since the first months of 2020 with our usual activities of mangrove walks and Butterfly Day in Lammermoor Native Gardens being cancelled. However, participation in a number of events have continued with Branch members joining with small groups of 2 to 5 persons to deliver a range of local environmental initiatives. Marine Turtle nesting on urban beaches. While the Branch is only indirectly involved in the volunteer reporting of turtle nesting activities along the Capricorn Coast we have been able to provide some advocacy and direct support for the protection of beaches and education on avoidance of impacts on nesting turtles, their nests and on emergent flatback turtle hatchlings, which are only to easily diverted from the relatively safety of ocean water by artificial lighting. Informal interpretation of turtle activity was provided to beach visitors, resulting in support for marine turtle conservation through a visitor service, Emu Park online https://www.emuparkonline.com.au. We can also confirm by observation that a major predator, the fox, does well in the urban centres and fringes where control by dingoes and rural landholder activities do not apply. Local government officers, and in some years National Parks, provide assistance to fox control. During the 2019-2020 December to February season foxes were a significant hatchling predator on several beaches. Some beach residents, during the holiday season opted to conduct a “sit in” at sites where a hatching was imminent. While this is not an efficient use of time, it had the effect of keeping predators at bay and the Branch was happy to provide media support for their effort at the end of season. Valuing Foredunes Capricorn Coast beaches have been in a precarious balance in the 5 years since Cyclone Marcia stripped 6 metres of dunes into the ocean leaving a 3.5 to 4 metre vertical scarp on Fishermans Beach and several other beaches. This event dropped endangered beach scrubs into the ocean and affected the suitability of beaches for marine turtle nesting for another 12 months. Working on the knowledge that lost sand from wave active beaches is still present, but just offshore, a number of volunteers have utilised natural processes, including spinifex, to trap accreting sand back into a new foredune rather than see it disappear up beach walkways and streets. Livingstone Shire Council Reference Group Following the Queensland Local Government elections in March 2020 we have participated in a Livingstone councillors and community environmental group discussion process. Expressed views on “places” and “processes” have been compiled and are being developed into potential actions based on community support for urban, rural and island values. Priority matters to be addressed include vehicle management protocols for beach driving and dune rehabilitation on Farnborough Beach and the adjacent Corio Bay Ramsar listed wetland; restoring natural values on Great Keppel Island now that a new resort in under consideration a decade after the previous resort abruptly closed; and urban character values for Yeppoon and Emu Park. Protecting Long Beach Joskeleigh to Cattle Point

European tourists question the tracks of a flatback turtle Fishermans Beach Nov 2019

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For the second time in a decade we have had to make representation to local and State government to ensure that the barely accessible Long Beach from the mouth of the Fitzroy River north to Keppel Sands does not become a recreation race track. Long Beach, a mixture of Keppel Bay sands and Fitzroy mud is naturally unstable with tides passing through low dune breeches to mix with freshwater sedge and melaleuca wetlands parallel to the coast. This beach has become a benchmark site for consultants examining more disturbed areas within the industrial Port Curtis 40 kilometres to the south. Significant shorebird and seabird populations roost along the beach but the current benchmark interest is the intensive bivalve population, a principal food source for the Endangered and declining Great Knot (http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/great-knot). Rather than just using this little known area for benchmark studies there is some hope that appropriate areas along the beach could be managed by agreement, or acquired and managed as a long term offset for the ongoing port and industrial development over tidal wetlands to the south. Restoration of Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket -Mount Etna NP In November 2019 WPSQ (Capricorn) members Steve and John conducted a workshop at the Fitzroy Basin Association outlining strategies for successful site preparation for restoration of native plant communities and the process of addressing the consequence of a Catastrophic wildfire event which swept through The Caves district including a 10 hectare Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket species planted site on former mined land which is now within the Mount Etna Caves National Park as well as much of the remainder of the Park. Better pre-plant site preparation and deep planting of tree, shrub and vine stems were promoted as the keys to success in the tough drought and heat CQ landscapes. The deep planting also showed unexpected result when a surprising proportion of blackened stems sprouted leaves from roods or basal trunks after the area was razed by a hot bushfire in November 2018. While some re-sprouting plants did not survive the second dry, hot Summer to Spring season in a row some areas have developed a modest height and partial canopy closure which is starting to close out the ever present fire promoted and promoting weeds. We were also able to assist Queensland Herbarium in location of fire affected and unaffected study sites and provide voluntary labour in recording detail of the sites. The Herbarium reported back that “only 5-20 % of all woody stemmed SEVT shrub or tree species survived, or otherwise presented as regrowth or alive some 12 months post-fire and listed some of the species that were recovering, but intertwined with vigorous of Guinea grass”

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CASSOWARY COAST BRANCH Daryl Dickson, President Our AGM was held on Saturday 9th November 2019 at the Cardwell library. Following our AGM we had a very successful Pigeon Count Citizen Science information afternoon and exhibition in Cardwell.

Judy Murphy organises the volunteers for each of the four counts with Suzie Smith, liaises with the barge hire and Marine Parks. The Thorsborne Trust pays for two of the four counts. The numbers seem to be plateauing which may mean that the coastal rainforest cannot now sustain the pre Yasi numbers but that is unconfirmed at this point in time. Trees of Life signage was installed in four sites in Cardwell.. WPSQ Cassowary Coast-Hinchinbrook branch commented on the ‘Assessment of High Conservation Value (HCV) areas on lands managed by HQ Plantations’. We have always had a close relationship with HQ Plantations since Cyclone Yasi.as their leasehold totally overlays Glider habitat. One male & one female rescued gliders have been successfully released after recovery from barbed wire injury. The branch is working with Cassowary Coast Council to install a glider pole crossing across the road where both these gliders were caught on a section of fence with weeks of each other. Temporary barbed wire capping has been put in place by branch member Geoff Moffatt to try to ensure there are no more stranding before the crossing is installed.

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Another female mahogany glider is also in care at present still recovering from a very serious barbed wire injury. There have only been 4 mahogany gliders to come into care since the 2011 cyclone – a far lower number than prior to this cyclonic event and possibly indicative of the loss of populations in fragmented habitat.

June 2019 Branch Member Lisa Roediger entered a sculpture in the TSC’s Threatened Species Craft competition to highlight the dangers of barbed wire to the mahogany glider. Lisa wrote “This ceramic, copper and barbed wire sculpture is of the endangered Mahogany Glider from the lowland sclerophyll forest south of Tully, where I live and farm. This sculpture reminds me of the price that comes with clearing land for agriculture and the need for me to give something back. The barbed wire encasement is a message to land managers about the dangers of using barbed wire fencing, to flying and gliding wildlife. By replacing the top barbed wire with a plain one you can greatly reduce entanglements.” Great work Lisa in helping to raise awareness. We continue to monitor our 2 glider pole crossings in the Kennedy Valley – recording presence and absence of gliders appearing on our 3G cameras. The students of Kennedy state school continue to be ambassadors for “their” gliders having taken part in a video and singing about their very special home in the Kennedy Valley and how special their gliders are to them. This year they are visiting other local schools to speak and share information about the endangered mahogany glider. Walking programme began this year despite Covid restrictions...We are always mindful of the conditions of our gathering. Into Kennedy Bay in May 2020, up Bicton Hill in June 2020. We plan to walk to Elizabeth Grant Falls from the Tully Gorge in September and join Tangaroa Blue in a beach clean up in October Our walks are always enjoyed and help to introduce new members to the special qualities of our region.

We continue to actively participate in the National Mahogany Glider Recovery Team and are very pleased to see the final plan close to completion. The National Mahogany Glider Recovery Team chaired by branch secretary Susie Smith met in May 2020.

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FRASER COAST BRANCH Vanessa Elwell-Gavins, President 2019-20 was an 'interesting' and challenging year for Fraser Coast Branch. While the worst of the spring/summer bushfires largely passed us by, they were still alarmingly close, intensified by the searing drought. Significant tracts of bushland were burned in our region, with the inevitable smoke and loss of habitat and wildlife. Between the drought, climate change and increased frequency and intensity of fires, our wildlife appears to be under increasing threat. The condition of local bushland appears to have declined markedly over recent years, with feral plants and animals, and large-scale dieback, increasingly evident. On-going industrial-scale land clearing for development is a major concern, particularly in Hervey Bay. In the face of this increased 'need' by our wildlife for our organisation, our Branch has survived and may even have 'thrived' in unexpected ways despite the spectre of Covid-19. Our membership, higher in recent years because of the incentive provided by our nature walks program, has declined somewhat. We hope to rectify this by contacting people who have not renewed, but there are some who have reached the 'age and stage' where membership is no longer their priority. Our program continued relatively unchanged in 2019-20, until Covid-19 restrictions terminated 'group' activities. Activities that could be done in isolation dominated the rest of the year.

• There were five nature walks from July to November 2019, and none in January to June 2020. This was partly because the previous walks organisers retired from the role after a very enjoyable 4-year stint. The new organising team had intended to start the 2020 walks program in May but this had to be deferred.

• The Library talks program in the Hervey Bay and Maryborough Libraries came to an abrupt halt from March 2020, with attempts to continue it on-line proving to be too hard.

• We conducted a petition in late 2019-early 2020, asking Fraser Coast Regional Council to provide green space in new sub-divisions. We were pleasantly surprised when the Mayor commented that our 550 signatures was the biggest petition Council had received in years. I presented the petition to a Council meeting.

• We continued with our successful monthly Wildlife Matters column in the free Hervey Bay and Maryborough newspapers. This came to an end at the end of June 2020, with Newscorp's closure of both papers. Another free paper has emerged in Hervey Bay but it remains to be seen whether we will have access to it for our column.

• Our Facebook page has 427 followers and a significantly greater reach through sharing of posts. It is a powerful conduit to publicise key messages.

• We held monthly general meetings in July, August and November 2019, and in February 2020. Our end-of-year breakfast/morning tea function (in lieu of a December meeting) was well attended. The AGM took place in October 2019 while the March 2020 meeting was a 'special' meeting reviewing Branch strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, held four days before Covid-19 restrictions were introduced.

Nature walkers on Fraser Coast Vice-President John Williams’ wonderful property at Gundiah

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• A highlight was the Central Branches Get-Together hosted in Theodore by the Upper Dawson Branch in September 2019. This was an outstanding success, and included a particularly enjoyable tag-along tour component through the nearby sandstone landscape. Many thanks to Melanie, Ann and others for making this a very special event.

• We introduced a new Backyard Bioblitz program once the Covid-19 restrictions were introduced. Three were held over weekends in May and June 2020, with about 17 participants (50% members) in each. Participants take photographs and/or sound recordings of their observations and lodge them on the iNaturalist website, which is linked to the Atlas of Living Australia. This program is a great way to learn more about local flora and fauna.

• Our Development and Land Use Change working group monitored several new developments and made submissions on several development applications. We have also been in touch with the Environmental Defenders Office about weaknesses in State planning legislation.

• Our Branch was successful in obtaining a grant of $2000 under Council’s Community Environment Grants 2018-19 program for a 800m circuit walk and new signage in Parraweena Park Point Vernon. The project has recently been completed with an estimated $1,500 of in-kind contribution by members of our Branch and Friends of Parraweena Park. The Project’s Outcome report and financial acquittal were accepted in May 2020. Final monies were also expended for the Myna Bird project which has run over the last three years with a grant from Burnett Mary Regional Group for Natural Resource Management (BMRG).

• Despite poor environmental outcomes in developments we have a good relationship with Fraser Coast Regional Council, including the mayor, some elected representatives, and senior staff. We continued to be represented on Council's Environmental Advisory Group and are participating in stakeholder consultation for Council's important Coastal Futures project.

• Letter and submission-writing continued to be a priority. Letters were mostly initiated through our Development and Land Use Change Working Group, raising concerns about a number of development applications and associated documentation, illegal poisoning of native vegetation on the foreshore, and the need to retain some native vegetation in new developments. We wrote to the Premier about the need to have a koala conservation strategy in our region and to register our concern about the decision to defer the conversion of selected State Forests to national parks. We made submissions to the review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and the Senate Enquiry into the Faunal Extinction Crisis.

• Our journal, Wambaliman, was published quarterly. Many thanks to all contributors and editor extraordinaire, Jenni Watts.

• There were a few ad hoc activities, including a presentation by the President to 40 members of the local VIEW Club about wildlife conservation, the Branch and our programs.

• Individual member achievements included Ruby Rosenfield's winning a photographic competition on 'nature's resilience' conducted by BMRG; and publication of the second edition of Caring for Australian Wildlife by Sharon White.

• Fraser Coast Branch ended 2019-2020 in a healthy financial position, mainly because of an unexpected bequest and strong fund-raising activities. These included a Bunnings sausage sizzle, a couple of pub meat-tray raffles, proceeds of the Branch's Container Deposit Scheme and donations from non-members participating in the nature walks program.

Fraser Coast Branch members Jenni Watts, Jane Barnes, Peter Duck and Vanessa Elwell-Gavins in the Isla Gorge National Park during the Central Branches Get-together September 2019

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Priorities for 2020-21 include: • continuing the nature walks program

(monthly except over summer) and the new Backyard Biobolitz program (quarterly)

• negotiating a new agreement with the University of the Sunshine Coast for a more targeted relationship with their Wildlife Ecology program

• spending some of our bequest resources on replacing and upgrading signage at Arkarra Lagoons, a popular wetland area in Hervey Bay reserved a number of years ago as a result of lobbying by the Branch and other community members.

• subject to Covid-19 restrictions, resuming our Library talks and schools program • injecting our monthly Wildlife Matters column into the new free community newspaper • enhancing our reputation with Council as a credible advocate for better environmental

management and wildlife preservation. Our target is for all new developments in our region to retain native vegetation and contain treed green space.

• running workshops on migratory shorebirds and monitoring nocturnal species with spotlighting

• participating in the review of Council's current planning scheme

It would be wonderful to think we might successfully tackle the big challenge discussed above, and achieve better outcomes for wildlife in the Fraser Coast region. This looks increasingly like a pipe-dream as threats constantly increase and habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate. Sadly, the Branch appears to have made few inroads into the threats, which, other than climate change and their sheer scale, appear to be little changed in 30 years. We face another challenge common to many community groups: succession planning, particularly for the Executive. The Executive (down to four in 2019-20) has struggled with its workload and to attract and retain skilled people. We have managed to 'get by' so far, but there is an ever-present risk that key positions won't be filled when needed. To end on a positive, I am very grateful that Fraser Coast Branch has a high level of active members who contribute in diverse ways.

Bordered Rustic butterfly in the Vanessa’s garden in Fraser Coast Branch’s inaugural Backyard Bioblitz

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GOLD COAST & HINTERLAND BRANCH Sally Spain, President Looking back June 2020 - WQ GC & H in correspondence with Council as the Resolution of 2019, which guaranteed the protection of the last acre of the once 7 acre Lake, known as Black Swan Lake not signed off. Later last acre gained, saved by one vote majority and long six year battle for the public property becomes a watching brief on site May 2020 - Submission on the EPBC Act March 2020 - Attendance at council candidate’s meetings to urge conservation priorities, open space purchase, community consultation etc-- representations at a number of these until Covid restrictions halted process February 2020 - Submission on City Plan and potential incursion of dense settlement into fauna rich area at Upper Coomera January - Submission on State Koala Strategy / Letters to press re climate change and bushfires December 2019- Correspondence re petitions to Council - requests for nature conservation strategy and state of environment report and chair of sustainability November 2019 - Objection to Oxenford quarry expansion October 2019 -Correspondence re another fish kill in Benowa Flood Channel; media conference re Black Swan Lake; Community meeting re town plan; Meeting with Main Roads re Coomera Connector M2 September 2019 - Annual report August 2019 - Nominations for GECKO award night July 2019 - Christmas in July fundraiser Committee meetings

• Bats Sub committee - nursing bats after fires; fundraising; public information days; • Koala Sub Committee - rescue alerts; lobbying for large scale habitat purchase (successful) • Lake sub committee - correspondence re management of remaining site

Letters to the Editor - many

https://saveblackswanlake.com/

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KEDRON BROOK CATCHMENT BRANCH Robert Standish-White, President Perhaps rather like our economy we could blame a quiet year on the coronavirus whereas in fact it was pretty quiet before the virus descended upon us. Rachael and Gen Robey were making steady progress with upgrading our online presence, an effort which is now so relevant in our Covid-restricted circumstances. The new website finally went live in June this year, a bright successor to the original by Charles Ivin that has served us so well over the last decade. Our largest event was the Student Catchment Immersion Program (SCIP) in August where we had a group of keen young people come and dip for fish, walk observing birds and other Brook environment and also do some planting under guidance of the Kalinga Park Bushcare Group. They were fed and participated in a simulated planning exercise for a real site nearby. All seemed to enjoy their participation and we have put our hat in the ring to host another, which has now been postponed to 2021.

We continue to auspice some grants, one of which is the Powerlink site near the headwaters of the Brook at Wahminda Grove where Lyn and Ann Ellerman and their group continue to make progress rehabilitating what is now a delightful riverine reach. We have gradually pulled back from financial involvement with the Brook Community Garden at Mitchelton as they get going on their own. Rachael got a newsletter out in February, and we participated in Clean Up Australia Day at the beginning of March. Although disappointing not to have a big pile of ‘swag’ it was encouraging not to have as much to pick up as in years past. This may be due to the lack of recent flood events, but we hope it also evidence of some changes in behaviour.

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Later in March we responded to a request from ALS Laboratories in Stafford to participate in some local environmental activity. They joined us for some weeding and replanting work on Sparkes Hill just across Shand Street from their premises. We are hoping to further that relationship in the bush closer to them once circumstances permit. Shortly after that the shutdowns and stay-homes started. We tried to raise some interest online with regular posting and encouragement for members and others to do likewise, with limited success. Other projects that have languished include our fish snapshot, water quality monitoring and proper cataloguing of our records in the container. We are also hoping to address the increasing scourges of cane toads and Indian Mynahs. Committee meetings had to move online via Zoom for some months, and we have also used that means recently to meet with new volunteers raised via advertising by our Creek Catchment Officer Anna Bourke. We are looking forward to working with our new secretary and project officer, and finding ways make things happen within the constantly changing societal rules. We need to remember that while teamwork is vital we can all make an individual difference each day. As always I must thank our hardworking committee, Phil Rowland as secretary and Vice President, Kathy Ran as Treasurer and Rachael Williams doing all she does. Anna provides invaluable advice and encouragement and our link with Brisbane City Council, who continue to be a great support. Charles and Jenny Ivin run the monthly birding outings and report back on their sightings which still surprise us in quantity and variety. Restrictions have certainly curtailed our normal activities but revealed new means and possibilities that we might not otherwise have stumbled upon. We hope that these inspire us rather than discourage our ongoing passion for the environment.

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LOGAN BRANCH Ted Fensom, President The record land clearing in Logan has gone undocumented. The LEAF Environmental Festival did not take place. The Mangrove Watch on the Logan and Albert Rivers undertook several trips before CV Pandemic and a report was made to Logan City Council. SEQ Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2020. (KCS). This was on display at Daisy Hill Conservation Park Koala Centre and Beenleigh Library & Workshops at 400 George Street, but was unfortunately a "spin" given by the limp consultants and the lack of policy and protection afforded to Essential Koala Habitat (mapped by DNRME 2019) generally and in 15 Urban Footprint localities & PDAs and later in Koala Priority Areas (KPAs). The Consultation Documents ran to 700 pages littered with Exemptions and the maps were extraordinarily expensive and time consuming to obtain. Wilderness Society and Healthy Land & Water identified 4 huge gaps in the KPA Tracts and the Nil Corridors. The KCS has huge problems in the modelling (Developed by a" world class" Koala Lab. at UQ??) and first round mapping, objected to by 30 koala groups and 6 Councils and other Academics. (5,000 submissions and No Consultation Report) The KCS does not protect Urban Footprint Koalas (EKH) and Koala Priority Areas where State or Local Government Infrastructure apply (IE the M1 Duplication and the $1.2B x61 x4 lane fauna killing roads in Logan City). It does not protect DES/KCS mapped Core Areas ("If you see a koala in a tree that does not make it Core Habitat "- DES Biodiversity Unit.???) The SEQ KCS critiqued by Professor Frank Carrick ("Looking Backward"2020) lists the modelling problems, some mapping gaps, large policy gaps, Disease, and the 4 sloppy targets not adequately addressing dogs and wild dogs, cars and fauna sensitive road design ,lack of koala field work and demographics, and land clearing. The recent Recommendations from the Koala Advisory Council have been stonewalled by DES. The items from the new Koala Technical Advisory Group are unknown. The KCS is unsustainable because of the bad mapping, large Policy and Program gaps and EXEMPTIONS. Only the reserve populations and largely unknown rural and largely unmapped koala populations may survive. New ferals eradication, new flood plain eucalypt programs, new land clearing controls and new wild fire controls are needed outside the KCS. TMR & Mt Lindesay Highway 1.Transurban have put a Possum Bridge across Mt Lindesay Highway at Parkinson South after rolling Local groups, doing monster land clearing, in putting in unscientific and untested 4x80metre long Fauna Underpasses on the Logan Motorway and MLHWY. 2. TMR have not provided new and some old reports on Resumptions, land clearing, noise barriers, EAR, Green Fauna Infrastructure, Cultural Heritage, Fauna studies at Munruben on Mt Lindesay Highway. 3. Other proposed widenings, Munruben to Beaudesert have few reports. 4. Proposed "Port Road" Woodhill to Bromelton has no TOR or EIS 5. The M1 Duplication Loganholme- Eagleby to Coomera route has been suspended but not degazetted. PLANIT are doing southern EIS. (Eagleby Bird Observations are now a record 282 species.)

Code Industrial Crestmead Estate on Essential Koala Habitat etc Green Road Park Ridge City of Logan.

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Letters have been sent to some Logan City Councillors and or Managers about • proposed Industrial Road clearing (Sirrett St) in Core Hollow bearing tree habitat in the

Catherine Poulson Reserve Berrinba • Community Plan &Town Plan Review -the Proliferation of CODE Development, new GCCC Jacobs

Well City. The Rainforest mapping 2015 and Biodiversity Study (CNCCS)2016 are still missing at DES and DSDMIP while megarezonings land clearing, terraforming and new Laws continue.

• Community Engagement Strategy (3 different documents) • The Decision Making Framework& 20 other documents and deals by Administrator Tamara

O'Shea (DMF to induce rubber stamping D.A.s without alternatives) • Crowson Road Resumptions and 4 laning (3 Threatened Species) • The $1.2B x61x 4 lane fauna killing roads in KPA to link Springfield Flagstone, Mt Lindesay

Highway and Yarabilba.in KPA Habitat. • Upper Oxley Creek Management Plan (No Wildnet data or fieldwork)

Logan City still has about 4 proposed Railway Projects besides Kagaru to Acacia Ridge without EISs IE Salisbury to Beaudesert, Very Fast Train, widening for passenger rail. and deleterious rail trails. Submission has been made to DAWE on Coastal Floodplain Eucalypts (Threatened Ecosystem) to include Regrowth Mapping. (See HL&W Broadsheets and Mapping in SEQ.) Another positive paper by Dr Bill Ellis and others 2019 identifies sustainable Koala Habitat values of trees unmapped by Government, in paddock and roadside eucalypts at Mt Byron in Somerset Regional Council. This methodology should be used on certain other floodplains in SEQ. Submissions to Logan City Council, and SARA on a truck stop proposal at Jimboomba saw the D.A. withdrawn. The Park Ridge South and Chambers Flat Plan deleteriously gazetted in January 2020 seals the deaths of thousands of macropods and other species with land clearing and 4 lane roads and the demise of the best Aquifer in SEQ.(DES) Observations by Members The need for better environmental protection is evidenced with Koalas 1. The dumming down of species protection signed by Minister Stephen Miles 17th March 2017 deleteriously affecting the Common Assessment Method and SEAP. Changes to the EPBC Act entered in the Upper House 2nd September2020 by Minister Susan Ley is the Environmental Disaster of the year after; Prof Graeme Samuels critical interim Report on the EPBC Act indicating "Increasing Threats", the devastating Guardian Reports and the Federal Auditor Generals scathing report on DAWE. 2. The Qld Auditor Generals critical Report 2019 No.7 of DES, into Threatened Species in Qld. missed Koalas, Taxonomy, Invertebrates (no baseline or threatened species lists), Staffing of Threatened Species Program, and declining Ranger staffing and Threatened Species in the largely missing National Park Management Plans. 3. The ANU (2019) Australia wide Environmental Assessment of Local Authorities gave a tragic Climate Change Assessment missed by sporadic SOEs and Government Environment Reports. Summary Code Development spreading into most zonings and instruments together with worst best practice EISs, land clearing and terraforming constitute the largest unsustainable environmental and social impacts. With the current road construction frenzy there are positives for road impact alternatives from Johnson Road Forestdale and Larapinta 2004 from; Gary Crocker, Forestdale Groups, BREC and TTM Consultants. This involves narrowing up road construction and services footprints, dropping road speeds using Extended Design Domain to retain glider launch flyways and old growth and to install possum bridges.

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SCENIC RIM BRANCH Ronda Green, Chair At last year’s AGM, Ronda Green, Sandra Rose and Darren Green were elected unopposed as chair, secretary and treasurer respectively. We later appointed Robin Rowland as an additional committee member until the next AGM, as she has been very active in collating information, finding volunteers, designing associated flyers and web pages, attending meetings, speaking a workshop etc. and showing much enthusiasm for the work that we do. After the dreadful fire that destroyed Binna Burra’s lodge and heritage cabins, many animals were being rescued and cared for but we were concerned for those animals that survived the fire and now faced with possible starvation and lack of shelter from predators, but didn’t wish to make things even harder for them by feeding their competitors and predators such as currawongs, crows and kookaburras. Darren and myself, with help from Barry Davies and Alinta Krauth, experimented at Binna Burra, Illinbah and Running Creek with ways of feeding small ground-foraging birds, lizards and mammals such as antechinus and native rodents, using direct observation and motion-sensing cameras, and had good results with scattering small dog pellets amongst the leaf litter or under logs, with a tiny amount of peanut butter to attract the attention of h small mammals and lizards. https://npaq.org.au/wildlife-after-severe-fire-in-springtime-in-mountain-forests-of-seqa-few-notes/ Lamington Natural History Society and Wildlife Tourism Australia donated funds which were stored in the Scenic Rim bank account. Some of these funds remain in the account, to be used for a careful feeding of vulnerable species should we have similar disasters again this year or in the future. The EPBC Act (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) came up for review in April this year. This is arguably our continent’s most important piece of legislation for protecting biodiversity, and opportunity to comment on updates only comes once a decade, so the entire committee put considerable time into preparing a submission. Some of the points we made were that: • The major role of national parks must be seen as conservation of biodiversity. Recreation,

education and tourism are important uses also, but must never be at the expense of the primary objective of conservation of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity, or disruptive of ecological processes

• The triggers for requiring an environmental impact should consider effects on the surrounding landscape (e.g. disruption of wildlife corridors, upstream effects on downstream ecosystems) and cumulative effects of other developments in the region.

• Legislation should ensure action on prevention and mitigation climate change and its effects on drought, fire and extended heatwaves

• So much habitat was lost in 2019 throughout Australia, vegetation clearing must be brought under stricter control

• We have seen too many politicians and developers dismiss the importance of biodiversity conservation to have any faith in non-binding policies.

• While retaining existing habitat is the number one priority, so much has already been lost that restoration is also essential, under guidance of ecologists.

• Off-setting should not be an easy option for developers who wish to hasten the approval of a project, as conservation goals are often not attained in this way.

• There needs to be extensive discussion between developers, government, research ecologists and conservation managers to determine guidelines for what is considered an unnecessary regulatory burden, and which regulations are in fact essential to safeguard our biodiversity.

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Our main project for the year has been the establishment of wildlife corridors, mainly in the central valleys of the Scenic Rim, as the low-altitude open forests there are highly fragmented and not as well protected as the mountain habitats, and harbour squirrel gliders, koalas, grey-crowned babblers, glossy black cockatoos and many other species. Amanda Little had been successful in raising $5,000.00 in donations for our corridor project, out of which we’ve so far funded a workshop, flyers, two new motion-sensing cameras with rechargeable batteries, and more recently a 2-metre pull-up banner to seek further volunteers and land-owners. Liz Gould of Healthy Land and Water contacted us last year to recommend we apply for a federal grant from the Community Environment Program. Our application was successful, adding $10,211.00 to our budget for the corridors project. To be successful, our application had to be recommended by our local federal MP, and somewhat to our surprise this happened. Specifically, we asked for financial assistance for “corridors for squirrel gliders & other wildlife - link corridors from Mont Alford to Kooralbyn and from Birnam to Duck Creek (as a continuation of our current project linking Kooralbyn to Maroon in the south and Birnham in the north, after about three years of surveys, discussions and workshops finalising our aims and methods” From our project plan: “We will hold an initial workshop (room hire etc. to be paid by the grant) on citizen science methods, ecology of local wildlife and method of establishing and protecting plants along the corridor routes. We will then conduct intensive surveys (voluntary basis) for squirrel gliders and other animals along the potential routes, followed by discussions with landowners and the Scenic Rim Regional Council to consolidate plans. Council will provide trees and shrubs; which volunteers will plant. We need fences to be constructed (materials and labour to be paid from the grant, forming the bulk of what is required) to separate livestock from plantings. In cooperation with landowners these plantings. can also provide atonal shade for their animals. … Ronda J Green (chair) has a PhD in zoology and has been conducting research on wildlife ecology and fauna surveys in the Scenic Rim and has also run a number of citizen science activities through the society, including two Bioblitzes and glider surveys. The Scenic Rim Regional Council has been very supportive with grants for these projects and in other ways. Potential routes will be determined from satellite maps, on-ground surveys and discussions with Council, land-owners and Main Roads. Volunteers will plant trees and shrubs provide by Council. A fencing contractor will construct appropriate fences to protect planting from grazing livestock and possibly also wildlife fences between habitat areas and busy roads to minimise roadkill Initial surveys will be planned so as to be able to make valid comparisons with the situation in future years, to monitor the success of the project.” Robin arranged a Skype meeting between our committee and staff of Scenic Rim Regional Council (Joshua Baker and Phillip Pulley) to discuss the corridors project as a follow-up from a face-to-face meeting we had last year (which included Council’s then environment officer Keith McCosh who has since retired). Several local volunteers did some letterbox deliveries for us in priority areas for corridor plantings – the initial brochures, designed by Robin with some input from myself, were printed from grant money. The next round were based on an article I wrote for Joshua Barker of SRRC to send to Land for Wildlife property owners and printed free of charge by SRRC. We distributed motion-sensing cameras to several land-owners to be focused first for four nights on a treetrunk and a further four nights on the ground. We are in process of collating the results and will start another round in September (the plan is for autumn and spring surveys to conti9nue over the next few years to monitor the effectiveness of our project). Phillip Pulley ordered 960 plants from our list of recommended plants based on: indigenous to Scenic Rim or very close, providing food, shelter and gliding sites for gliders and other wildlife (including winter-flowering nectar-providing trees and shrubs, and other plants largely focusing on the needs of squirrel gliders but also koalas, glossy black cockatoos, native bees, butterflies and others), and relatively fire retardant where possible. These have been provided (including delivery) free of charge to participating landowners. Unfortunately, there has been quite a delay – first due to coronavirus

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lockdown and then to winter frosts – and although plants became available in March we did not commence actual plantings until August. Phillip also provided a few hundred tree guards and thin bamboo posts, which are very suitable in sheltered sites, but we have also purchased (through the grant) some biodegradable but very sturdy waterproof treeguards made from recycled paper and cardboard, with no plastic content, and Darren has been cutting many wide-diameter bamboo posts on our property for use in more exposed places. We are about to purchase star pickets and wire mesh to protect young trees in cattle paddocks. Matt Cecil arranged for a 2-metre pull-up banner about the corridor project to be designed and printed. We have now collected this and hope to use it at local markets in September. Andrew Mackey has developed maps showing corridors and hubs maps, and will produce an overlay accessible by committee and others by password showing positions and some relevant details of participating landowners. All members of the committee have been involved in visiting properties where the owners have indicated willingness to plant trees and shrubs or have them planted, both in the corridor routes and in the wildlife “hubs” to enhance the habitat there. In July 2020, Amanda Little and Matt Cecil of WPSQ organised a webinar on Glorious Gliders. Part of this included a powerpoint about our glider surveys and videos filmed by Darren of myself interviewing three of the landowners on why they joined the project. Two of these – Michelle Morgan and Bill O’Sullivan, own properties in the upper Kerry Valley hub, and both have employed motion-sensing cameras to survey wildlife on their properties. Michelle told of her excitement at seeing a glider on her film, and Bill, who was involved in our glider surveys in previous years and has set up a number of his own cameras, shared a couple of short clips, including one of a squirrel glider gliding in and landing on a tree-trunk. He mentioned his concern that no phascogales have appeared on cameras since last year’s fires. The third interviewee, Tracey Edie, lives in the Kerry Valley corridor, which is largely devoid of native habitat, and explained the enthusiasm she and her husband share for having an additional reason for their original plans to plant natives. She has since prepared her land with mulch which our grant will pay for and has started planting. One of her neighbours is joining in and we hope to take a working bee to his property in September. Our first working bee was arranged in conjunction with Wild Mountains with students from Griffith University, through Lizz Hills, at the home of Jo-Ann Morris, whose property is in the Boonah region hub, and already had many immature eucalypts but lacked understorey and old mature trees, so in addition to a few eucalypts we planted acacias and other shrubs and established two nesting boxes designed for squirrel gliders. Other working bees are planned for September, including on in the corridor rout between Boonah and Kooralbyn, for which our grant will also provide funding for a water delivery. We were to have completed the portions of our project funded by the federal grant by November this year, but because of coronavirus have been granted an extension until June 2021. The establishment of corridors and monitoring of wildlife within them is likely to continue as our major project for at least the coming year.

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SUNSHINE COAST & HINTERLAND BRANCH Jude Crighton - Secretary

July 2019 seems so long ago. By August there were ominous smoke-clouds rising from Bribie Island, where unseasonably hot westerly winds had re-ignited peat smoldering from an earlier prescribed burn. And by September fires at Peregian heralded the start of a truly horrific bushfire season for Queensland and the Australian east coast. We must not let the memory of that massive loss of wildlife and habitat be obscured by the ongoing disruption caused by the current pandemic, as the cause of the changing climate that contributed to the scale of the fires is related to the habitat pressure from an ever-increasing human population that led to the emergence of the virus.

Of course, there were several events that were supported and enjoyed by our members during the year. During the 2019 Sunshine Coast Wildflower Festival in late August we again had the pleasure of hosting two walks in each of Ben Bennett Bushland Park and Kathleen McArthur Conservation Park, and this time also in Isabel Jordan Bushland Reserve. Many thanks to all members who participated, and in particular, Sue Aspland and Jenny Gursanscky for contributing their extensive knowledge to the species lists. These events are an important opportunity to interact with members of the public and other conservation groups — they raise awareness of the issues we consider to be important and preserve the memory of Kathleen McArthur and those who carried on her work. We have particular concerns about threats to both Ben Bennett Park and Isabel Jordan Reserve, and have been engaging with Sunshine Coast council, state government and other community groups on the issues. Jenny Gursanscky has set up a Facebook page for the Friends of Ben Bennett Park to keep up awareness of its environmental values, and we also organised our successful effort there on Clean Up Australia Day. Other local matters of concern for our branch have been the Sunshine Coast Council's Cottonwood study, which has implications for management of the dunal vegetation that protects turtle nesting habitat, and the approval, against council officers' advice, of a clubhouse for WindanSea Boardriders Club in the hind-dune at Currimundi. After an unsatisfactory meeting with council officers and the local councilor about the former, we submitted a Right to Information request, the results of which were mostly redacted(!). As to the latter, we were invited to be co-respondents in an appeal to the Planning and Environment Court, yet to be finalised. For the first time WPSQ had a stall at Sunshine Coast Council's Conservation and Coastal Forum in August, but the three-day Maleny Wood Expo in early May, Sunshine Coast Environment Council's World Environment Day at Cotton Tree in early June and the Noosa Festival of Waters in late June were all either cancelled or only occurred online (Jill Chamberlain featured in the online WED), so our main fund-raising opportunities for the year were lost. We are deeply grateful that early founding member Judy Nelson-Gracie has again contributed a generous and substantial donation, which will allow continued smooth running of the branch, and the opportunity to replace our worn-out display boards for future stalls. Faunawatch, which is WPSQ’s major project, is a community-based fauna monitoring initiative with expert scientific input. Despite extremely dry weather affecting wildlife in 2019, successful surveys were carried out in Land for Wildlife properties and on the Aura development site. Faunawatch

Isabel Jordan Reserve wildflower walk

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nature walks were again led by Coordinator Paul Smith on the second Wednesday of the month at Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens and on the fourth Monday of the month at various natural locations, although attendance at the walks was down in the hot weather. Walks were cancelled in April and May, but have since resumed with appropriate social distancing. Our application for a further three years funding from Sunshine Coast Council from their Community Partnerships Fund is in abeyance due to the recent Council elections and Covid-19 restrictions. No budget has been allocated yet. Our AGM in February saw our Executive successfully re-elected. Margaret Watson retired from her position as Hospitality Convenor, and the meeting expressed its heartfelt thanks to her, for the treats produced from her laden basket over many years as well as her many other contributions. Our subsequent monthly meetings in March, April and May were cancelled, but we were able to hold outdoor meetings in Ben Bennett Bushland Park in June and July. A beautiful venue in troubled times, leaving us thankful for small mercies.

TOOWOOMBA BRANCH The Toowoomba Regional Branch experienced a low level of activity this year, particularly since early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions were thrust upon us. A new Executive committee was elected at our AGM in October 2019, with the fresh combination of new and longer-term office-bearers inspiring hope for a reinvigorated local Branch. The Branch continues to advocate for the protection of our regional wildlife whenever possible. We made representations to the Department of Main Roads in relation to clearing of native vegetation along the New England Highway; and to the Department of Natural Resources and Mines in relation to extensive woodland clearing in a recognised wildlife movement corridor north of Toowoomba. Branch members also shared information and advice on wildlife issues with the Highfields (north of Toowoomba) community, when they joined forces with Toowoomba Wildlife Rescue on an information display at the Eclipse Park Veterinary Clinic in the lead up to Christmas 2019. Pending developments in the COVID-19 situation, the Branch envisages improved engagement with our local members and broader regional community during 2020-21. We welcome suggestions from Branch members on potential Branch activities or wildlife advocacy issues that they feel warrant our attention.

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TOWNSVILLE BRANCH Liz Downes, (Vice President) When compiling last year’s reports, even with the country drying to a crisp around us, I suspect few of us foresaw the scale of the bush fire emergency that was about to engulf so much of our national parks, bushlands and farmlands, destroy homes and livelihoods, and kill 3 billion native animals alongside 34 people. Those of us who felt that our country was being irrevocably changed were not wrong – though surely none could have anticipated quite how transformed it would be, with the direct and flow-on effects of Covid-19 on every aspect of our lives, yet to be fully realised. For once north Queensland has so far escaped the devastation brought by both these disasters and we are profoundly thankful and ever watchful. So – to reflect on the year that’s passed: We welcomed a few new members but, contrary to recent trends, were disappointed to lose more than we gained. The suspension of our blog may have been a factor (see below) and more recently it’s likely that the months of COVID-19 restrictions and anxiety has affected people’s willingness to become involved in new groups. Nonetheless, encouraging membership growth is something to be thinking about while we hold our breath and wait for the pandemic’s waves to subside into ripples. Problems with the migration of our blog to its new server continued through most of 2019 so our news was delivered to members and supporters via email attachments. It was your scribe’s happy task over the Christmas break to upload all of these to our resurrected blog so that we could start 2020 with the record of our activities complete and “normal services resumed”. (Little did we know how far from normal the coming months would be!) Instead of our usual ten annual field outings, we only managed six, and one of these was aborted within an hour due to torrential rain. Of the rest, one trip was cancelled due to illness and three were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. On those that went ahead we enjoyed walking part of the historic Dalrymple Track, sighting many koalas (and joeys) on Magnetic Island, (mis)-identifying fish in Rollingstone Creek, cleaning up Ollera creek beach, and spotting inter-tidal creatures on the sand and mud exposed by a very low tide at Bushland Beach. Attendance was lower than usual with an average of nine per trip. Our first event of 2020 was both celebratory and sad, as we farewelled our long-term treasurer and friend, Jane McLean, on the eve of her move to Brisbane. Jane’s membership of the Branch extends for over thirty years, 25 of them as treasurer, so it was quite an emotional occasion. We were proud and pleased to be able to honour Jane with a Life Membership of the Society, presented by her good friend and WPSQ Councillor, Paul Sutton. Despite the tightening of restrictions on social gatherings, we managed to hold a physical AGM at the end of March, observing social distancing in an open-air setting, with just enough members to form a quorum and get the business done. The most important item on the agenda was the election of our new treasurer, Carole Lonergan, who stepped into the shoes of her long-serving predecessor. Welcome, Carole! Following the infamous February 2019 floods and their aftermath, our Mahogany Glider surveys were in full swing by July and by the end of 2019 cameras had been put into another 15 locations, with many photo recordings of both mahogany and sugar (Krefft’s) gliders. In early 2020 our efforts were again hampered, first by the terrain and then by Covid-19 restrictions. Once these eased survey trips were resumed and just when we were winding everything up for the scheduled end date on June 30,

Who said crocodiles? Branch members contemplate croc habitat at Bushland Beach. Photo by Liz Downs

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DES offered a six-month extension. Project team members twice travelled up to Cardwell and Tully for Recovery Team meetings which help to keep us in touch with what is happening with the gliders and their habitat across their range. A spin-off from our involvement in this project has been the increased interest in this southern area of mahogany glider habitat, with progress being made towards a long overdue upgrade of a local reserve to nature refuge status, as well as the opportunity to extend our surveys to nearby state land with very promising vegetation. Three other areas of concern through the year were: 1. Flying-foxes: the management of urban flying-foxes locally and regionally continues to be of concern. A long dialogue with the Townsville city council raised more concerns than were resolved and we are still waiting to see the latest management plan for the roost in one local park. We made submissions and other protests regarding the intended (and now actual) dispersal action against the Cairns CBD roost of endangered “Species”, and we urgently contacted authorities regarding the dispersal action of an Ingham roost during a period of extreme heat (between 38°-43°C) – to no avail. While the revised codes of practice and management guidelines from DES include strengthened recommendations, failure to make these mandatory leaves loopholes that local councils seem happy to leap through. 2. Mundy Creek’s wetland and grassland area, lying between two inner-city suburbs, has become a conflict zone since a housing development was launched on flood-prone land 5 years ago. Our Branch has supported the local bush regeneration and Landcare group in alerting the city council to breaches of conditions by the developer and demanding reparation of damage caused. 3. Toolakea equestrian resort proposal: the NQCC co-ordinator joined Branch members to inspect the site of largely undisturbed bush, approx 30km north of Townsville, on which Malaysian interests plan to create a massive equestrian resort. A joint submission was made in October and at last report it seemed the proponents are among those seeking to use the pandemic as a basis to argue for relaxed environmental regulations. No surprises there! In all, eight submissions were made during the year to Federal, State and Local authorities or agencies, and to one Senate Committee of Enquiry. In September several members supported the students’ climate strike and in May our Vice-President received the 2020 “Heart of Volunteering” award from the NQ Volunteer Association. Three branch members are now regular volunteers on the annual Pied Imperial-Pigeon counts and we look forward to the 2020-21 season. It always lifts the spirits to catch the first glimpse or hear the first calls of these beautiful birds when they arrive in spring. As usual we thank Head Office staff as well as State President, Peter, and Secretary, Des, for their support and advice during twelve months probably best described as an “annus horribilis”. Queensland’s conservation challenges over the next twelve months may prove to be the hardest ever experienced but the Society and many of its Branches, have proven their resilience and longevity so, of course, we’ll just ‘keep calm and carry on’, won’t we?! We wish the WPSQ community of members and staff, and their loved ones, good health and good cheer – and perhaps a few conservation victories? – over the next twelve months.

Mahogany Glider on our project site. Photo by WPSQ Townsville Branch

Branch members Margrit and Julia pair up on a PIP count. Photo by Liz Downs

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UPPER DAWSON BRANCH Ken Stephenson, President and Ann Hobson, Secretary The group met five times at various locations during the year. The Group’s highlight of the year was finally getting approval and finance, thanks to the Banana Shire Council and Theodore Lions Club, to enable the construction of a bird hide on the bank of Castle Creek in Theodore. On August 31, a meeting at picturesque Glebe Weier on the Dawson River near Taroom, followed an interesting excursion to a basalt ridge on Mt Rose station, supporting remnant of softwood scrub as a home for numerous birds, rock wallabies and other wildlife. In September the Upper Dawson Branch hosted visitors from the Capricorn Coast and Fraser Coast of the WPSQ at a very successful Central Qld get together at Theodore, incorporating extensive excursions around the district, and an interchange of ideas among the branches. Gilbert’s Lookout, Taroom was the location for the October meeting, and AGM. The group sadly farewelled Adam and Dot Clarke, who were relocating to Toowoomba. Adam’s sterling efforts as Project Officer with Dot’s support over many years was acknowledged. President Ken Stephenson agreed to continue in the role of President, even though he and Claudia would also soon relocate to Toowoomba. The first meeting of 2020 was held at “Karinya”, Theodore, with an adventurous look around the surrounding hills and valleys. Covid restrictions limited further activities. The final meeting of the year was held in Taroom in May, featuring extensive discussion of fire management. Projects and Major Issues pursued during the year included:

• DNA testing for the presence of platypus in the Dawson River • The completion of the bird hide. • Advocacy regarding concerns of negative impacts on rural landholdings and communities,

caused by the gas and coal industries, including ongoing concerns about the government funded proposal for carbon capture experiments in the Precipice Aquifer.

Concerns were expressed and letters written to appropriate authorities on the issues of weed infestations on roadsides and National Parks, stock route management, the co-ordination of alternative energy projects, and fire management. The departure of Adam Clarke from the role of Project Officer for the branch is a major loss to the organisation. Adam’s passion and extensive practical and proven knowledge of conservation and environmental issues, due to his many years as a primary producer cannot be replicated. His experience in local government, along with his quietly assertive and persistent advocacy was invaluable to the branch, and to the State organisation - an inspirational role model whose loss will be deeply felt. Our branch will continue its advocacy on the issues outlined previously, and no doubt more issues will arise in the future. I have enjoyed my time as President especially with Ann’s ongoing support, efficiency and attention to detail. As Tour Officer, Melanie ‘s thorough organisation, leadership and initiative is also greatly appreciated. Thank you to Jason Kerlin for his time in the role of Project officer, and his work in platypus DNA testing. Whilst I enjoy being part of this likeminded group, our move to Toowoomba means it is no longer practical for me to continue my President’s role in the Upper Dawson Branch. I hope there will be someone available to take on the roles of President and Project officer for the Branch to continue to operate.

Adam Clark