21 December 2011
Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
Wide Bay Training Area DEOS MIRF
Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
Wide Bay Training Area DEOS MIRF
Prepared for
Aurecon
Prepared by
AECOM Australia Pty Ltd
Level 8, 540 Wickham Street, PO Box 1307, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006, Australia
T +61 7 3553 2000 F +61 7 3553 2050 www.aecom.com
ABN 20 093 846 925
21 December 2011
60162199
AECOM in Australia and New Zealand is certified to the latest version of ISO9001 and ISO14001.
© AECOM Australia Pty Ltd (AECOM). All rights reserved.
AECOM has prepared this document for the sole use of the Client and for a specific purpose, each as expressly stated in the document. No other party should rely on this document without the prior written consent of AECOM. AECOM undertakes no duty, nor accepts any responsibility, to any third party who may rely upon or use this document. This document has been prepared based on the Client’s description of its requirements and AECOM’s experience, having regard to assumptions that AECOM can reasonably be expected to make in accordance with sound professional principles. AECOM may also have relied upon information provided by the Client and other third parties to prepare this document, some of which may not have been verified. Subject to the above conditions, this document may be transmitted, reproduced or disseminated only in its entirety.
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Revision 1 - 21 December 2011
Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
Quality Information
Document / Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmiRef / 60162199
Date / 21 December 2011
Prepared by
Reviewed by / Alan House
Revision History
Revision / Revision Date / Details / AuthorisedName/Position / Signature
0 / 13-Dec-201 / Draft for comment / Technical Director
1 / 21-Dec-2011 / Final / Christina Bicksler -
Project Director
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Revision 1 - 21 December 2011
Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
Table of Contents
Glossary of Terms i
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 Pineapple Zamia (Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi) 2
3.0 Relevant Legislation 3
3.1 Australian Government 3
3.2 State Government 4
4.0 Aims and Objectives 6
4.1 Consultation 6
5.0 Description of Impact and Translocation Sites 7
5.1 Impact Site 7
5.2 Translocation Sites 7
6.0 Translocation Methods 9
6.1 Relocation 9
6.2 Propagation 10
7.0 Maintenance 12
7.1 Site Preparation 12
7.2 Maintenance of Translocated Plants 12
7.3 Weed Management 12
7.3.1 Weed Hygiene 13
7.3.2 Weed Monitoring 13
7.3.3 Weed Control 14
7.4 Animal Management 14
7.5 Fire Management 14
8.0 Monitoring and Evaluation 16
8.1 Translocation Site Monitoring 16
8.2 Post-translocation Monitoring 16
8.3 Performance and Completion Criteria 17
9.0 Plan Implementation, Reporting and Review 19
9.1 Implementation 19
9.2 Schedule 19
9.3 Reporting 20
9.4 Review 20
10.0 Securing of Translocation Site 21
11.0 Mitigation Measures for Adjacent Populations 22
12.0 References 23
Appendix A
Figures A
List of Tables
Table 1: Parameters for Monitoring of Translocation Site 16
Table 2: Parameters for Monitoring of Translocated Plants and Reference Site Plants 16
Table 3: Performance Criteria 17
Table 4: Timing of Site Preparation / Maintenance Activities 19
Table 5: Timing of Translocation Activities 19
Table 6: Timing of Monitoring Activities 20
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Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
Glossary of Terms
DEH Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage (now DSEWPC)
DERM Queensland Environment and Resource Management (previously the Departments of DNRW and EPA)
DEWR Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Water Resources (now DSEWPC)
DEWHA Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (previously DEWR and DEH)
DNRW Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water (now part of DERM)
DSEWPC Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
EPA Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (now part of DERM)
EPBC Act Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
EVNT Endangered, Vulnerable and Near Threatened (threatened flora species)
GPS Global Positioning System
KP Kilometre Point
NC Act Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992
Propagation Production of plants from seeds or vegetative propagative material (e.g. cuttings, tissue culture)
RE Regional Ecosystem
Relocation Process of transferring existing plants from one location to another
ROW Right of Way
Translocation Process of transferring plants from one location to another (includes relocation and propagation)
VM Act Queensland Vegetation Management Act 1999
WBTA Wide Bay Training Area
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Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
1.0 Introduction
Defence is undertaking a program of works at the Wide Bay Training Area (WBTA) as part of the ELF 2C initiative, including the proposed construction of a Defence Explosive Ordnance Minor Retail Facility (DEOS MIRF) in an area of remnant vegetation (Figure F1). Previous surveys of the site by AECOM identified two populations of pineapple zamia (Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi), which is listed as Endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NC Act). The original development footprint contained approximately 250 individuals in two populations. The development was subsequently redesigned, so that the revised footprint is estimated to contain only about 50 individuals in about 200 m2 of habitat (Figure F2).
Defence has requested AECOM to prepare a permit under the EPBC Act to move a listed threatened species (pineapple zamia) in a Commonwealth area. This permit is required for activities which may kill, injure, take, trade, keep or move a member of a listed threatened species or ecological community, a member of a listed migratory species, or a member of a listed marine species in or on a Commonwealth area. This translocation program forms part of the permit application.
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Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
2.0 Pineapple Zamia (Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi)
Pineapple zamia is a small cycad, consisting of one to eight leaves up to 1 m long and an underground stem up to 25 cm long by 20 cm across (Jones, 1993, Forster and Holland, 2007). Adult plants can resprout from the underground stem after loss of above-ground foliage from fire. Reproduction is often linked to fire events, with many female plants producing cones two years after a fire. However, seedlings and unburied seeds are usually killed by fire. Pineapple zamia seeds generally ripen in March to April. Fresh seeds will not germinate for 12 months, due to a delayed fertilisation process (Norstog and Nicholls, 1997; in Forster and Holland, 2007).
The National Multi-species Recovery Plan for Cycads (Forster and Holland, 2007) estimated the total population of pineapple zamia to be at least 13,131 adult individuals with a total area of occupancy of at least 35 ha. Known populations cover an area of about 120 km by 40 km in at least 27 populations, ranging from a single adult to over 3,600 individuals. However, the ecology and distribution of pineapple zamia is poorly known, so population numbers quoted in the recovery plan are likely to underestimate the total numbers considerably. For example, no populations were recorded within the WBTA, which contains extensive areas of suitable habitat in relatively undisturbed condition. A threatened flora survey at WBTA by Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2003 (PB, 2003) identified over 800 pineapple zamias in 23 locations. This figure is also likely to be an underestimate as three of the four populations identified in surveys by AECOM (2010, 2011) were not detected in the 2003 survey. Known populations of pineapple zamia within WBTA are mapped in Figure F3. It is likely that other populations remain undiscovered in the training area. The total known population of pineapple zamias, including individuals recorded in WBTA, is 14,744.
Pineapple zamia is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and the Queensland NC Act. It has a restricted distribution between Childers and Noosa in Southeast Queensland. Its habitat comprises areas of low relief on deep sandy soils or on low, gravelly or shaly ridges in open forest communities with dense heath or shrubby understoreys (Halford, 2001).
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Translocation Program for Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi
3.0 Relevant Legislation
3.1 Australian Government
Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi is listed as an Endangered species under the Commonwealth EPBC Act. It is an offence to take an action that has or will have a significant impact on a threatened species, other than those exceptions listed under sections 19 and 197 of the EPBC Act. Chapter 5, Part 13, Division 5a outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Commonwealth in the development and implementation of recovery plans for threatened species. A national recovery plan had been prepared for the management of Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi and several other Endangered cycad species in northern Australia (Forster and Holland, 2007).
The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPC) has released a consultation draft of an Environmental Offsets Policy that outlines the Australian Government’s framework on the use of environmental offsets under the EPBC Act. This policy will be finalised in the near future (the public comment period closed on 21 October 2011) and will replace the previous draft policy (DEWR, 2007). The policy focuses on the use of offsets under Part 9 (Approval of Actions) of the EPBC Act and aims to ensure that offsets deliver high-quality conservation outcomes for matters protected under the Act. Offsets are defined as measures to compensate for environmental impacts that cannot be adequately reduced through avoidance or mitigation (i.e. residual impacts).
Although some changes may occur following consideration of public submissions, the draft policy identifies that suitable offsets must:
- Deliver an outcome that improves or maintains the viability of the environmental aspect that is protected by the EPBC Act and that is impacted by the proposed activity;
- Be efficient, transparent, proportionate, scientifically robust and reasonable;
- Be built around direct offsets but may include indirect offsets;
- Be of a size and scale proportionate to the impacts being offset;
- Be in proportion to the level of statutory protection for the impacted species or community;
- Effectively manage the risks of the offset not succeeding; and
- Have transparent governance arrangements, including ability to be readily measured, monitored, audited and enforced.
DSEWPC is developing an offset assessment guide that will allow quantitative assessment of offset requirements, based on calculations of offset points.
Factors that will be used in calculations include:
- Conservation status of the protected species or community;
- Duration of the impact;
- Condition of the impacted habitat;
- Proximity of offset site to impact site;
- Contribution of the offset site to ecological connectivity;
- Time period between impact and offset that delivers an ecological benefit; and
- Incidental benefits to other species or communities that are not impacted by the proposed development.
The EPBC Act requires a permit for activities which may kill, injure, take, trade, keep or move an Endangered species in a Commonwealth area.
Permits will only be issued if:
1) The activity contributes significantly to the conservation of the species.
2) The impact of the activity on the species is incidental to, and not the purpose of, the taking of the activity
· The taking of the activity will not adversely affect the survival or recovery in nature of the species;
· The taking of the activity is not inconsistent with a recovery plan that is in force for the species; and
· The holder of the permit will take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of the activity on the species.
3) The specified activity is of particular significance to indigenous tradition, and will not adversely affect the survival or recovery in nature of the conservation status of the species; or
4) The specified activity is necessary in order to control pathogens, and is conducted in a way that will, so far as is practicable, keep to a minimum any impact on the species.
A permit is required in accordance with the second provision, as the proposed development will have an incidental impact on pineapple zamias on Commonwealth land. Impacts will be minimised by mitigation measures outlined in a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP), including refinement of the development footprint to reduce clearing of pineapple zamia habitat, construction controls to minimise accidental and indirect impacts on adjacent habitat and inductions to ensure all construction personnel are aware of environmental constraints and comply with relevant controls. Residual impacts will be offset by the development and implementation of an offset plan that is consistent with the relevant recovery plan for Endangered cycads (Forster and Holland, 2007).
3.2 State Government
As Defence is part of the Commonwealth, it is not bound by State legislation. However, under the Defence Instructions (General) ADMIN 40-2 Clause 17 “Defence aims to comply with State, Territory and Local Government environmental legislation and requirements to the extent that these do not conflict with Commonwealth legislative obligations”. Consequently, State legislation is considered in the development of the offset plan, although specific permits and management plans may not be required for actions in Defence land.
Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi is considered to be Endangered under the Queensland NC Act. Section 73 of the NC Act states that a protected species is to be managed for the conservation of the species and its values and any use of a protected species is to be ecologically sustainable. A conservation plan may be prepared for a protected species under Part 7 of the Act.
The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has prepared a biodiversity offsets policy (3 October 2011) as a specific-issue offsets policy, consistent with the Queensland Government Environmental Offsets Policy. This policy applies when a decision maker determines that development impacts on an area with State significant biodiversity values cannot be avoided or minimised.