APPLICATIONTOHARVEST ANDEXPORT NATIVEWILDLIFE
Title andIntroduction
Scientificname: Dicksonia antarctica
Common name: Soft Tree fern
Location of Harvest:
TheAireValleyand Webster’s Hillsoftwood plantationis situated in theOtwayRanges in southern Victoria (seeAttachments 1 &2).
Description:
Dicksonia antarctica is aplant that has a fibrous trunk. Plants rangingin size from 15cm to
240 cm in trunk height.Diameters 15cm– 40cm. Fronds arebroad and rollingwithasmooth and shinyappearance. Tree Ferns cangrowtoaheight of 15 metres.Whole live plants are harvested from 15cm to240 cm in height.
Protection:
Dicksonia antarctica is aprotected species that requires a permitto harvestunder the Victorian Flora and Fauna GuaranteeActof1988and apermit to export under the Environment Protectionand Biodiversity ConservationAct 1999.
StatementofGeneralGoalsandAims
The areathat has the population of tree ferns will be harvestedfornurserysales and export.
Therewillbeno harvestingalongstreamsidereserves andselectivematuretreeferns will be left fornatural reproduction.
HarvestDetails
AreaofHarvesting:
TheAireValleyand Webster’s Hillsoftwood plantations aresituated in the OtwayRanges in southern Victoria. The approxsizeis 3500 hectares (seeAttachments 1 &2).
Details of land Ownership:
Theland is aSoftwood plantation that is logged on a regular basis. Harvestingof treeferns can onlybeundertakenfrom within theplantationplanted area.Treefern harvesting operations are excluded from code exclusion areasand sections of filterstrips as identified as reserve areas. Treefern harvestingis excluded from streamside reserves and drainagelines. No disturbanceis to occur within these areas andno entryofmachineryis allowed.
Onlycertain coupes areavailable forharvestingeachyear. Please find details of ownership and copies ofrelevant permitsattached. (seeAttachments 34).
QuantityofHarvesting:
Allocation of35,000 whole live plants would beinitiallyrequested forexport movement each year. This willbemeasured bytags issuedfrom theVictorian Department of Sustainability and Environment.
Methods ofHarvesting andEquipment:
All harvestingis byselectivehand cutting and chainsaws. Sleds, asmall tractor and a4WD
motorbike aretheequipment used forremoval.We also haveon site firstaid and firefighting
equipment as itis a commercialoperation;thereis minimal impact on thehabitat from our harvestingoperations. All staffarefullytrained inthe useof the equipmentand hold relative licences andcomplywith relative work safepractices.
Timingand Duration ofHarvestingPeriod:
Permitsallow harvesting twelve months of theyear butharvestingoccurs mainlybetween
October and Mayeachyear.
Impactof Harvestonthe Taxaandthe Relevantecosystem
Effects on the Species andOtherSpecies:
Effectsofharvestingon thespecies shallhaveminimal impact asonlysalvage harvestingis carried out for commercial value ferns in asmall region that is not located in national parks or river ways.It is believedthat the salvageharvestinghas minimal effect on otherspecies
within the ecosystem.
MonitoringandAssessment
ResourceAssessment:
Thereis ongoingmonitoringof Dicksonia antarcticapopulations conducted bythe officer for the Department of Sustainabilityand Environmentbased at Colac, Victoriaeachyearforthis harvestingsite. Eachyeara report to theDepartment of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) Annual report forWildlifeTradeOperationis completed byus on theamountof plants harvested with the amountthat are exported and
what is local distribution.
Independent Supervision:
Independent supervision of harvestingis monitored bythe land ownerand the Department of SustainabilityandEnvironment officer based in Colac, Victoria, under theFlora and Fauna GuaranteeAct 1988.
Monitoringof Harvest:
No monitoringofharvestis required as itis a salvageoperationfrom acommercial timber harvestingactivity.
FurtherMonitoring:
Thereis no further monitoringproposed at this stageto this harvestingsite.
Management strategies:
Dueto the fact that it issalvage harvestingoperation from acommercial farm thereis no effect onthe species or otherspecies or plant. Wedo however leave50%oftreeferns from filterstrip areas. Streamside reserves are fullyprotected andaminimum densityof mature treeferns per hectareis left.
Compliance:
Restrictions on harvest and sale are controlled under the Victorian Flora and Fauna GuaranteeAct 1988 andthe mechanismto monitoris bywayof permit and taggingofferns with identification ofpermit holder.
Reports:
An annual reportis required byDSEWPaC(Annual report for WildlifeTradeOperation) statingthe number of tree ferns harvestedand thenumber exported.Department of SustainabilityandEnvironment Victoriaissuenumbered tagswhichare attached to each plant as soon as possible afterharvesting. This enablesnumbers to be accuratelyrecorded.
Background information:
Thespecies Dicksonia antarcticais found in considerable populations in the naturereserves and national parks of southern Victoria.
Theseinclude:
OtwayNational Park RedwaterFloraReserve MelbaGullyStatePark
Big TreeWest Barham Reserve
Olangla FloraReserve
Closed watercatchments: Olangla Weir, West Gellibrand Weir, Arknas Creek and others.
In the 1930’s natural rainforest wascleared forsoftwood production. Natural regrowth that has occurred sincethatperiod is theplant that is to be taken. Averageageofplants taken is thought to bebetween 5and 25years.
References (seeattachment 5.)