If Swift Parrots are to avoid extinction they need to be able to breed successfully. For this they require forests full of old trees with suitable nesting hollows such as are found in Wielangta Forest, where most of the world’s remaining Swift Parrots have been breeding this year. But these all-important breeding sites in our State Forests are continuing to be woodchipped.

The Premier has completely missed the point. He is offering to provide Swift Parrots with a possible food source in the distant future whilst at the same time condoning the destruction of their nest trees. It is useless for these birds to have food but nowhere to breed. The protection of old growth forests is the key to their survival.

Premier Bartlett has clearly not consulted any scientists with expert knowledge of this endangered bird or even consulted relevant Government Departments before announcing this bizarre and misguided initiative. Two key scientific government reports that directly relate to the management and conservation of Swift Parrot habitat are soon to be released – the Strategic Management Plan for Swift Parrot Breeding Habitat and the Wielangta Swift Parrot Breeding Season Report 2008/09. The Premier has jumped the gun and unleashed this unscientific scheme before the experts have provided the Government with the advice the Government itself requested.

We are glad to see the Premier finally acknowledging that urgent action needs to be taken to save this beautiful bird from extinction albeit with a crackpot scheme. Hopefully in the coming months, he will take a dose of much needed scientific advice and announce a range of measures that will make a genuine difference to the conservation status of Swift Parrots.

For more information contact:
Sharon East 03 6253 5348
Lisa Cuatt 03 6253 5493
0428 399103
http://wildwielangta.edublogs.org
wildwielangta at gmail dot com

Two of these are of particular significance:

Pterostylis atriola – Snug Greenhood – so named as it was first discovered on Snug Plains only 11 years ago.

This is particularly significant because it is listed as endangered not only on the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 but also on the Commonwealth Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Corunastylis nuda (ex–Genoplesium Nudum) the tiny midge orchid. This was also previously found on W17E. It is listed as rare on the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.

It is reasonable to assume that these occur elsewhere on the proposed W19D logging coupe as he only saw a small portion of it. It was however somewhat fortuitous that he did at all, as these orchids flower in late summer and autumn. The specimens although undoubtedly identifiable are somewhat dried out.

The publication: Flowering Times of Tasmanian Orchids: A Practical Guide to Field Botanists – M. Wapstra, N. Roberts, H. Wapstra and A. Wapstra (2008) identifies flowering times specifically to direct targeted orchid survey recognising the cryptic habit of orchids. This guide is specifically written to assist administrators (including forest managers) ‘…in making rational decisions regarding the timing of surveys for orchids’.

Thorough survey to determine the extent and distribution of these species should be undertaken during the flowering periods which are identified, for both species, as occurring from January to March.

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Photos are credited to H. & A. Wapstra.