A report from Sue Baker the volunteers coordinator for the post fire gaps in littoral rainforests – Dungogan to Crowdy;
As coordinator of the Dunbogan-Crowdy Bay National Park project (that includes the Kylies Beach Bush Regen Camp), I would like to report some unexpected but fantastic outcomes over the past year. First the results of the post-fire bitou seedling clean up are spectacular. It appears that the fire resulted in the germination of the last of the bitou seed store in the soil. Site inspections and meetings with the contractor reveal only scattered seedlings left. In addition currently there are only a few Acacia saligna (Western Australian wattle) remaining of what was also a post fire explosion of this species in several areas. The same applies to the two years of aerial spraying of the fore dune funded by NPWS – at long last the beach is in almost pristine condition.
I express my eternal gratitude to the NSW Environmental Trust for giving us the three-year grant which has enabled all this to be achieved. Without this grant we would never have been able to clean up the post fire explosion of bitou seedlings that would have not only undone all the previous years of hard work but would have posed a threat to the other large areas already regenerated.
Secondly at the Dunbogan end of the project restoration of what was a severely degraded littoral rainforest habitat has been accelerated through the work of weed officer Anthony Marchment employed by Port Macquarie Hastings Council under a grant for the Camden Haven Estuary. The work of Council’s bush regen team under the leadership of Pete Michael has seen the beginning of primary treatment of two littoral rainforest areas that directly adjoin our site.
Thank you to everyone involved including Hastings Landcare for their administration and support of the project.
Sue Baker
Hastings Landcare 