Kija Fire and Finch Project. Planning for Gouldian Finch Conservation in the East Kimberley Region. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

Transcription

1 Kija Fire and Finch Project Planning for Gouldian Finch Conservation in the East Kimberley Region WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 1

2 Written by Brydie Hill GIS Analysis by Felicity Watt Edited by Michael Roache Front cover photo: M Fidler / WWF-Aus Published in June 2011 by WWF-Australia. Any reproduction in full or in part must mention the title and credit the abovementioned publisher as the copyright owner. Text 2011 WWF All rights reserved WWF is one of the world s largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global Network active in more than 100 countries. WWF s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by: conserving the world s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Printed on BJ Ball Silk FSC certified paper 2 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

3 Contents Executive summary 4 Introduction 5 Project history and context 7 Methods 9 Results and discussion 11 Recommendations 13 References 28 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 3

4 executive summary The endangered Gouldian finch is an iconic bird species of northern Australia with very specific habitat requirements, both in terms of the plants it feeds on and the areas where it breeds. Altered patterns of fire in the north, more frequent and intense fires in particular, have led to the loss of habitat for this species. WWF-Australia, in partnership with the Australian Government, and with the support of Save the Gouldian Fund, the Kimberley Land Council and Dinosaur Designs, conducted a community engagement project in the east Kimberley region to improve fire management for threatened species in the east Kimberley region, focussing on the Gouldian finch. The three-year objectives were to support fire regimes that were beneficial to Gouldian finches, reduce extensive late dry season burns, and stabilise or improve Gouldian finch populations across the region. The gouldian finch is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species This report outlines the geographic fire and finch habitat analysis of two large pastoral properties in the east Kimberley region undertaken as part of the broader project. Annual fire history data for the period were combined with spatial information relating to landform, geology, soil and vegetation for the Bow River and Violet Valley Aboriginal Reserve Stations. Two independent Gouldian finch experts determined the suitability of each classified land unit as general habitat and breeding habitat for Gouldian finches, resulting in maps of habitat quality for Gouldian finches. The assessments were also used to classify the land units as suitable or potential breeding habitat for Gouldian finches. The resulting methodology and habitat maps will form a useful resource for future fire management planning in the region, and highlight the importance of fire management that focuses on small patch burning in the early dry season, thus creating a mosaic of habitats for threatened species, and avoiding large and intense fires that burn out entire areas of quality habitat. Recommendations also highlight the crucial role of long-term engagement with local communities and ongoing funding for implementation of conservation programs in remote northern Australia. 4 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

5 only 2500 There may be as few as 2,500 mature individuals left in the wild. Introduction The Gouldian finch is a highly appealing bird, deserving of its status as an icon for conservation in northern Australia. It has bright and eye-catching good looks and a long history of interaction with humans. Gouldian finches have long been a target for the captive bird trade, and are familiar to land managers across northern Australia, where finches travel in large flocks across the landscape. Gouldian finches are also relatively well studied from a scientific perspective, and as a result we have a good idea of the threats they face, as well as the knowledge to reduce and overcome those threats. Fire in particular is a significant threat to Gouldian finch habitat. On a seasonal basis, most burning in Australia s tropical savannas occurs in the late dry season, typically as uncontrolled wildfires (Russell-Smith et al. 2003). Such fire regimes have been found to have major effects on relatively fire-sensitive plant species and communities (ibid.), including those relied upon by Gouldian finches for feeding and breeding habitat. Unfortunately, the Gouldian finch is listed as Endangered by the Australian Government (DSEWPC, 2011) due to a significant reduction in distribution and flock sizes seen over the past 20 years (see figure 1a for current distribution and figure 1b for a comparison of current and historic distribution). Many of the threats to Gouldian finches are the same as those for other native species in northern Australia, so conservation efforts for this beautiful bird have the potential to benefit many other plants and animals, making it an ideal flagship species for conservation in the Kimberley. M Fidler / WWF-Aus Female and male Gouldian finches (left to right) WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 5

6 N Darwin Maningrida Kalumburu Wyndham Katherine Timber Creek Kununurra Bulman Borroloola Broome Fitzroy Crossing Lajamanu Cairns Georgetown Abundance classes Abundance 1-10 birds* classes 1-10 birds* birds birds birds birds birds >150 birds >150 birds * This class also includes records with no abundance data * This class also includes records with no abundance data Ethabuka Kilometres Figure 1a. Current distribution of Gouldian Finches across northern Australia, showing approximate flock sizes (from O Malley 2006). Katherine Broome Cairns Current distribution (post-1999) Historical distribution (pre-1999) Figure 1b. Historic and present distribution of Gouldian finches in northern Australia (from O Malley 2006). N.B. within shaded areas distribution may be patchy and fragmented. 6 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

7 Project history and context In 2006, the Threatened Species Network (TSN, a long-running partnership between WWF-Australia and the Australian Government) initiated a program of work to protect the habitat of Gouldian finches in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia. A national analysis of community work on threatened species highlighted this region as having significant numbers of threatened species but low levels of community engagement in their conservation. The TSN began work in the region to engage the local community in threatened species recovery work, and to build their capacity to continue that work into the future. Wild Gouldian finches are found only in northern Australia M Fidler / WWF-Aus Gouldian finch inspecting a tree hollow. Intense fires could destroy trees that provide suitable nesting hollows. A pilot program was established in the east Kimberley by TSN in partnership with the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) and members of the local community, focusing on Gouldian finches and their habitat. The primary goal of the pilot project was to engage the community in recovery work for Gouldian finches and develop skills within the community for Gouldian finch monitoring and on-ground fire management. Following the success of the pilot project, work continued under a larger program called Conservation on Country, supported by the Australian Government and WWF-Australia. The main focus of this project was the northern part of the east Kimberley, primarily on Kurunjie and Durack River stations. A second project began in 2008, further expanding this work south into Kija country. Dubbed the Kija Fire and Finch Project, the work was carried out in partnership with the KLC and was supported by the Save the Gouldian Fund, the Australian Government and Dinosaur Designs. The overall goal of the project was to improve land management for threatened species in the south-east Kimberley region, focussing on the Gouldian Finch. The three-year objectives were to support fire regimes that were beneficial to Gouldian finches, reduce extensive late dry season burns, and stabilise or improve Gouldian finch populations across the region. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 7

8 Project outcomes were to be achieved through: Community engagement Fire management training Establishment of an indigenous ranger group Fire planning Gouldian finches only eat seeds, like those found on speargrass. Implementation of fire plans Identification and mapping Gouldian finch habitat on Kija land Establishment of monitoring sites on Kija land Finch monitoring training and implementation Continued fire planning incorporating protection of Gouldian finch habitat Continued implementation of fire plans Continued monitoring of Gouldian finch populations This report outlines the products from part six of the Kija Fire and Finch project (see above), including geographic representation of potential Gouldian finch habitat. Fire history maps have been included as a resource for future fire planning. This information can be used for both fire management planning for the protection of Gouldian finch habitat and the identification of areas to monitor for Gouldian finches over time to determine whether fire planning and implementation has any impact. Ideally, the next step would be to survey the habitat by air and/or on the ground to ensure the assumptions of this work are correct. Without such ground-truthing, a precautionary approach suggests protecting and managing all those areas defined as good habitat, where possible. 8 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

9 Methods Bow River Station and Violet Valley Aboriginal Reserve in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia (Figure 2) were the focus of this project. Both are operational cattle properties on aboriginal land. These properties border the area where the highly successful Ecofire project has reduced late dry season fires through active fire management (Legge et al. 2010). Fire Mapping Annual fire history data for the period were downloaded from the North Australian Fire Information (NAFI) website ( These data delineate burnt area per month, mapped from MODIS satellite imagery at an on-ground pixel resolution of 250m². Habitat Mapping Land unit data were sourced from the Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food ( The data contained spatial information relating to landform, geology, soil and vegetation on Bow River and Violet Valley stations. This information was assessed by two independent Gouldian finch experts to determine the suitability of the classified land unit as general habitat and breeding habitat for Gouldian finches. The two assessments were merged and each land unit was classified as High, Moderate or Poor quality habitat for Gouldian finches. Two further classes of Nil and Unknown were also used where Nil represents unsuitable habitat for Gouldian finches and Unknown represents areas where land unit mapping data were missing. The expert assessments were also used to classify the land units as suitable or potential breeding habitat for Gouldian finches. M Fidler / WWF-Aus WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 9

10 10 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project Figure 2. Figure 2. Location of Kija Fire and Finch project, East Kimberley, Western Australia (from Geoscience Australia, 2006)

11 Results and discussion Fire histories for the project site indicate the occurrence of large late season fires occurring on average every two years since 2004 (Figures 3 8, with averages presented in Table 1). The pattern is typical of a two-year boom and bust cycle, particularly on Bow River, with significant large burns in the late dry season (i.e. in 2004 and 2006 more than 50% of the property burnt; Figures 3 and 5), followed by low levels of burning (2005 and 2007, less than 10% of the property burnt; Figures 4 and 6). Late season fires are defined as those occurring after August 1. Whilst this is in part an arbitrary date, it is a useful date to distinguish fire-weather patterns for the area. (Price et al., in press) Very little area on either property had no burning at all in the last six years (only 15% of Bow River and 7% of Violet Valley; Table 2). The majority of burning in the years of significant burns occurred in the late dry season (> 80% of the fires for Bow River were late dry for 2004, 2006 and 2009, > 90% of fires for Violet Valley in all years except 2005). No area was burnt in the late dry every year for the past six years, with the majority of the area being burnt once, twice or three times (Figure 9). Again this fits with a two-year boom bust cycle, likely resulting from insufficient fuel for consecutive late dry burns. Figure 10 depicts time since last burn, and illustrates how little land escaped burning during the survey period, with the majority of it burning in 2009, and what was not burnt then being burnt in either 2006 or M Fidler / WWF-Aus Gouldian finches, amongst other birds, drinking from a waterhole. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 11

12 better fire management is required to reduce late dry seas on fires These results clearly show that better fire management is required to reduce late dry season fires for conservation on these properties, and likely in the east Kimberley area more broadly. Planning for several properties in the greater region (Bow River, Durack River and Violet Valley) was undertaken by KLC in Fire planning and implementation also occurred in 2009 as part of the Kija Fire and Finch project. The catastrophic fire in the late dry of 2009 (Figure 8) illustrates that this planning was not sufficient to stop large late dry season burns. The early stages of the Kija Fire and Finch project were focused on engagement and training, and gathering necessary information for fire management for conservation. The focus of the fire planning in 2009 was focused on the protection of infrastructure and conservation of cultural sites. Threatened species conservation was not planned for as the areas of habitat on the property were not well known or clearly defined. Had the project continued in 2010, fire planning for conservation areas could have been included. Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis of habitat suitability highlighted large areas of both properties as being of moderately good quality habitat for Gouldian finches (Figures 11 and 12) with 20% of Bow River and 16% of Violet Valley being potentially high quality habitat (Table 2). Much of this habitat occurs around water courses. Monitoring sites were established at a number of waterholes in 2009 as part of this project (Figure 13). Small numbers of Gouldian finches were seen at one site on Bow River station but at the time of writing, location information for this site was not available, thus it is not shown on Figure 13. The majority of existing high quality finch habitat in the project area was burnt in 2007 or 2009 (Figure 14). Very little of the same high quality habitat was not burnt in the last six years, with the majority having been burnt once or twice, and small areas burnt three times (Figure 15). Areas burnt only once or twice in the past six years may still contain high quality habitat for finches. It is concerning to note that when such large areas are burnt at the same time, there is very little high quality habitat remaining for finches to use whilst the burnt areas recover. The goal for maintaining high quality finch habitat is to reduce the size of individual fires, thus creating a mosaic of finch habitat. 12 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

13 Recommendations for future planning Fire planning in the east Kimberley needs to include Gouldian finch habitat With large areas of suitable habitat occurring on both properties, maintenance and protection of high quality finch habitat should be achievable. Fire planning in the east Kimberley needs to include the consideration of Gouldian finch habitat, as active management is required to develop and maintain the optimum mosaic of habitats required by the species. Reducing the extent of individual fires should be a primary goal. Large-scale fires are characteristic of late dry season fires. Reduction of such extensive fires can be achieved through controlled burning in the early dry season as demonstrated by the Ecofire project (Legge et al. 2010). Creating a patch or mosaic landscape should also provide some protection against the large scale late dry burns like those seen in Gouldian finches are not the only species of concern in the east Kimberley region. Other priority species include the purple-crowned fairy wren, crested shrike-tit, northern shrike-tit, golden bandicoot, golden-backed tree-rat, and Carpentarian dunnart (ANRA, 2009). Part of fire planning for conservation should include the zoning of areas that are protected from fire altogether. Particular consideration should be made for the habitats of many or all threatened species present in the area. These fire plans need to be carefully implemented over several years and monitored by GIS fire analysis (as presented here) to determine whether the burning was implemented according to plan. Annual monitoring of Gouldian finches and other threatened species should also be carried out to see whether they exhibit positive responses to the management burning regime. Finally, there are many challenges in undertaking community-based conservation initiatives in remote areas such as the east Kimberley. Human capacity to undertake these activities is very limited, and threatened species projects are relatively expensive to conduct, even without the considerable investment required to build local capacity. To really achieve long- or even immediate-term conservation outcomes for the east Kimberley requires considerable commitment and investment. For the on-going protection of Gouldian finches and other threatened and valuable species in the east Kimberley, planning alone is not enough. Significant investment in training and long-lasting implementation of conservation programs is required. M Fidler / WWF-Aus WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 13

14 Table 1. Average area and proportion of Bow River and Violet Valley Properties burnt early and late in the year ( ). Total property sizes are 3017 km² and km² for Bow River and Violet Valley respectively. Burn Timing Bow River Violet Valley Area Area Area Area (km2) (% of property) (km2) (% of property) Burnt Early * Burnt Late** Burnt Total * Early Before 1 August ** Late - After 1 August Table 2. Area of habitat burnt late in the fire season, and number of times burnt, during the period Burn Timing Bow River Violet Valley Area Area Area Area (km2) (% of property) (km2) (% of property) Unburnt Once Twice times times times Table 3. Area and quality of potential Gouldian finch habitat on Bow River and Violet Valley properties. Habitat Quality Bow River Violet Valley Area Area Area Area (km2) (% of property) (km2) (% of property) High Moderate 1, Poor Not suitable Unknown Total 3, *Rounding errors mean percentages may not add to WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

15 Figure 3. Fire History 2004, showing those areas burnt in each month. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 15

16 16 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project Figure 4. Fire History 2005, showing those areas burnt in each month.

17 Figure 5. Fire History 2006, showing those areas burnt in each month. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 17

18 18 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project Figure 6. Fire History 2007, showing those areas burnt in each month.

19 Figure 7. Fire History 2008, showing those areas burnt in each month. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 19

20 20 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project Figure 8. Fire History 2009, showing those areas burnt in each month.

21 Figure 9. Late dry season fire frequency. Darker colours show areas of more frequent burning, and lighter colours show areas of less frequent burning. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 21

22 22 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project Figure 10. Fire history, Colours indicate year of last burn.

23 Figure 11. Areas of potential Gouldian finch feeding habitat, including indicators of habitat quality. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 23

24 Figure 12. Areas of suitable and potential Gouldian finch breeding habitat. Black triangles represent monitoring points. 24 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

25 Figure 13. Location of monitoring sites for the Kija Fire and Finch project. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 25

26 Figure 14. Time since last burn on Bow River and Violet Valley stations overlaid with areas of high and moderate quality Gouldian finch habitat. 26 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

27 Figure 15. Late dry season fire frequency on Bow River and Violet Valley stations overlaid with areas of high and moderate quality Gouldian finch habitat. WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 27

28 References ANRA (2009) Accessed January Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2011). Erythrura gouldiae in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra. Available from: Accessed January Geoscience Australia (2006) GEODATA TOPO 250K Series 3 Accessed January Legge S, Murphy S, Kingswood R, Swan D, Maher B (2010) EcoFire ; central and north Kimberley fire pattern analysis. Report by Australian Wildlife Conservancy and Rangelands NRM. Northern Australian Fire Information (NAFI) Accessed October O Malley, C. (2006). Recovery Plan for the Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae). WWF-Australia, Sydney and Parks and Wildlife NT, Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, NT Government, Palmerston. Russell-Smith. J, O. Price, Watt. F (in press) The Influence of Prescribed Fire on the Extent of Unplanned Fire in Savanna Landscapes of Western Arnhem Land, Australia, International Journal of Wildland Fire, CSIRO Publishing Russell-Smith, J., Yates, C., Edwards, A., Allan, G. E., Cook, G. D., Cooke, P., Craig, R., Heath, B. and Smith, R. (2003). Contemporary fire regimes of northern Australia, : change since Aboriginal occupancy, challenges for sustainable management. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12, Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food. Accessed October Acronyms used in this document AWC - Australian Wildlife Conservancy GIS Geographic Information System KLC Kimberley Land Council MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer NAFI North Australian Fire Information TSN Threatened Species Network ANRA Australia Natural Resources Atlas 28 WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project

29 Appendix 1. Land unit map used to identify potential habitat for Gouldian finches (from Geoscience Australia 2006). WWF-Australia Kija Fire and Finch Project 29

30 Notes

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32 Project FUNDING contributed BY: 100% RECYCLED WWF-Australia - celebrating a history of success Great Barrier Reef WWF has helped secure new highly protected areas that help recovery of fish populations and which build the resilience of the reef system. landclearing WWF has campaigned alongside farmers, industry, Indigenous communities and local and state governments to help see broadscale clearing of remnant bushland in Queensland significantly reduced. Kija Finch and Fire Report Ningaloo WWF has played a pivotal role in securing sanctuaries within Ningaloo waters. Earth Hour Earth Hour was co-founded by WWF-Australia and has evolved into one of the most recognised campaigns in history. Antarctica & the Southern Ocean WWF continues to promote sustainable fisheries and to protect seabirds from fishing and pest animals. Southwest Australia Ecoregion WWF helped to ensure that some 5,000 hectares of globally important, privately-owned bushland in WA s wheatbelt is protected. aus Why we are here To stop the degradation of the planet s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. wwf.org.au 1986 Panda symbol WWF WWF is a registered trademark WWF-Australia National Office Level 13, 235 Jones Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 GPO Box 528 Sydney NSW 2001 Tel: Freecall: Fax: enquiries@wwf.org.au nasa wwf.org.au