NPWS Richmond River Area Manager Mark Pittavino said that the burns will help to reduce risk to property and protect the natural and cultural values of the national parks.

“The purpose of the burns is to provide fuel-reduced areas which will help to prevent the spread of wildfire,” Mr Pittavino said.

The burns are as follows:

• Twenty hectares in the Evans Head Defence Air Weapons Range in Bundjalung National Park to help stop the spread of fire from military activities and protect assets.
• Seven hectares in Broadwater National Park off Wallum Drive, near Evans Head to protect properties.
• Five hundred hectares in Bundjalung National Park (West) adjacent to the Pacific Highway, fifteen kilometres south of New Italy, in order to provide a hazard reduced area to reduce the spread of wildfire across the landscape.

During the burns, roads will remain open but drivers should be aware of the potential for smoke across the roads.

“Strategic wildfire control is a high priority and this hazard reduction burning will lower fuel loads in the areas in order to reduce potential wildfire intensity in summer,” Mr Pittavino said.

“The area identified for strategic burning is a result of fire modelling as part of the NPWS’s fire management planning process.”

“The burns will commence in the middle of the day and be completed by nightfall. People should avoid the area where the burns are being conducted.

“The burns will be conducted by NPWS staff with the assistance of the Rural Fire Service.”

To allow these hazard reduction burns to proceed with a minimum of inconvenience, nearby residents are asked to undertake the following precautions and preparations before and during the burn:

• Ensure all windows and doors are closed, especially if you will be absent from your home at any time during this period.
• Ensure all children are supervised during the burn operation.
• Ensure pets are secured
• It would be best to not leave washing on the line if you will be absent from your home during this period.
• Do not create vehicular or pedestrian congestion near the operation.
• Only authorised personnel are permitted on the fire-ground for the duration of the operation.

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NPWS Pest Management Officer Lisa Wellman said that prior to the start of each program, which began in 2006, advertisements are placed in local newspapers to advise people that the baiting is commencing.

“The program is undertaken twice a year in spring and autumn and looks for evidence of wild dogs which can then be controlled,” Ms Wellman said. 

“Control programs are based around baiting programs, and monitoring is also undertaken to determine how successful the program has been.

“The reserves to be targeted this spring are Maryland, Toonumbar, Richmond Range, Mebbin, Mt Jerusalem, Bundjalung, Nightcap, Mt Pikapene, Fortis Creek and Goonengerry National Parks, Whian Whian State Conservation Area and Bungabbee and Muckleewee Mountain Nature Reserve.

“In Mount Pikapene National Park, south-west of Casino, the wild dog program is being conducted as a collaborative program with adjacent landholders for the first time. Monitoring will commence next week, with baiting to follow if required.

“About a dozen enthusiastic landholders are already involved in the program and will conduct baiting on their own properties in conjunction with control in the national park. We would like to encourage other landholders to join in.

“Landholders in areas nearby who wish to conduct baiting on their own properties should contact their local Livestock, Health and Pest Authority.

“Our monitoring allows us to target wild dogs in specific areas where they are found and in the past has shown that control has been effective.’
 
“We have received very positive feedback from the community in response to our programs. We encourage park neighbours to report wild dog incidents to the NPWS and the LHPA.”

For information on where wild dog control programs are taking place, contact your local NPWS office: Kyogle Area 6632 0000, Tweed Area 6670 8600, Richmond River Area 6627 0200, Clarence North Area 6641 1500.

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Fluke Matcher was developed by a team of researchers including Daniel Burns and Professor Peter Harrison, from Southern Cross University’s Marine Ecology Research Centre, and Dr Eric Kniest, from the University of Newcastle and was funded by the Australian Government.

Dan Burns said the whale research group was excited to be releasing this powerful new technology to the research community.

“Researchers from Australia and around the world have been collecting hundreds and sometimes thousands of fluke photographs to identify individual humpback whales over many years. We recognise whales by their tail fluke pigmentation and scarring patterns,” Mr Burns said.

“This is a valuable collection of data but because of the difficulty we have had comparing images within different catalogues, the potential of this resource has not been fully realised. Traditional methods have required substantial time, effort and expertise.

“With this computer-aided matching system, our knowledge and understanding can grow significantly from here. At present different research groups tend to use different programs, but we think Fluke Matcher will take photo-identification analysis to new levels and get everybody onto the same page, allowing different groups to collaborate and match their data more efficiently in a standardised way.

“We have already received interest from researchers around Australia and all over the world. We will be conducting training in Australia soon, and I will be travelling to Auckland in a few weeks to train researchers from the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, of which I’m also a member, in the use of the program. We also hope to collaborate with Northern Hemisphere scientists in the future.”

Mr Burns said that while computer-based matching systems had been developed for other marine species, including some cetaceans, Fluke Matcher was the first successful computerised system for humpback whales.

“The program uses various characteristics of humpback whale flukes to identify individuals, including black and white pigmentation distribution; angles and distances describing the shape of the fluke; and the location of distinctive features such as spots, lines and areas of damage,” Mr Burns said.

“When searching for a given fluke, the program then ranks all of the images in the database from the most likely to the least likely match for that fluke, and the operator then visually checks the ranked images to find any matches.

“Photo-identification is a valuable tool that allows whale researchers to determine various aspects of humpback whale biology and ecology, including estimates of abundance, migration patterns and interchange rates, and biological parameters such as calving and mortality rates.

“The collaborative aspect of this project is particularly important for improving our understanding of the movements and mixing of humpback whales on and between their feeding grounds in Antarctica and their breeding grounds in tropical and sub-tropical waters.

“This will help to determine the relationship between the endangered Oceania population and the faster-recovering east Australian population, the amount of mixing in the Antarctic and improve the accuracy of pre-whaling population estimates and recovery assessments.”

Professor Peter Harrison, director of the Marine Ecology Research Centre, said this was a significant development which would lead to greater international collaboration.

“This revolutionary tool will enable a much more efficient and collaborative use of data that is collected from around the world and will lead to improved management and conservation outcomes,” Professor Harrison said.

To find out more you can visit the Fluke Matcher website at: www.scu.edu.au/research/whales/fluke-matcher/index.php/3

PICTURE: The new Fluke Matcher computer program will enable researchers from around the world to collate humpback whale photographic catalogues.

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The Gillard Labor Government today released for the first time maps outlining the path for the new network to stretch across Australia under the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The maps:

• Show that every house, school and business in Australia will have access to high-speed broadband under the NBN
• Confirm optical fibre will be extended to 93 per cent of homes and businesses in more than 1000 cities and towns by the end of the roll-out
• Show how communities will be served by next generation wireless and satellite technologies under the NBN.

Ms Saffin said local cities and towns set to be connected to the optical fibre network include Alstonville, Ballina, Casino, Evans Head, Grafton, Iluka, Kyogle, Lismore, Woodburn, Wooloweyah, Woombah and Yamba.

“The NBN will offer speeds of 100 megabits per second – 100 times faster than many people experience today,” she said.

“And NBN Co will also deliver next generation wireless and satellite services with speeds of 12 megabits per second to local centres including Coutts Crossing, Lawrence, Urbenville and Woodenbong. This would provide average data rates more than 20 times higher than most users experience today.

“Today’s release of the maps follows the news earlier this month that Coffs Harbour would be one of the next roll-out sites for the NBN and the nerve centre for the roll-out to the North Coast corridor.”

Details of the NBN mapping is available at: http://www.alp.org.au/agenda/nbn/

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Now in his second year and ‘loving it’, Eli has won a NSW Sport and Recreation Indigenous Scholarship worth $10,000 over two years. The scholarship is part of the Rising Stars Scholarships program.

“This is going to make a huge difference to my financial situation,” Eli said.

“I study pretty well full-time doing four units, as well as working part-time as the assistant manager at Farmer Charlie’s Fruit Barn in Evans Head, but when you are living away from home, money is always tight.

“I am thrilled to have received this scholarship and it will help the budget and give me more financial security.

“It also proves to me that I can achieve good grades in my studies and has given me more of an incentive to add a further qualification to my skill set.

“Once I finish my Bachelor’s degree I plan to do a Graduate Diploma of Education so that I can have broader career options and the choice of becoming a PE teacher.

“Teaching is something I have always been interested in as well, so it would be great to be able to combine both sport and teaching in a career.”

Eli is a keen rugby league player, turning out in the centres for Evans Head Bombers in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League competition.

PICTURE: Eli Cook, recipient of a NSW Sport and Recreation Indigenous Scholarship.

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Peta Beeman, who is completing a Master of Marine Science and Management and is part of the University’s Marine Ecology Research Centre, is aiming to bring together photographs of individual whales from Victoria north to the Whitsunday Islands.

Her project aims to provide a better understanding of humpback whale migration timing, travel speed and movement patterns.

Through her project, being undertaken with the support of Whale Watching Byron Bay, she is collecting photos of humpback whales from tourists and tour operators along the Australian east coast, from the Whitsunday Islands to southern Victoria.

“These photos will be used to create a fluke catalogue that will significantly expand the range of individually identified humpback whales along the Australian east coast,” Ms Beeman said.

“Each season many encounters with humpbacks will be photographed by operators and tourists and some of these photos can provide potentially useful scientific information. These are an untapped source of valuable data.

“The photos I am particularly interested in show the unique pigmentation pattern on the ventral surface (underside) of the tail fluke that enables individual whales to be identified.

“Each of these photographs will be matched against photographs from other locations and other years. This opportunistic data can prove to be extremely valuable to build information about life histories, movement patterns and the timing of migration.

“For example, if a known individual whale is photographed at different points on its east coast migration path, the travel speed, timing of migration, association patterns and whether it has a calf is important information that can be incorporated into a long-term population-level dataset.”

Ms Beeman said anyone who contributed would receive feedback on the individual whale, such as whether it had been seen previously. A website was also being developed so people could upload their photos of tail flukes.

“Throughout the whale watching season, while working as a whale watch guide at Byron Bay, I photograph the tail flukes of humpback whales and record behavioural data,” she said.

“The number of whales heading north has been building since late May and in the last couple of weeks we have seen a lot of competitive behaviour between adult whales, such as lunging at each other, breaching and slapping the surface of the water with their tails.

“We have also been hearing whale song when we listen on the vessel’s hydrophone. The singing and competitive activity are both typical behaviour during the breeding season.”

Professor Peter Harrison, director of the Marine Ecology Research Centre, said this project was part of the ongoing work of the Centre, which was vital for the protection and management of humpback whales.

Last year the Centre prepared a major report on the Global Conservation Status of Cetaceans for the Federal Government, which listed 14 species of whales and dolphins as threatened.

“There are a range of serious threats facing cetaceans, including ongoing whaling. These issues and their impacts on the global status of cetaceans are being examined through this project and other work being done in collaboration with international research and conservation groups,” Professor Harrison said.

Ms Beeman’s project is being supported by Whale Watching Byron Bay.

Anyone interested in more information or contributing photographs can contact Peta at peta.beeman@internode.on.net

PICTURE:Humpback whales can be individually identified through photographs of their flukes (tails). Photo by Peta Beeman.

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National Parks and Wildlife (NPWS) Ranger Holly North said that as recently as the 1980s, emus were widespread in coastal NSW from Port Stephens to Evans Head.

“Today the coastal emu is found only between Red Rock, south of Grafton, and Evans Head,” Ms North said.

“The main threats facing our emus are collisions with vehicles and egg and chick predation by foxes and dogs.

“The North Coast emu is now separated into three distinct sub-populations, one in Yuraygir National Park south of the Clarence River, one in Bundjalung National Park north of the Clarence, and one in the Richmond River floodplain about 10 to 30 kilometres inland of the coast.

“The NPWS has been running annual North Coast emu surveys using community volunteers for 10 years, and in that time the distribution of this population has contracted by about 60%.

“The new brochure encourages people who see emus to report them to NPWS.

“We would like to know where they are nesting, what habitats are preferred for nesting, and whether there are genetic differences between this coastal population and emus in western NSW.

“We hope to obtain DNA samples, find out more about their nesting behaviour and determine numbers and distribution of the endangered population.

“In Bundjalung National Park and Iluka Nature Reserve, numbers have decreased dramatically over the last few years and we would be particularly interested in any sightings in this area.

“The emus are currently nesting and chicks hatch in August to September. The males raise the chicks and can lose up to a third of their body weight while sitting on the eggs for two months.

“Drivers are encouraged to slow down in emu areas and keep dogs under control.

“Community support for protecting local emus is the key to their survival.”

PICTURES: Male emus incubate the eggs, and remain with chicks until they are 18 months old (photo NPWS). Emus at Yuraygir National Park (photo Helen Worthing). 

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The program, a joint initiative of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Land and Property Management Authority (LPMA) and North Coast Livestock Health and Pest Authority (LHPA), has been successful in increasing fledgling numbers of one of the most significant bird populations in the area, the Pied Oystercatcher.

NPWS Ranger, Holly North, said that Mobbs Bay, in Richmond River Nature Reserve, will be included in the program for the first time this year due to its importance to shorebirds.

“Mobbs Bay has a range of habitat, including mangroves and wetlands that provide habitat for shorebirds including threatened Beach Stone-curlews, Pied Oystercatchers and numerous migratory species to forage, roost and breed,” Ms North said.

“1080 baits will be laid in the coastal area between the Richmond River and 10 Mile Beach in Bundjalung National Park from July 5 to December 19 2010. All areas including the beach that are baited will be signposted.

“While 1080 fox baits are designed to kill foxes, they can also kill dogs, so it is important that people only take their dogs to areas that are designated dog exercise areas.

“The co-operation of beach users in avoiding disturbance to shorebirds on the beach or dunes is crucial to the survival of the population.

“In particular four-wheel-drive vehicles should time their trips to the beach to ensure they only drive at low tide to avoid driving above the high tide mark where Pied Oystercatchers nest.”

Ms North said the fox is the Pied Oystercatcher’s main predator, as they seek out clutches of eggs laid in shallow depressions in sand dunes just above the high tide mark. 

“The baiting program aims to reduce fox numbers prior to the Pied Oystercatcher’s breeding season, which begins in August,” she said.

“The state population of Pied Oystercatchers is only about 250 individuals and the South Ballina to Iluka population is identified as a statewide priority in the Fox Threat Abatement Plan.

“Last year 10 young Pied Oystercatchers fledged in this area.”

* Australian Seabird Rescue is looking for wardens to assist beach users to minimise impacts to breeding birds at high priority sites. This initiative has been funded by Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority. Interested people should contact ASR for further information at admin@seabirdrescue.org.

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A number of homes have been destroyed, power lines are down and a number of caravans have been overturned at the Lennox Head Caravan Park.

The storm hit the township of Lennox Head around 7.30am today (Thursday 3 June).

Police urge all local residents to stay inside their homes and to contact the State Emergency Service should they require assistance on 132 500. In the case of emergencies call Triple Zero (000).

Pacific Parade, Lennox Head, has been closed to traffic and residents are asked to stay away from this area as power lines are down and are considered dangerous.

Further details with respect to evacuation centres will be supplied in due course.

The SES reports that, according to the Bureau of Meteorololgy, a trough lying off the New South Wales North Coast has deepened overnight, leading to the development off a low pressure centre off the coast.

Widespread showers and rain are expected over the north-east of the state during this time, with the chance of local thunderstorms.

Later today and on Friday the low is forecast to move slowly south, before moving away to the Tasman Sea on Saturday.

Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce large hailstones, very heavy rainfall and flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours. Intense waterspouts near these thunderstorms may also produce destructives winds. Locations which may be affected include Lismore, Lennox Head, Byron Bay, Ballina, Brunswick Heads, and Evans Head.

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Collaboration between the tourism industry and four NSW regional tourism organisations, including Northern Rivers Tourism, along with $500,000 received through the Australian Government’s TQUAL Grants program, has provided the opportunity to develop the new brand and create new marketing opportunities. 

“The brand repositions the section of the Pacific Highway between Sydney and Brisbane as a place where personal memories and legendary experiences are waiting to be created by today’s travellers. The Legendary Pacific Coast represents a touring destination that embraces the open road, the freedom and both the magnificent beaches and hinterland that lie to either side,” said the CEO of Northern Rivers Tourism, Russell Mills.

“It stretches for more than 200 kilometres right through our region, so the rebranding and intended marketing will be of great benefit to the Northern Rivers.”

Industry and stake holders will be invited to take part in a suite of innovative and targeted opportunities from a new website, tourist signposting along the route, media and brand activities and a technology campaign, to provide an innovative approach to visitors planning to travel The Legendary Pacific Coast.

The Legendary Pacific Coast brand campaign is being communicated to attendees at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in Adelaide, up to 4 June. It will also provide the platform to announce a Road Show planned for the 1 to 5 November for The Legendary Pacific Coast. 

The Road Show will begin at Sydney Harbour Bridge and complete its journey at the Story Bridge, Brisbane. 

“We will be getting right behind the Road Show when it reaches the Northern Rivers as it will be a significant media and touring event to heighten the profile of The Legendary Pacific Coast for travellers along the new Pacific Coast corridor,” Mr Mills said.

The Legendary Pacific Coast project was initiated by PCTR Inc, which was formed by four North Coast Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) – Central Coast Tourism, Hunter Regional Tourism Organisation, Mid North Coast Tourism and Northern Rivers Tourism, in March 2008 to manage Australia’s most popular and the fastest-growing corridor and tourism initiative in Australia. 

The project is overseen by a Project Management Committee comprising of the CEO’s and industry representatives from each RTO. 

Enigma, a leading advertising agency, is working closely with The Legendary Pacific Coast project, following its work on the Barrington Tops project, to develop the brand and communication activities for this project.

Collectively The Legendary Pacific Coast accounts for nearly 22 million visitors to NSW, and over 33 million visitor nights. Total expenditure was $5.4 billion in 2008.

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