What we do

The challenges that threaten the survival of our biodiversity, whether at a global, regional or local level, have never been greater and, at times, seem insurmountable. In southern Australia, progressive and widespread land clearing over the last 150 years has seen the large tracts of native woodland that once dominated the landscape become fragmented and isolated.

The patches of temperate woodland that remain are also being degraded by an array of human-related processes: introduced and invasive plant and animal species, inappropriate fire regimes, firewood removal, erosion, overgrazing and climate change…. The list goes on. These processes pose a major threat to biodiversity in the region and, as a result, many species are in dramatic decline.

In working towards our vision of protecting and enhancing biodiversity in our region, our focus is on four key conservation targets:
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Protecting our woodland birds

Woodland birds and in particular, some species of small, resident, ground-foraging insectivores and some nectarivores, are in dramatic and ongoing decline in southern Australia*. This includes some iconic woodland species, such as Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata), Hooded Robin (Melanodryas cucullata), Bush Stone-Curlew (Burhinus grallarius), Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua), Speckled Warbler (Chthonicola sagittata) and Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor); all of which are listed as Threatened under Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988).

These and other species that are protected by legislation aren’t our only concern. There are others that haven’t yet made the official threatened species lists but are also, anecdotally, in decline.

Arresting this decline and stabilising existing populations of our woodland birds is a key conservation priority for the Kara Kara CMN and is the focus of our woodland birds project. To find out more, read our Strategic Plan.

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Hooded Robin, Melanodryas cucullata
(Photo: C. Tzaros)
Enhancing Box-Ironbark woodland habitat

Box and Ironbark-dominated open forests with variable understorey are the predominant woodland type in the Kara Kara CMN area. At the time of European settlement, this vegetation alliance covered about 13% of Victoria. Now, less than 17% of the original cover remains**. Most of this is concentrated in central Victoria, in a range that extends from St Arnaud in the west, through Bendigo and to Wodonga in the north-east.

Box-Ironbark forests - now classified as ‘depleted’ in Victoria - are home to around 1,500 plant and 250 vertebrate species**; many of which are unique to this ecological vegetation class.

Our objective is to halt the decline of Box-Ironbark woodland and improve the quality – that is, the structural complexity, and species and age class diversity - of this important habitat. This objective underpins many of our current projects and programs and is detailed in our Strategic Plan.

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Box-Ironbox forest
(Photo: D. Saxon-Campbell)
Reinstating native vegetation along creek lines

Native vegetation along creek lines connects remnant patches of woodland on both public and private land, and provides natural corridors of connectivity that aid plant and fauna dispersal, and the cycling of nutrients within the landscape.

The health of creek line systems in the Kara Kara CMN area is under threat from invasive weeds (especially after flooding events which aid seed dispersal), erosion, salinity, habitat simplification, and the impacts of introduced herbivores such as rabbits and hares.
One of our key aims is to map the condition of remnant vegetation along creek lines in the region and identify priority areas requiring remedial action through revegetation and other programs, as outlined in our Strategic Plan.

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Protecting our native orchids

The Kara Kara CMN area is home to many of Victoria’s spectacular native orchids, including some that are endemic to the region. Some of these species are listed as endangered or threatened under Federal and/or State legislation. Their preservation, and the protection and expansion of existing populations, is a conservation priority. Target species include the McIvor Spider Orchid (Caladenia audasii), Stuart Mill Spider-orchid (Caladenia cretacea), Red-cross Spider-orchid (Caladenia cruciformis), Brilliant Sun-orchid (Thelymitra mackibbinii), Lowly Greenhood (Pterostylis despectans) and Swamp Diuris (Diuris palustris).

Weed invasions, the loss of specialist insect pollinators, and habitat loss and simplification through fire, land clearing, unauthorised firewood collection and grazing pressure by rabbits, hares and macropods are all having an adverse impact on native orchid populations. Without intervention, many species face extinction.

To secure their future in the region, our strategies include surveying existing, and logging new, populations of both listed and non-listed native orchid species; monitoring their life stages through plant emergence, flowering and seeding; protecting orchid populations through the erection of exclusion fencing; and assisting with seed collection and species re-establishment programs in suitable habitat (under the authorisation and direction of the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries). More information is provided in our Strategic Plan.

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Stuart Mill Spider orchid, Caladenia cretacea
(Photo: A. Hughes)
Sources:
* Olsen P., Weston M., Tzaros C. & Silcocks A. (2005) The State of Australia’s Birds 2005: Woodlands and birds.
   Supplement to Wingspan, a publication of BirdLife Australia. 15, no. 4.
** Environment Conservation Council (ECC) (2001) Box‐Ironbark Forests & Woodlands Investigation: Final Report.
     Available from http://www.veac.vic.gov.au.
Page last reviewed: 03/12/2015