Municipality
Huon Valley
Funding Status
Partially Supported
Achievement Plans
Friends of Maatsuyker Island (FOMI) long-term program aims to prevent weed impacts by targeting blackberry, Veronica elliptica & Montbretia with complementary short-tailed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) population monitoring & assessment of habitat rehabilitation. Systematic, annual survey, treatment & monitoring of the 3 key weed species are undertaken, with Fulcrum app aiding data management efficiency. This project includes 2 working bees using trained volunteers to undertake crucial follow-up weed control & shearwater breeding monitoring over the 2019/20 season.
Methods
Small (4 volunteers, 5-day, Dec 2019) & larger (6 volunteers, 10-day, March 2020) working bees on Maatsuyker Island: 1.Surveys to map & record weed data, ensuring all known sites checked. 2.Weed treatment using best practice methods (endorsed by government & independent ecologists). Trained volunteers use cut-and-paste, spraying & manual pulling techniques. 3.Annual photo-points. 4.Implement rigorous biosecurity procedures for working bees. 5.Monitor short-tailed shearwater study plots in Dec (incubation) & March (pre-fledging chicks), including previously weed-infested sites.
Natural Values
Maatsuyker Island, located within SW National Park & Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), has significant tea-tree & melaleuca dominated coastal shrub & forest vegetation. The island has the largest shearwater colonies in southern Tasmania. Significant burrow-nesting seabirds include breeding populations of EPBC Act (1999) listed species soft-plumaged petrel (Pterodroma mollis), short-tailed (Ardenna tenuirostris) and sooty shearwater (A. grisea). Weed invasion previously impacting Maatsuyker’s unique vegetation structure & breeding habitat suitability for burrow-nesting seabirds.
Amount
$10k - $20k
