An assessment of the conservation values of the wetlands of the lower and middle reaches of the Daly River, Northern Territory ...

French, Veronica, 2007, An assessment of the conservation values of the wetlands of the lower and middle reaches of the Daly River, Northern Territory, against criteria for national heritage and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. MSc in World Heritage Management, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin. 188 p.

This thesis provides a summary of the natural, historical and cultural values of the wetlands in the Daly River region and evaluates them against criteria for National Heritage and Ramsar listing.

Wangamaty (Lower Daly River) Management Plan

ECOZ Environmental Services, (2004?)
The Wangamaty Landcare Group (WLG) initiated this study to investigate the adoption of an integrated management plan for the Lower Daly region. Recommendations include:

• implemention of a 5 year Weed Action Plan
• development of an up to date legislative framework and planning instrument to identify and rectify gaps in dealing with resource management issues
• recommendations for managing riparian zones, rainforest and wetlands
• identification of monitoring needs
• professional development with the WLG
• water allocation plan and natural resource management strategy
• pest animal study
• strategic fire management plan

Copy available for loan: NRETAS and DPI Library

Assessing riparian health in tropical savannahs

I. Dixon, J. Dowe and M. Douglas
Australian Landcare, March 2005, page 30,
A short report on the need for a rapid appraisal technique to be able to monitor the health of riparian vegetation. Also discussed are the trials of TRARC in different locations across the Northern Territory and how it compares to other methods of assessment.

Tropical Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition Version 1 (for use in tropical savannahs)

I. Dixon, M. Douglas, J. Dowe and D. Burrows
Land and Water Australia, 2006
The Tropical Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition (TRARC) is a visual assessment of the riparian zone using simple indicators of condition. It is designed to be user-friendly for the non-specialist and is best suited to savannah streams with a well defined channel and a distinct riparian zone and is not designed for estuaries or for floodplains adjacent to the riparian zone. This guideline provides step by step instructions for undertaking a TRARC assessment. The TRARC Version 1 described here is preliminary and subsequent iterations will be refined through further research and extensive field validation in different river types. Daly River was one of the first study rivers.

Adaptive Management of Ecologically Sustainable Development in the Douglas-Daly Region: The Adaptive Management Plan

Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association
GHD, NTCA and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry
The plan provides a “blueprint” for the conduct of adaptive management in the Douglas-Daly. It documents the area of land and issues over which it has application. It identifies the stakeholders and the procedures they use in conducting management of the plan, in determining their priorities, in establishing adaptive management programmes and in disseminating improved management procedures.
The plan relates to: that area of land defined by the ADMA Farms Area, the Stray Creek blocks, the Tipperary Group of Stations and Jindare Station in the Douglas-Daly Region (Fig. 1); the support industries, residents and school of this part of the Daly River catchment; and the ecological, social and economic relationships between that land and the remainder of the Daly Basin, and the people who live on and/or have a material interest in ensuring the ecologically sustainable development of that land. The adaptive management plan is developed and implemented through consensus among stakeholders. The stakeholders are members of the Douglas Daly Community Development Association Inc.

Copy available for loan at NRETAS and DPI Library

Katherine Region Heritage Study: Significant Natural Features and the Impact of Tourism

N. J. Gambold and K. A. Menkhorst
Environment Centre of the Northern Territory,

This report presents the results of a study aimed at providing detailed information on places of natural heritage significance in the greater Katherine region. It also examines past and possible future impacts of tourism on such places. As part of this process five sites have been nominated to the Register of the National Estate (RNE). This report also presents updated information on significant sites already listed on the National Estate Register and places previously reported to the Australian Heritage Commission. Data complied during the course of this study pertaining to rare, threatened or notable flora and fauna of the Katherine region are included as annotated species lists and it is hoped this may prove a useful tool for regional planners and other individuals with general interest in the Katherine environment.

This report combines tourism and conservation, listing the important areas in the Katherine region, which should be considered to be listed on the National Estate Register.

Conservation and Development Issues in North Australia

I. Moffatt and A. Webb
North Australia Research Unit, Australian National University,

This collection of papers/chapters provide information on conservation and development issues including methodologies for environmental management. It is an indication of current concerns and possible ways of promoting ecologically sustainable development in Australia's north. In chapters 11 "Managing the Magpie Goose in the Northern Territory: approaches to conservation of mobile fauna in a patchy environment", 17 "Towards a vegetation management strategy for the Northern Territory" and 19 "The Pastoral Industry in the Arid Zone of Central Australia" there is mention of the Daly River. A large majority of the chapters have some relevance to the land use/development issues of the Daly Region.

Draft conservation plan for the Daly Basin bioregion

Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment,

This draft plan is concerned with ensuring the protection of conservation values, such as providing breeding area, habitat and refuge for important wildlife populations, especially of fish, turtles, insects, waterbirds and crocodiles. The goal of this conservation plan is to ensure that the species, ecosystems and ecological processes present in the Daly Basin are adequately conserved.

This plan discusses the features of the Daly Basin bioregion; geology, soils, water, flora, fauna and the history of human occupation. The key threatening processes in the basin and the proposed mitigation measures are also detailed.

The informative conservation draft plan provides information on a large range of conservation issues within the study basin bioregion, also provided in the plan are control measures that have already been established and suggestions to further developing them.

Defining successional patterns and biodiversity values of north Australian eucalypt forests

J. Woinarski
NRETA Parks and Wildlife, Land and Water Australia
The objectives of this study are to: evaluate biodiversity and conservation values of tropical eucalypt forest re-growth across a time series; to evaluate biodiversity and conservation values of "mature" eucalypt forests, with specific reference to hollow formation and other attributes that may be useful in definition of "old growth"; and to apply both sets of knowledge to the development of enhanced management of these eucalypt forests, in particular to how re-growth vegetation should be assessed in clearing applications and whether "old growth" is a useful categorisation for these tropical eucalypt forests, whether it can be operationally defined , and whether this can be used in clearing assessments and other management. Management of eucalypt forests in northern Australia is currently hampered by lack of definition and knowledge of the forest dynamics and conservation values.
http://products.lwa.gov.au/products/pn21601

Landscape design for maintaining ecosystem services in tropical agricultural landscapes

J. Woinarski, Tony Griffiths
NRETA, Tropical Savannahs Management CRC
In Australia's monsoonal tropics, understanding of relationships between vegetation pattern and quality of ecosystem services is rudimentary. As part of a larger and longer-term suite of studies including water availability and quality, this project will examine relationships between designed configurations of retained native vegetation and the protection of local and sub-regional biodiversity, as well as the management challenges and costs created by different approaches to vegetation clearing and retention. Over the medium term, it will also contribute to studies of relationships of vegetation pattern and land use practice with other ecosystem services, including water availability and quality, and the maintenance of cultural values, including Indigenous cultural values.

Identify Aquatic Priorities for Inland Waters Across the Northern Territory

M. Kraatz, P. Jolly, M. Douglas and P. Lloyd
This project will provide information to enable more integrated decision making and planning relating to the Territory's inland aquatic ecosystems. It will review current information about these ecosystems (including wetlands, waterways and groundwaters), determine gaps in critical information for planning for sustainable resource use, prioritise research and monitoring work to fill these gaps and identify catchments and groundwater aquifers at risk from salinity, nutrients, toxins or sediment pollution, and recommend appropriate action. The work will be assisted by an Advisory Group with technical expertise to ensure all necessary information is gathered and assessed appropriately. The work will be done in collaboration with proposed projects under IW1 and IW2 assessing water monitoring requirements and environmental and cultural values. Analytical and risk assessment reporting will identify research and monitoring requirements for improving the information base for future natural resource management and the protection of inland waters.

Diversity of river life: bioregionalisation, conservationpriorities and predictive models of aquatic biodiversity

J. Hughes and B. Cook
Models will be developed relating the patterns of aquatic biodiversity to environmental drivers such as hydrology, climate, landform, riparian and aquatic habitat. This will help with predicting the effects of development scenarios in river catchments on biodiversity. Networks of areas with high biodiversity will be identified for conservation priority. This project will cover as many catchments as possible in northern Australia
http://www.track.gov.au/research.html

Daly River Catchment Conservation Plan

S. Gold, J. Woinarski, B. Baker and R. Pressey
The Conservation Plan will be developed over a 12 month period and will form the basis for maintaining the area’s important habitats and species. The Plan will seek to: enhance the existing reserve network; establish off-reserve conservation measures, including the use of conservation incentives, covenants, and other mechanisms for conserving biodiversity; provide an integrated approach to landscape management by complementing biodiversity conservation initiatives with water planning and land clearing regulations and guidelines. The first part of the project will entail detailed data gathering and scientific analysis of the area’s biodiversity values. Following the scientific analysis there will be a series of stakeholder consultations aimed at identifying ways in which landholders and the broader community can become better involved in conservation activities. The Conservation Plan will be based on a series of principles that guide our community’s expectations for, and interest in, resource use, conservation and regional planning.
http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/water/drmac/plan

Aquatic conservation values of the Daly River Catchment, Northern Territory, Australia

S. Blanch, N. Rea and G. Scott
WWF-Australia, Charles Darwin University and the Environment Centre NT, 2005
This report has assessed the Daly River system as being of national significance due to a range of aquatic conservation values. The report as been designed so that it will assist governments and communities as they seek to manage and protect the natural resources of the catchment. It provides the first relatively comprehensive assessment of the aquatic conservation values of the DRC. The assessment draws primarily upon information published in the scientific literature and from various reports by NT Government agency staff, as well as from observations made by researchers and people familiar with the Daly River. It provides descriptions of aquatic ecosystems and aquatic species of conservation value.