Diario del proyecto Saving our Black Cockatoos Southwest Australia

https://birdlife.org.au/events/alcoa-foundation-spring-cocky-count/

Alcoa Foundation Spring Cocky Count
Date Sunday, 8 October 2023
Time 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Locations The Greater Perth–Peel Region

Contribute to Cockatoo Conservation
Join the Alcoa Foundation Spring Cocky Count, an annual event since 2018, dedicated to monitoring Forest Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo roost sites in the Greater Perth–Peel Region.

By participating, you’ll be contributing to our understanding of their movements and conservation to ensure their survival.

The next Alcoa Foundation Spring Cocky Count is scheduled for Sunday 8 October, with registrations opening on Monday 21 August and closing on Sunday 24 September (2 weeks before the count).

If you know of any Forest Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo roosting sites in this area that are occupied in spring, please let us know by emailing us via the contact form on this page, or on the registration form.

The Great Cocky Count and Alcoa Foundation Spring Cocky Count is supported by the Alcoa Foundation, and forms part of the Alcoa Community Black-cockatoo Recovery Project.

To register click on the link below.

https://birdlife.org.au/events/alcoa-foundation-spring-cocky-count/#gform_31

Our iconic WA Black Cockatoos need your help!

US mining giant Alcoa is seeking to mine another 9,600 hectares of unique Jarrah forests our beloved WA Black-Cockatoos need.

Right now, we have an opportunity to ensure the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) reviews Alcoa's latest proposals in a Public Environmental Review (PER).

There is a short period to have your say, submissions close on August 15th!

If you agree with BirdLife WA that such a large proposal needs a thorough, public review that will take into consideration all current knowledge and the true impact on our birds, please add your voice to get the EPA to assess Alcoa's proposal as a Public Environmental Review (PER) - the highest level of assessment.

It's incredibly easy to have your say! Just:

click the link to make a submission,
add your details,
and simply select your recommended level of assessment.
We urge you to select: "Assess - Public environmental review"
You can add your own detailed comments and reasoning during your submission, if you wish to, but it's entirely optional; the vital thing is that we get the proposal reviewed in the most comprehensive and public manner - aka via Public environmental review.​​​

Have your say on Alcoa's proposal!

https://consultation.epa.wa.gov.au/seven-day-comment-on-referrals/bauxite-mining-darling-range/?fbclid=IwAR1BiLl9mpnwjleitXowMPzFAUa0FswzIbmnxaUefTSKzT_bhJHDBr-JQQ8

Submissions close next Tuesday, August 15th! Don't miss this unique opportunity to have your say, and to help our precious WA Black-Cockatoos!

Some of BirdLife WA's key concerns, which you are welcome to include,
if you want to add optional comments in your submission:

We need increased controls to protect our drinking water from mining impacts. Birds like Black-Cockatoos need clean, safe drinking water in close proximity to roosting and breeding sites. Water is precious. In our drying climate our community must be certain that our families, our forests, and our birds are not be left thirsty, or with contaminated water.
Should Alcoa's proposed bauxite mining be approved, the threats to our iconic WA Black-Cockatoos will be substantially increased. Forest Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos are having to forage more frequently on the Swan Coastal Plain, and Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo are already Critically Endangered under the IUCN - for both species these problems are linked to the ongoing destruction of their forest homes.
In 60 years, Alcoa has not demonstrated that they can successfully rehabilitate Jarrah forests. The only result has been less forest for our birds.
Social values have changed since bauxite mining commenced in the Northern Jarrah Forest. The destruction that was encouraged then is unacceptable, now, because we care about the future of our birds.
Bauxite mining operators have failed to reassure the WA community that rehabilitation following mining operations will adequate replace the habitat values that have been lost.
We at BirdLife WA need your help, to ensure Alcoa's proposals are properly assessed, as a Public Environmental Review (PER).

Please make a submission today, to ensure your voice is heard before August 15th!

Yours sincerely

BirdLife Western Australia logo
Dr Mark Henryon
Advocacy Committee Chair
BirdLife Western Australia

file:///D:/Users/Owner/Downloads/bushland_news_issue_126_winter_2023.pdf

Bushland News is a quarterly newsletter of Urban Nature, a Department of Biodiversity,
Conservation and Attractions Parks and Wildlife Service program to support community
involvement in bushland conservation.

Includes information on all 3 black cockatoo species.

Alcoa's Bauxite mining on the Darling Range in the southwest of WA for the years 2022 to 2026 & 2023 to 2027

US mining giant Alcoa is seeking to mine another 9,600 ha of our unique Jarrah forest for bauxite.

For the first time in the company's 60-year history in WA, we have the chance to ask the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to review Alcoa's latest mining proposals in a Public Environmental Review (PER).

This is unique because you now have the opportunity to have your say. Alcoa's mining proposals are normally assessed behind closed doors by the state government.

The BirdLife WA branch is strongly opposed to Alcoa's proposals.

If you agree with us, we urge you to make a brief submission calling on the EPA to assess Alcoa's proposal as a PER - the highest level of assessment.

Simply click on this link: https://consultation.epa.wa.gov.au/seven-day-comment-on-referrals/bauxite-mining-darling-range/

Add your details and select your recommended level of assessment. We urge you to select

"Assess - Public environmental review".

If you wish, you can also add your reasoning.

Some of our concerns that you may want to mention are:

• Not only will Alcoa's mining proposal threathens our public water supply, it will have significant impact on broader surface and groundwater resources which will effect remaining native vegetation, including mature vegetation suitable for black-cockatoos.

• It will impact our black-cockatoos. Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo are Critically Endangered, due in part to loss of forest habitat. Forest Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos are having to forage more frequently on the Swan Coastal Plain due to loss of their forest habitat. Should the proposed bauxite mining be approved, the threats to these threatened species will be substantially increased.

• Even in 60 years, Alcoa has been unable to demonstrate that they can successfully rehabilitate Jarrah forests. The only result has been less forest for our birds.

• Social values have changed since bauxite mining commenced in the Northern Jarrah Forest. The destruction that was encouraged then is not acceptable now. This includes care for the future of our birds.

• Bauxite mining has lost social license by not assuring the community of WA that rehabilitation following mining operations will adequate replace the habitat values that have been lost.

HOLLOW SEARCH CALL OUT

BirdLife WA is on the lookout for some excellent tree hollows that are of breeding size for Black Cockatoos. As part of our Breeding program, we are always interested in the location of new breeding sites for our endangered black cockatoo species here in Western Australia. But we can’t be everywhere at once and WA is a big place. That’s why we need you! So, the next time you are walking along in our beautiful southwestern forest and come across a hollow that might very well be a Black Cockatoo hollow, let us know!

BirdLife has set up a survey through an app called Survey 123 from ArcGIS. All you have to do is download Survey123 on your phone through your Google Store or Apple Store. You can then follow the link in this article (through the QR code or through the link) which will take you to the survey which can be opened in the app. Once you have downloaded the survey on your phone, you can open it at any given moment (even when offline) and fill in the survey when you discover a hollow. It even allows you to take a picture of the tree so we can easily find it again later on. When you complete the survey you save it in the outbox and when you are back in range of internet you can send the survey from the outbox. BirdLife will receive this information then and will know exactly where the hollow was seen and what it looks like.

We are still in need of hollow locations in the Southwest as we lack data in this region. This is becoming more and more important as we are seeing a lot of development in places like Margaret River and others, where hollow bearing trees might come under threat. In addition, if you see a tree hollow but it is being used by a Corella, we still want to know about it for our invasive species project. As Corellas are direct competitors with Black Cockatoos for hollows this is also important information.

Link for Survey123 (Apple): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/arcgis-survey123/id993015031

Link for Survey123 (Google Play): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details...

Follow this link for the survey or use the QR code in comments below: https://survey123.arcgis.app/...

If you would like to participate and would like more information on the Hollow survey and how to conduct it, please feel free to get in touch with Sam Rycken at sam.rycken@birdlife.org.au

The Baudin’s is by far the least-known of the three black cockatoo species in WA. Carnaby’s can often be found soaring through the urban landscapes of Perth which means people are far more familiar with it, despite low populations. On the other hand, the forest-dwelling Baudin’s prefer the protection of a high roost, which makes them a difficult research subject.

“They’re less visible, there’s a lot less research on them in comparison to the Carnaby’s and they are much less known, so I think they’re a bit forgotten,” says Adam Peck, black cockatoo project coordinator at Birdlife Australia.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/19/i-dont-think-many-people-know-they-exist-how-mistaken-identity-threatens-the-baudins-cockatoo?fbclid=IwAR3HG1w3OlbpASTLnAuc0GFMpo8xwLac710xam_LUQ5UJwV-8HWZq95hC9g

New page for Baudin's Black Cockatoo's on Birdlife Australia's website. Includes audio of calls, photo's and information re breeding, feeding etc.

https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/baudins-black-cockatoo/#

New developments are ever encroaching on bushland in the region. As sometimes important habitat stands to be cleared, we are on the lookout for information that could protect certain sites. In specific, we would like to know where black cockatoos breed so we can report this to DBCA and further protection is given to these sites.

This is especially important in your area where unique and diverse Jarrah Forest provides breeding habitat for the three threatened species of Black Cockatoo in Western Australia.
Made up of dense forest and extremely large trees it has presented a challenge to find and inspect hollows in the region.

We are hoping to gain more information on breeding sites anywhere from Augusta to Busselton and inland to Nannup, Bridgetown and Manjimup. It is important to have sites like these listed with Birdlife WA, as knowledge on these adds to the protection of their breeding habitat and the surrounding foraging habitat.
We are after sites where there are trees with hollows that are 10cm to 20cm (or above) in diameter with chipping on the side of the entrance or where black cockatoo activity around the hollow has been seen.

If you know of any sites in the south-west where you suspect black cockatoos are breeding, please feel free to contact either myself or Christine Wilder.

Dr Sam Rycken - WA Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo Coordinator

BirdLife WA

Dear CCA members and friends,
We have another opportunity for comment and to make a difference for Cocanarup.

The Bulletin Resources application (now referred to as Ravensthorpe Lithium Project) was referred to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) WA in February and they are now at the point of deciding:
a) whether they should assess the proposal and, if so,
b) what level of assessment is considered appropriate.
There is a 7-day period in which the public have opportunity to comment on these questions. The period ends next Tuesday May 2nd.
Apart from sound arguments, evidence of widespread community concern about this proposal may influence the EPA decision as to whether to assess the proposal or not. We therefore urge you to make a comment. The important thing is to ask for the proposal to be assessed at Public Environmental Review level.
Having a say at this stage should only take a few minutes. What you do is:
a) Go to this link: https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/proposals/ravensthorpe-lithium-project-exploration

• click on ‘1. Referral’ at bottom of the page.
• Click on ‘Ravensthorpe Lithium Project’ in the first line under ‘Referral’

• Click on ‘complete this form to comment ….’
b) Complete the form

• Q 5. Check the ‘Assess – Public Environmental Review’ box

• Q 6. Give a reason, as brief as you like, in your own words explaining your concern about this proposal, e.g. “this is an important Carnaby’s black-cockatoo nest area and I are concerned about their future”;
c) Follow prompts to submit your form. Done! Thanks!

Please note:

It would also be really worthwhile if you can email both the WA Minister for the Environment Hon. Reece Whitby Minister.Whitby@dpc.wa.gov.au and the federal Minister for the Environment, Hon.Tanya Plibersek Minister.Plibersek@dcceew.gov.au saying that you are concerned about clearing in Cocanarup and you want the EPA to assess this proposal at the Public Environmental Review level.

That could take another 3 minutes but it is important because this might end up being a political decision.

Thank you for the magnificent support that you have given Cocanarup and the black-cockatoos thus far.

Finally, if you haven’t seen the ABC news article from last Sunday check this out https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-23/carnaby-cockatoo-black-cocanarup-bulletin-resources-ravensthorpe/102238182

Kind regards,
Rosemary Jasper

Chairperson,
Cocanarup Conservation Alliance Inc.
PO Box 30
Ravensthorpe 6346
Ph: 0428 123 400
https://cca.asn.au/

Dear CCA members,
I apologise for two emails in the one day – both asking for action – but there is another proposal before the EPA which threatens critical habitat for Carnaby’s black-cockatoo, this time in the Geraldton area. I have been asked to bring this to your notice.

Are you able to put in a comment on this proposal as well as the Ravensthorpe Lithium Project – they are both part of the same story - ‘loss of habitat of the Endangered Carnaby’s black-cockatoo’?

Again we need to ask for the proposal to be assessed at the level of ‘Public Environmental Review’.

There is FIVE days left to comment on the EPA referral for the huge Beharra sand mining operations around Geraldton which involves a massive 540 hectares of Banksia heath - and another 90ha of swampland that includes Banksia. This is essential foraging area for flocks in the immediate post-breeding season (when needing to stock up on food and feed dependent young) AND the consultants (Bamfords) reported suspected breeding birds foraging within the site during breeding season, and noted that there was breeding habitat within daily foraging distance of the site.

**If you have only 2 minutes, go here Beharra Silica Sand Project - Environmental Protection Authority - Citizen Space (epa.wa.gov.au)
And click on “Complete this form to comment on the referred proposal” – and ask for it to be assessed by the EPA at the level of “Public Environmental Review”

**If you have 5 minutes, add a couple of notes as per below to give your reasons.
Quick summary of key points (these points have been compiled following a careful review of the referral documents)
• Carnaby’s cockatoos are continuing to decline towards extinction because of lack of foraging habitat NOW – so the only way to reverse their declines is to give them MORE foraging habitat, not less.
• Government regulators, including the EPA, have so far failed to halt Carnaby’s cockatoo declines, let alone reverse them. Clearly something needs to start being done differently by regulators
• It is well known that the only way to reverse black-cockatoo declines is to halt and reverse habitat loss in the immediate term. This mine site will involve clearing of 538 ha of banksia heath (and another 90 ha of other vegetation), full of several different Banksia species that are primary food sources for Carnaby’s cockatoos, in an area that is known to be a foraging area for post-breeding flocks (when they return to coastal areas after breeding inland, with their dependent young), and in an area where surveys indicate that there may be some local breeding too, including suspected breeding birds feeding INSIDE the proposed clearing footprint.
• There are also several known roost sites close to this proposed clearing site, together housing several hundred Carnaby’s cockatoos that all need enough foraging habitat nearby to sustain them while they are at those roosts.
• Importantly, due to seasonality of food availability, at any one time most foraging habitat may not be producing fruit/flowers (food sources), so sufficient habitat needs to be retained to ensure there is always some food available for local flocks.
• Very importantly, the mine proponents say they will rehabilitate the area after mining, but it is well known there is no way known at present to restore Banksia habitat effectively – and no evidence that a way will be found.
If you have been able to make comment on this, thank you!
Kind regards,
Rosemary Jasper

Chairperson,
Cocanarup Conservation Alliance Inc.
PO Box 30
Ravensthorpe 6346
Ph: 0428 123 400
https://cca.asn.au/