Interperative Signage.

A new birding guide? 

Funding Priorities .

Fire Management.

1.    Opening. Heather opened the meeting at 9.10 am

2.    Minutes of the meeting on 26 August 2007 were accepted as a true record.

3.    Business arising from minutes

a)    FOFD park sign. Barry Scott advised this is due for completion on Tuesday 30 October.
b)    Lanoline treatment of Woodland to Waterlily boardwalk. Barry Scott advised parks is ready for us to proceed. JH to contact Barry about Friday 3 October for directions on how to apply the lanoline.
c)    Map on application form flier. With Niven for drawing.
     

4.    Correspondence In:   

·    2 October email from Barry Scott: (!) advising a planner (Prue Adamson) has been engaged to work on Adelaide River Parks including Fogg Dam Plan of Management. She starts work on Tuesday 30 October.  The PoM will have a development section and any funding proposals from FOFD wil need to be consistent with this. (2) Also noted the progress on the FOFD sign.
·    Invitation to Landcare awards reception at parliament House.
·    Email from Pete Foster advising that groups of 10-12 secondary school students can be available as volunteers from March 2008. They would be accompanied by a supervisor.
·    19 October, Ted Warren forwarded the Parks and Wildlife Minister’s response to our boardwalk petition. Disappointing. Boardwalk replacement is designed to use low maintenance, long lasting materials and construction more suited to wet environment, preliminary cost estimates for materials and fabrication are in the vicinity on $1.0 million, excluding labour; the boardwalk will be considered for inclusion on Dept of Natural Resources Environment and the Arts capital works program next year; funding allocation for park infrastructure works is determined in line with priorities of the whole of parks across the NT.
·    27 October, email from Barry Scott attaching the old information sheet about trees along the Monsoon Forest Walk.
·    Denise received two replies to her letter to Tourism Minister Henderson with copies to Parks Minister Lawrie, Gerry Wood and Ted Warren. Minister Henderson acknowledges importance of birdwatchers as tourists.
              Correspondence Out:
·    30 Sep, email to CDU students who expressed interest n volunteering at Fogg Dam.

Correspondence accepted: Moved  Jeremy, seconded Michael.

5.    Business Arising from Correspondence

·    Student volunteers from March: no response as yet.
·    Monsoon Forest Boardwalk: Strategies to enhance funding were discussed, including input to Management Plan, lobbying with letters to politicians, newspapers/editors, seeking grants eg ConocoPhillips, Landcare, etc. Barry Scott advised the $1.0 million price estimate includes the boardwalks at both the start and end of the walk and that construction could be staged.
·    Landcare awards: Leisa Baldwin plans to attend.

6.    Financial report 

$530.00 in bank, less bank charge for one cheque. 33 financial members.
.  

7.    Election of Committee members

Committee positions were not filled at the September AGM and can be filled as casual vacancies. Stride, Alan and Gemina A were asked if they would like to join the committee. Strider declined, Alan Anderson accepted, Gemina is able to join the committee but probably won’t be able to attend many meetings.

8.    Monsoon Forest interpretive signage

A work in progress following the earlier inspection by Strider and Alan A to create a pilgrimage walk with signage of significant trees, their names, uses and importance. Could include hazard warnings where appropriate, eg of itchy grubs, etc.

Barry Scott suggested FOFD seek to have the rice project and its key Fogg Dam sites recognised in the Plan of Management and/or Heritage listings.

9.    Birding Guide Development

Alan A has checked with Parks on who funded production of the guide to birds that might be found in the George Brown Botanical Gardens but there’s no clear answer. Denise offered her bird drawings and will suggest birds for inclusion.  

10.    Funding Priorities

Suggestions for spening FOFD money include information sheets (birds, trees), a telescope or binocular for the Pandanus Lookout, and signage.
Barry Scott said he/Parks would support as much as he can and will consider any specific ideas put forward by FOFD, this might include printing. Parks involvement would require inclusion of the Parks logo and the level of funding could depend on whether the job is handled in-house or contracted out. Barry commented the notice structure outside Middle Point village which he had earlier suggested FOFD might use, does not appear to meet the Parks’ specifications for use within Fogg Dam reserve.

11.    Formal Submission to Fogg Dam PoM

Barry suggested that FOFD concentrate on the Plan of Management at this stage rather than look for bigger projects. Prue Adamson is to contact us on this. Parks aims to complete the Fogg Dam PoM in 12 months.

12.    Other business

a)    Website maintenance: deferred.
b)    Donation box: Location of a donation box was discussed and agreement reached that the first hide and the Pandanus Lookout are the best spots for these.

13.    Barry Scott, Chief Ranger: Fire management

Barry has been involved with the Fogg Dam area for 8 years. Initially he saw that firebreaks in the area were inadequate: too few and not wide enough.
Fire breaks have three roles: to protect life and limb, infrastructure and ecology. They don’t stop fires but do provide access for fire control.
Better and more strategic fire breaks have been built and Bush Fires Council has assisted by putting pressure on landowners to improve their fire breaks.
Prevailing winds are from the south east with a sea breeze about 4.00pm from the north and along the Adelaide River.

Harrison Dam has long been a problem. The track at the  back of the farms on the eastern side of Anzac Parade has bee widened, effort is made to keep machines out, fuel banks are sprayed along the bush edge then burnt early in the dry. This does give an advantage their to plants that like fire but this is monitored and in Djukbinj, where Aborigines regularly burn, the land recovers well.

Fogg Dam fire management has improved a lot with wider  and improved breaks. DPIFM is helping by grazing gamba to the south of Middle Point village and the new owner of the Syrimi block on the west of Anzac Parade is keen to eradicate gamba from that block.

Previously, local landowners and volunteers would burn the old CSIRO forest block and on occasion these caused infrastructure damage within Fogg Dam Reserve. This practice has ceased.

On the flood plain, fires which are impossible to putout can burn in the underground peat. To assist, a major firebreak has been established at the Koolpinyah fenceline and with approval of the owner, Parks and Bushfires reduce the fuel load through strategic weed killing and burning.

Parks also manages the Crown land between Fogg Dam and Lambell’s Lagoon and reduces the fuel load near the Arnhem Highway.

Improvements have been made to controlled burning techniques, eg by utilising the prevailing winds. Leaf blowers have been found to be effective in exposing clear ground.

A DPIFM swamp dozer will be used to skim of vegetation and create a fire break from behind the CSIRO forest to the dam wall. Machines will also be used to patch up fire breaks between Coastal Plains farm and the southern end of theFogg Dam to Lambell’s Lagoon fenceline.  


14.    Next meeting: Sunday 25 November

15.    Working Bee: to apply lanoline to boardwalks. To be determined. Alan A unavailable 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 November. Jeremy H unavailable 21 November to 20 December. Jeremy to liaise with Barry Scott and Mark Fogarty re application of lanoline.

16.    Meeting closed at 11.30 am and was followed by a barbeque with drinks and sausages kindly provided by Parks and Wildlife.


Item    Person responsible    Completion date
Membership fees due for year Mar 07 to Feb 08.Input to Parks & Wildlife Plan of Management Bird list for visitor brochurePrepare map for FOFD flyerSignificant tree list for Monsoon Forest Walk and name signsAsk if members willing to have their contact details accessible to FOFD members and/or the public Seek orders for FOFD name badgesSeek ConocoPhillips funding criteriaOrganise a meeting with an Arafura Games school organiser Propose projects that FOFD might fundObtain Australian Business Number (ABN)Check tax exempt status    Please check if you’ve paidEveryone to thinkNivenNivenColinJennyAllMichael S    

 Action Items Completed since July Meeting:
a)    Lodged change of Public Officer form with Business Affairs.
b)    Liaised with Ted Warren re status of boardwalk petition.
c)    Arranged for website to be updated.