FPO Refresher Course Earth Sciences and Cultural Heritage

Notifications/significant enquiries

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50

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Field Office Total

2011-20122012-20132013-2014

Proposed New Notification Form • Combines Earth Sciences and Cultural Heritage

notifications For Earth Sciences issues: • Includes the old Geoscience “Triggers” document in the

notification form • Reduces the instances when a notification is required o for karst categories C and D, if no karst features known o for moderate-high erodibility soils o for large terrains in the TGD, e.g. SOP19 o if advice has previously been given, e.g. thinning coupes o for land exceeding the landslide slope threshold (10%

rule and nos sign of mass movement) Note that the up-to-date version of the Tasmanian Geoconservation Database is now in the Natural Values Atlas (NVA) – use this version!

For cultural heritage issues the new form: • summarises the Resource Guide procedure for deciding

when to notify • eliminates the notification requirement for thinning coupes -

if advice has already been received, still applies, and can and will be implemented

• note that mapped predictive zones are no longer used – work out whether an area is a “high” zone using the Resource Guide triggers

Please let me know if you think the draft new form is workable or have suggestions for improvement

Aboriginal heritage • Aboriginal Relics Act 1975 – recognised as needing revision • Aboriginal Heritage Protection Bill 2013 o would require management plans for “high impact”

activities o unclear whether forest operations would be exempt o Bill’s passage through State parliament is uncertain

• Issues affecting FPOs: o future status of Conserve Aboriginal database o possible requirement to consult AHT (TASI) database for all

new FPPs o revision of Resource Guide in conjunction with AHT,

foresters and other stakeholders o FPO training in Aboriginal cultural heritage (Note that Conserve has incomplete coverage on private land)

Bruny Island silcrete

Parrawe

Good results from FPO inspections

Reminders • make sure that an FPA-endorsed Aboriginal heritage

FPO checks the Conserve Aboriginal heritage database for every FPP

• Check whether Resource Guide triggers apply • Aboriginal heritage is not just artefacts

middens

sandstone shelters

Please use up-to-date forms available on the FPA website: click on FPA Services to get to:

http://www.fpa.tas.gov.au/fpa_services/planning_assistance/heritage_and_landscape Also note the link to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Site Index (TASI) form on the FPA website – this is the form to use

• Use this form for all “new” Aboriginal sites or updating of information

• Only photograph artefacts in place – no disturbance allowed

• Send photos as separate jpg or tif files

• Once completed send to FPA

• FPA will get the site recorded on Conserve and will send form and photos to AHT for listing on TASI

Historic heritage

http://www.fpa.tas.gov.au/fpa_services/planning_assistance/heritage_and_landscape

Site recording form is available at FPA Services:

Unrecorded rock wall in the northwest

Kamona valley – tramway remnant

Water race, Dunrobin

Tramway trestle structure in northeast

Kallista sawmill site, Tyenna Valley

Kermandie landing structure

Lake Crescent shearing shed

Notes and photos bring a site “alive”

“The person who lived there's name was George Seabourne (Shanna Seabourne ). He lived there with his second wife Violet. They lived there 70+ years ago & then moved to Dover.”

“George worked on the tramline in the Esperance bush. He travelled to work on the Raminea Loco that was driven by Michael Casey’s father.”

Esperance Hut – new Historic Site

Earth Sciences

Planning standards continue to be very high Mass movement and stream issues dominate

More than 120 000 yr old – strongly weathered dolerite

c. 20 000 yr old – weakly weathered dolerite

Apparently “normal” coupes on dolerite can contain unforeseen issues

Fossil gully, Styx

Drainage, slopes and boulders indicate high risk zone – no harvest

Relict landslide features – low to moderate risk –clearfell burn and sow OK

Assessing risks on land with landslide features Similar coupes in Nicholas Range: landslides dated to 55000 yr and 80000 yr before present (McIntosh and Barrows 2013 and Slee et al. in press)

Monitoring and Research • Landslide dating project, Nicholas range (with Adrian Slee)

• Aboriginal burning at Surrey Hills – when did it begin?

(joint project with Patrick Moss and Emma Watson, University of Queensland, and Robert Onfray, ex Gunns)

• Monitoring of stream morphology and riparian revegetation in the Timberlands plantations, Fingal forests (joint project with TPL and FPA biodiversity staff)

• Effects of pine harvest on sinkhole development in the Florentine Valley (joint project with Norske-Skog and Adrian Slee)

9605+/-48 OZQ172

3112+/-51 Wk38213

Heathy open woodland

Heathy eucalypt woodland

Grassy/heathy eucalypt woodland

1934+/-35 OZQ171

512+/-9 Wk38212

Calibrated dates (calPal)

Charcoal

Data provided by Patrick Moss and Emma Watson

1934 3112 9605 13500?

• Burning by Aboriginal people may have been responsible for large fires that occurred c. 13 500 years ago

• This could have been a response to the expansion of forest that started as climate got warmer and wetter after the Last Glaciation

CHARCOAL IN YELLOW MARSH

Data provided by Patrick Moss and

Emma Watson

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Silty/clayeyaeolianDunes

Colluvium

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0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000Aboriginal arrival +

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Dated erosion in Tasmania

Monitoring of stream morphology and riparian revegetation in the Timberlands plantations, Fingal

forests

Fingal catchment management plan

New landscape management principles • Mosaic of different vegetation types • Streamside reserves planted (Class 4

streams included) • Varied age class of commercial pines

2009 2014

FPA/TPPL Catchment management Field day to be held in November – circular will be emailed once date is fixed

Effect of pine harvest on sinkhole development,

Florentine Valley

Jan 2012 to Nov 2013

Jan 2012 to Nov 2013

Pine Harvest Pine control Sinkholes

– no change 16 14

Sinkholes >1 cm change

6 3

Average change +0.24 m +0.04 m Largest change +1.11 m +0.076 m

• A hint that pine harvest may promote sinkhole development, but results are skewed by one site in harvest area

• Further measurements planned, before and after harvest of Pine Control block

Training and Field Days

• Supervisors’ Course – October • Timberlands Field day – November • Geology for Foresters? • Other courses? • Company-initiated training for Contractors?

Questions?