Page 257 - Be Reasonable – Do It My Way , Peter E. Daly AM, My Story

CHAPTER 24 - SEAL ROCKS, MELBOURNE ZOO AND AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE TRUST (CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROPERTIES)
Mallee is found only in Australia. Over 80% of the mallee lands were cleared and the remainder degraded through timber removal, over grazing by stock and cropping. The Australian Government listed Calperum and Taylorville Stations as Critical Habitat under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act. This listing was the first on the mainland of Australia and underscores the importance of the Trust’s restoration work. Many mallee species have been lost.
Some thirty endangered and threatened species live in the mallee and on the flood plain. Australia’s most endangered bird species in 1990, the black eared miner, lives on this land. Through efforts of the Trust and collaborators the population has increased sufficiently to supply founder stock to areas of its former habitat.
The floodplain of the Murray River in the southern part of Calperum Station is also important. This River is the heart of Australia’s primary production. It drains 1/7th of the continent, includes most of Australia’s agricultural lands and provides water for irrigation. The floodplain contains a wetland important to the health of the River. Work of volunteers and staff helped recover this wetland that is listed in the Ramsar Convention (a treaty protecting wetlands of international importance) and Australia’s treaty with Japan protecting habitat of birds migrating between these countries (10 of the 76 listed species use this wetland).
The Trust’s responsibilities also include a 2,000 ha organic beef farm, Strathfieldsaye Estate, in Victoria (600 mm rainfall). Farm research uses precise management of grazing by cattle to stimulate pasture plants to produce a maximum amount of carbohydrate through photosynthesis. Much of that carbohydrate is retained as soil carbon. Soil carbon in turn provides conditions that improve pasture production.
Since the Trust became responsible for the farm, its soil research helped to double soil organic content which in turn increased water
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