Russell Best and Ross Colliver took
environmental staff from Macedon Ranges Shire Council for a walk around Barrm
Birrm recently, and talked through options for the area. Michelle Wyatt is the
Coordinator, Policy Implementation, Strategic Planning and Environment
Department (in the middle), and William Terry (on the right) is the
Envrionmental Programs and Education Officer.
They were excited to see the quality of
the bush in Barrm Birrm and to hear what RCL is doing to look after it.
We were delighted to hear that Council is willing to take over ownership of
blocks in the Barrm Birrm area, meeting all costs of transfer of title. Funds
to support this are limited, but 16 of the original 162 lots have now been
handed to Council.
There have been complaints to
Council from owners from time to time over limits to development, but Council
is sticking by its "no development" policy for this valuable
bushland. There are limited avenues for owners to get themselves out of
the bind they are in, and we're pleased Council is offering support to
landholders. New discussions with Trust for Nature may turn up other
avenues for bringing properties in Barrm Birrm into conservation.
We pointed out that many people assume
that Barrm Birrm is a State
Forest, and gates and a
fence would signal that this was in fact private land. There would be benefits
to conservation of the area in excluding 4WDs and trail bikes, but this would
have to be weighed against the cost and appropriateness of enclosing an area of
private land. We said that Riddells Creek Landcare would be able to
contribute funds to assist with fencing.
MRSC is embarking on improving
monitoring of fauna on its reserves, with an early project the introduction of
nesting boxes for phascogales and gliders. A possible site is the cluster
of properties now in Council ownership in the NW area of Barrm Birrm - Russell
will assess the possibilities of installing nesting boxes there. A project like
that would be a good way to build interest in Barrm Birrm amongst Riddells
residents, as well as confirming the presence of these animals in Barrm Birrm.
As tree dwellers, there's a good chance they have eluded the predators at
ground level, and are still around.
Michelle and William were also pleased
to hear about NatureShare's progress and say they will get familiar with its
capabilities. Michelle said she would test the possibility of MRSC
contributing funds, as part of a partnership, for developing Apps for Macedon Ranges flora and fauna.
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