LANDSCOPE Magazine Volume 38, Number 4

Partnerships are vital to achieving meaningful and lasting conservation outcomes, particularly in a State as vast as Western Australia. As Helen Keller observed, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. Together with community groups, volunteers, scientists and other land managers, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) can more successfully tackle and solve big problems. The challenge of responding to an incursion of myrtle rust, an emerging biosecurity threat to WA's unique and special plants and animals, is bringing together government agencies and scientists from Western Australia and Queensland (see’Defending WA against myrtle rust’ on page 17). A single confirmed report of this pathogen has led to a dedicated group considering the potential impact and response options while raising community awareness. The myrtle rust…

Jim Baker has been a volunteer with the Bibbulman Track Foundation for almost 20 years. He has walked the entireTrack fo ur times and currently works in the Bibbulmun Track Foundation office offering advice to other walkers. Jim co-edits the Bibbulmun Newsletter and has written and published a book about the Track as well as travel articles, short stories and poetry for other magazines. Zander Schott is 10 years old and lives in Perth's southern suburbs. He has enjoyed several school holiday activities with Nearer to Nature, Know Your Patch and River Guardians over the last few years, and especially loves when he gets up close and personal with the wildlife he is learning about. Zander's passions include caring for animals, creating art, learning to code and making video games. When…

READER'S PIC Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Photo and words by Gary Tate “We were heading north to the stunningly beautiful Kimberley coast when the ship docked at Broome Wharf. The wharf has provided a couple of nesting platforms for the local osprey (Pandion haliaetus). As the ship docked, I could hear the calling of an osprey and could see three perched around the wharf. This was a unique opportunity to capture images from above and alongside these beautiful fish-catching eagles.” Have you got a fantastic nature photograph you would like to see published in LANDSCOPE? Send it, along with a 100-word description of the species or how and where you took the shot, to landscope@dbca.wa.gov.au Resilient Reef strategy finalised The Ningaloo Coast has become the first World Heritage site to finalise…

Chair, Bibbulmun Track Foundation It is an immense achievement to develop and maintain the Bibbulmun Track and it takes a great deal of dedicated effort and a willingness to change over time. This year, it has been 25 years since the Track was realigned and underpinning its ongoing success are the people and their relationships, including volunteers, who make and grow partnerships. Key to this has been a strong relationship between DBCA's Parks and Wildlife Service and the Bibbulmun Track Foundation. At this 25th anniversary milestone, we are looking to the future, nurturing relationships and forging new partnerships. A quality trail is not just good surfaces and infrastructure, it provides an experience of the natural and cultural environment and we're thinking about our role in maintaining the Track and how…

Parks for people Murujuga National Park Murujuga National Park is Western Australia's 100th national park and is situated within the land and sea country of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape on the Pilbara coast. There are five Traditional Owner and custodial groups, collectively known as the Ngarda-Ngarli, who have been part of this cultural landscape for tens of thousands of years instilling a deep, spiritual connection to it. That connection is most visible through the remarkable Aboriginal rock art engravings, or petroglyphs, found amongst the area's iconic red rocks. It is one of the densest and most diverse collections of rock art images in the world. Murujuga has an estimated 1-2 million images in an area of more than 100,000 hectares, demonstrating an extraordinary diversity of style, theme, mode of production and…

In review Andrew Brown is one of Australia's leading orchid authorities and his latest two-volume collection, The Complete Orchids of Western Australia, will delight orchid enthusiasts and novices alike. To call it a comprehensive resource would be an understatement, as the two volumes cover every native orchid known to occur in Western Australia with Volume 1 also including a detailed introduction and history of orchids. There are beautiful photos and descriptions of all 42 genera and 470 known Western Australian orchid species and information including who named them and where they were first collected, habitat, distribution, flowering period, size, and distinguishing features. Volume 1 covers south-west orchids Anzybas to Ericksonella, with Volume 2 covering Eriochilus to Thelymitra, south-west hybrids and Kimberley orchid species. The Complete Orchids of Western Australia is…