Naturaliste project pushes Cape conservation

A huge swathe of Cape Naturaliste will be protected and enhanced in an ambitious new project to be delivered by an alliance of community, government and volunteer groups.

The Friends of Meelup have won a $300,000 State Natural Resource Management Program grant over three years from the WA Government to spearhead a project dubbed the Cape Naturaliste Conservation Enterprise (CNCE).

The Cape Naturaliste community is invited to the launch of the exciting new program on Saturday, August 24 from 5pm-7pm at the Eagle Bay Community Hall, with free food and drinks, and guest speakers including cultural custodian Josh Whiteland and Gondwana Link founder Keith Bradby.

Tickets are free but registrations are essential at www.natureconservation.org.au.

The CNCE involves weed and feral animal control plus waterway and coastal restoration to boost habitat for native plants and animals, restoring the fragmented landscape across Cape Naturaliste north of Caves Road between Yallingup and Dunsborough.

Local landholders, residents, farmers, businesses including Wise Wines, Aboriginal custodians and visitors are all invited to play a role.

Meelup Regional Park Management Committee presiding member Dr Bob Jarvis said the group wanted to work closely with landholders, local groups and traditional owners “for some fantastic outcomes for this incredible corner of Western Australia”.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reconnect and restore this special landscape, so the rare and endangered plants and animals that call Cape Naturaliste home can thrive alongside a vibrant and sustainable economy,” Dr Jarvis said.

To deliver the project, the Friends have partnered with Nature Conservation Margaret River Region to deliver a collaborative landscape masterplan. It will guide action to protect and enhance the natural resources of the area, along with an education and awareness raising program.

More than half of the area is privately owned land, so there will be extensive community consultation as well as workshops and subsidies to help landowners do their bit to boost biodiversity.

Also on board as key partners are the City of Busselton, Yallingup Landcare District Committee, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, First Nations custodians and a range of other community groups.

Line in the Sand philanthropic group have also contributed support for a feral animal study.

Cape Naturaliste is part of an internationally recognised biodiversity hotspot, bound by spectacular coastline and home to endemic and threatened flora and fauna, Wadandi heritage sites, the Meelup Regional Park, parts of the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park and local government reserves.

But it faces threats on all fronts, including invasive weeds, feral animals, plant pathogens such as dieback, population pressure, land clearing and development, increasing tourism and the threat of fire.

Project manager Cass Jury said the area had already suffered localised extinctions and had more than 50 plant and animal species considered endangered or threatened.

But she said the CNCE was an opportunity to give nature a helping hand, bringing together landholders, government, conservation and community groups.

“We’re really excited to be working with the Friends of Meelup and a coalition of other groups on this much-needed project,” she said. “Working with the community, we hope to build the resilience of this unique and fragile landscape.

“It’s a part of the region that is loved and treasured, and this project aims to preserve many of the things that make the Cape Naturaliste peninsula so special.”

Biodiversity officer Mandy Polley said she was “really excited to be delivering a suite of on-ground action in Cape Naturaliste, including feral animal control, weed control, revegetation and fencing of Meelup Brook to protect remnant vegetation”.

“Working with a passionate community of volunteers and other stakeholders is key to the success of this project, and we have a great group of enthusiastic people helping to drive this important initiative,” she said.