At Tarcutta Hills in New South Wales a very different type of research is happening. The 433 hectare reserve is one of 36 sites, including 17 cemeteries, which are part of the Grassy Box Woodland Conservation Management Network (CMN). The CMN aims to build links between the owners and managers of these sites, and other interested parties, to enhance the management and protection of these widely dispersed remnants.

Research by Deakin University PhD student, James Fitzsimons, is exploring the benefits for conservation of such networks and endeavouring to answer the following questions.
- Can we get good conservation outcomes on land under a range of tenures, management regimes and production uses?
- Can such networks assist us in reaching national conservation targets, such as a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system?

His results could be particularly important for Bush Heritage. If it is shown that the ‘multi-tenure’ approach is good for conservation then Bush Heritage may well purchase core areas and put more effort into working within, and through, such networks. If they prove to be unsuccessful then our priority may be to just get more land solely under conservation management.

Management-centred research is also guiding our activities at Fan Palms, Brogo and Goonderoo, using a mix of Bush Heritage staff, supporters and other agencies. The ongoing baseline work continues throughout the reserves.

Working in biodiversity conservation means that the scale of the issues is always greater than the resources needed to address them. With limited resources available to us, combined with the continuing devastation of Australia's remaining native vegetation, we must focus these precious resources on land purchase. However, without the research we cannot be sure that our management is successfully protecting the values for which the reserves were purchased. Thus developing partnerships with research institutions, scientists and the community to undertake the needed research work is essential. The results of this work will often be relevant to land management well beyond the Bush Heritage boundaries and thus it will assist others in understanding our environment and its management challenges.

The 9ha Woodstock Cemetery (left) is one of the smaller remnants in the Conservation Management Network. PHOTO: JAMES FITZSIMONS

Bush Heritage’s Tarcutta Hills Reserve (above) is the largest protected area of Grassy White Box Woodland. PHOTOS: MATT NEWMAN; DAVID NEILSON RESPECTIVELY

For more information on any of these projects please contact Stuart Cowell at Bush Heritage
Thanks to: University of Tasmania, Murdoch University, CSIRO, and Deakin University.
Our apologies to the Queensland Herbarium for omitting a report on research at Goonderoo prepared for this newsletter.