Managing Reserves

All Bush Heritage reserves are actively managed to protect and restore the land and wildlife habitats.

Once a new reserve is under Bush Heritage management we have a long-term responsibility to care for that land and its animals and plants. The way we use fire, manage eroded sites and weed infestations, control pest animals and grazing pressure, and protect waterways, will change the way the ecosystems function. Our goal is to rebuild and restore the health and resilience of the soil, vegetation and the populations of animals that the land supports.

To ensure that our activities achieve this goal we need to build a sound understanding of the ecology of the land system.  We need to monitor the effects of our activities and then adapt our management strategies as we learn more about how the land is responding. We use a system which we have called the Adaptive Management System, where our actions on the ground are constantly reviewed and adapted as we 'watch' how the land and its populations of animals and plants change as a result of our activities or the local conditions.

 This system works in a cycle with four stages:

1. Planning: Set the conservation goals that we want to achieve e.g. restoring a wetland, stabilising a population of a threatened species or managing pests
2. Actions: Allocate the resources that we need, and do the work on the ground (inputs and outputs)
3. Outcomes: Monitor the land and the wildlife and analyse how they are changing under our management regime
4. Reporting: Record these changes and report back to our supporters on the results of our work. 

Below is a more detailed explanation of the Adaptive Management System.  

1. The planning stage begins when a new property is purchased. The state of the vegetation communities, soils, populations of rare or threatened species and the impacts of feral pests and weeds are accessed. The Reserve Management Plan is then prepared. It identifies what is important about a property (the key conservation 'targets') and whether there is restoration work required to protect them for the long-term. This requires us to set specific goals to be reached to protect these 'targets'.  The goals are effectively the outcomes that we are trying to achieve, and determine the resources and activities needed.  We also identify the threats that will inhibit or prevent our progress toward these goals and the management strategies necessary to remove or mitigate against these threats. Operationally, the plans set out a list of land management projects, which are in priority order and costed, and which are to be completed over a five year period. It is important to note that Bush heritage consults with a wide range of stakeholders in the development of these plans.
 
2. The second stage is putting the operational plan into action through the input of resources and people – both staff and volunteers. The resulting projects – the control of weeds and pest animals, fire management, infrastructure maintenance, soil management and community involvement to name just a few – are the management outputs or the means by which the reserve’s key conservation targets are moved along a trajectory towards the ultimate (ecological) goals we want. Whilst we routinely need to report on inputs (operating and capital expenditure, number of person days committed etc.) and outputs (for example, the area of weeds controlled, the area and number of fuel reduction and/or ecological controlled burns, the number and area of soil erosion control projects), these are not an end in themselves. Ultimately we want to report on how the reserve and its special conservation values have been restored or improved. Ultimately we want to be biodiversity managers, not just pest plant or animal managers!

3. This brings us to the third stage – monitoring the ecological outcomes. Without monitoring what we are doing and what effect we are having we won’t know whether we are heading towards achieving our goals. While ecological change is often a slow process by select elements of ecosystems that are both simple to observe and are responsive to both short and long-term trends allow us to quickly track our progress. It is also important not to put all our 'eggs in one basket'  and aim to build up a picture that is representative of whole ecosystems and landscapes. Bush Heritage has committed to using ecologically driven management by employing a team of ecologists who, together with our reserve managers, other support staff, volunteers and researchers, oversee the monitoring program. You can read more about the details of the ecological outcomes monitoring program.

4. The final stage in the cycle is reporting. The ecologists analyse the results of the monitoring program and report back to the organisation on what has been achieved. These results are also passed on to our supporters so they can see the progress and successes.

Along with a range of other information, the initial reporting is used to update or adjust our original management plans to ensure we are using the latest available data to adjust and perfect our strategies for restoring the land. These reports will tell us when we have achieved our goals for each conservation 'target'.  The reporting also provides a chance to reassess our knowledge and assumptions about each reserve in order to be more confident that our strategies are correct. Secondly, better informing our supporters builds their confidence in what we do and encourages further support , which is critical to sustaining our work for the long term.