We protect what we love

FRIDAY . 11 . 02 . 22 .

Good afternoon friends of For Wild Places. It's your usual newsletter gal, Elanor, back at it. After some R&R, trail running, cross training (cycling/AFL), and time spent with family and friends, I'm feeling re-energised and inspired for everything that FWP is doing this year.

I don't know about you, but I found the photos in last week's newsletter to be quite confronting - particularly the one of the CSG field in the middle of the Pilliga forest. It's one thing to hear/read about the destruction of wild places, but it's an entirely different thing to actually see it.

This week's newsletter provides a 'zoom in' to some of the macro elements of the Pilliga region, specifically flora and fauna.

FLORA & FAUNA IN THE PILLIGA

The logo for the Pilliga Ultra was created with the intention of highlighting native flora and fauna, some of which are local only to this special area of Australia. The Flannel Flower, seedpod of the Pilliga Wattle, Gumnut and Brown Bandicoot are all prominent species, with the Pilliga Wattle and Brown Bandicoot being endemic to the Pilliga.

Below, we’ll introduce you to these species; highlighting their significance and the threats that the Narrabri Gas Project has on these delicate ecosystems.

Flannel Flower

The Flannel Flower, scientifically known as actinotus helianthi, is known for the soft wooly feel of the plant, created due to the presence of soft white hairs. There are 20 different species of the Flannel Flower, with 19 of them endemic to Australia, where they can be found extending from central and south-eastern Queensland down to the south coast of New South Wales. The size of the plant varies according to environmental conditions, but can grown up to 1.5 metres high.

Wattle Acacia

There are over 50 species of wattle from the Pilliga Forest and surrounds, easily identifiable between August to October by their golden flowers. These plants produce large amounts of seed which can be eaten raw or processed and cooked to produce cakes. The Pilliga Wattle, scientifically known as acacia spectabilis is particularly prominent in this region.

Gumnut

The Gumnut is no stranger to Australians, however the White Box Gum Tree (eucalyptus albens) is only found in the east, with a prominence in the Pilliga region. It has rough, fibrous bark on the base of its trunk, and a smooth, white bark above. The White Box Gum Tree is a component of the “Box Gum Woodland”, which is classified as critically endangered under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) and is classified as an endangered ecological community under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.

The Box-Gum Woodland is found from the Queensland border in the north, to the Victorian border in the south. It occurs in the tablelands and western slopes of NSW. Pre European settlement, Box-Gum Woodland was an extremely diverse part of the landscape, however, low fertility rates and human interference has significantly reduced the number of Box-Gum trees in the area.

Brown Bandicoot

The Brown Bandicoot is a ground dwelling marsupial, recognised by its long pointed head and compact body. They can grow between 30-37cm long, with an additional tail length of between 9-21cm. They spend their days hidden in nests amongst ground litter, emerging at night to search for food, which they obtain on the surface of the soil or by digging small conical holes.

There are a suite of threats to the Brown Bandicoot, including development and clearing of its habitat, falling prey to feral cats, intensive livestock grazing and altered fire regimes.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON THE PILLIGA

Land clearing and habitat fragmentation

Santos is proposing to clear a significant amount of land (approximately 1,000 ha) for well sites, tracks and pipelines. The disturbance from increased vehicle movement, dust, noise and lighting from mining operations will increase sedimentation in waterways, and will increase the fragmentation of a stunning landscape already under significant environmental stress.

A Santos Well Site, which ranges from 1 to 2 ha in size.

Land clearing will displace koala's, thousands of hollow-bearing trees and disrupt the preferred habitat for the Pilliga Mouse. In addition, this fragmentation of the forest will facilitate the penetration of noxious weeds and introduced animals, which will have a detrimental affect on the movement of small, sensitive species.

Water pollution

Leewood holding pond. Image source: Pilliga Culture Heritage Report.

CSG mining has direct and negative impacts on water quality. CSG contaminates water with high levels of sodium, heavy metals and other trace elements. This contaminated water, in the form of waste water, can be spilled, leaked or inappropriately managed, and can impact the equilibrium of the surrounding landscape and waterways.

In addition, the wells will disrupt two important groundwater formations - the Great Artesian Basin and aquifers. The aquifers supply water for agriculture and domestic use across a vast portion of NSW, QLD and the NT.

Air pollution

Santos is already the 20th largest emitter of greenhouse gases, reportedly releasing 5.8 million tonnes last year. This is in the form of fugitive greenhouse emissions from leaking pipes and wellheads, as well as from gas released during flaring (a practice used to regulate gas flow).

More information about the Pilliga Forest, cultural significance and threats from CSG mining can be found in the Pilliga Culture Heritage Report.

SANTOS, NATIVE TITLE TRIBUNAL & THE NARRABRI GAS PROJECT

Santos has lodged an application to extinguish Native Title rights of the Gamilaraay people to begin the first stages of the Narrabri Gas Project in the Pilliga Forest. As Hilary indicated in last week’s newsletter, this will not only result in the destruction of Gomeroi country, which includes the Great Artesian Basin - the largest and deepest water basin in the world - but significantly impacts local communities.

The Great Artesian Basin covers a total area of 1.7 million square metres, and comprises 22% of Australia.

On Monday 7th February, the Gomeroi people protested over “gas-fired dispossession” in Sydney outside the Federal Native Title Tribunal, where Santos is challenging their native title. In a guest appearance on Let’s Talk 2022 Podcast, Gomeroi man Raymond “Bubble” Weatherall, states “we don’t put a price on culture and heritage, and every time you see the government talk about economics, it outweighs the spiritual connection that we have to our land. People do not realise that for a thousand generations, that spiritual connection that we have in our DNA, affects you profoundly when you drive through your country and see lights going 24/7 and minerals being extracted from over 30 active mines… They don’t understand the devastating effects that it will have for generations to come. They just do it for a monetary value over the space of 30 years, yet for us, we have the foresight to think about the future.”

 You can follow @gamilaraaynextgeneration for updates.

And as always, thank you for taking the time for wild places.

Elanor & the For Wild Places team.

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We acknowledge the the First Nations people who have been custodians of land, waters and culture for tens of thousands of years. We pay respects to First Nations Elders past, present and emerging.

This newsletter was written on Gadigal lands of the Eora nation. To these people, we pay our respects.

Always was, always will be.

By For Wild Places

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