The Fraser Island Defenders Organisation

will be hosting the

Third Biennial Fraser Island Conference

SHIFTING SANDS

The dynamics of the Great Sandy Region

on

Friday, 24th July,2009 9.00 am to 5.00 pm

at the

Walkabout Creek Visitor Centre
Mt Nebo Road, The Gap, Brisbane

Read the Draft Program (subject to change)

Keynote Speaker Prof. Bruce Thom, leading Australian coastal geomorphologist, first identified Fraser Island’s international status in 1975, declaring to the Fraser Island Environmental Inquiry Fraser Island is to the dune systems of the world what the Great Barrier Reef is to the world’s coral reefs. He is a member of the Wentworth Group of concerned Australian scientists.

Expressions of interest in attending can be emailed to shiftingsands@fido.org.au

Abstracts

Terry J. Brown

Carrying Capacity - Meaningless or Mandatory: Prospects for Fraser Island

Department of Tourism, Leisure, Hotel and Sport Management, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld, Australia

The concept of carrying capacity and its relevance as a visitor management tool has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. However, this critique does not render the concept meaningless, but rather challenges us to apply it more effectively for controlling visitor numbers and activities in order to sustain conservation and experience values into the future. This paper summarises the concerns with carrying capacity and introduces a new Australian visitor management framework developed by Queensland Parks and Wildlife for addressing capacity issues in protected areas. The Sustainable Visitor Capacity (SVC) methodology is a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to assessing visitor sites for landscape quality, values and impacts so that these may be linked to requirements for more effectively managing visitor engagement with the resource. A recent trial of the approach on Fraser Island was used to inform infrastructure and education needs, visitor use patterns, desired behaviours and appropriate visitor numbers.

Peter Stanton

Fire

The records of history give a clear and consistent picture of Aboriginal use of fire in most parts of Australia, and from this the likely pre-European condition of the vegetation of the island can be deduced, and changes to it since then assessed. It is concluded that there has been widespread destabilisation of the island’s habitats, with unforeseeable but potentially disastrous consequences. Many of the problems identified are related to the long term exclusion of fire, either deliberately or by neglect of active management.

For more than two decades there has been some recognition within managing agencies, and the general public, that all is not well with fire-management on Fraser Island, and this has sparked debate, discussion, and workshops, and the production of a fire-management plan. The island, however, still continues to suffer from the exclusion of fire, and destructive activities relegated to its suppression. Ways to reverse these trends, and to overcome the likely institutional impediments to progress, are discussed.

Dr Wade Hadwen 

Australian Rivers Institute
Griffith University
Nathan Campus
Nathan QLD 4111

Perched lakes as focal tourism and recreation destinations on Fraser Island: Impacts and management implications.

Fraser Island’s perched dune lakes are unique, with typically small catchment areas, no in-flow or out-flow streams and no connection to the regional aquifer. As basins of rainwater with low nutrient concentrations and unique biodiversity, these ecosystems have biological and ecological characteristics that attract the attention of researchers, environmentalists and tourists alike. The appeal of Fraser Island’s perched dune lakes is reflected in how visitors plan their visits to the region. Websites and brochures are peppered with images of the island’s lake environments and no trip to Fraser Island is complete without a stop at (and often a dip in) Lake McKenzie, arguably the most iconic destination on the island. To examine the importance of the dune lakes on Fraser Island to visitors and their experiences, I conducted a series of surveys between 1998 and 2001. More than 75% of survey respondents indicated that they had planned to visit Lake McKenzie before coming to the island. Since more than 78% of the respondents had never before been to Lake McKenzie, this statistic highlights the widespread appeal, popularity and publicity surrounding this lake. Further highlighting the iconic nature of Lake McKenzie comes the fact that more than 68% of the survey respondents had not visited any other lakes prior to completing the survey. In terms of activities, more than 95% of those surveyed expressed an interest in swimming in Lake McKenzie, while other less-active pursuits like relaxing and picnicking were also frequently nominated. The surveys reconfirmed the long-held belief that visitors to Fraser Island value the lake ecosystems very highly and support assertions that the demand for visits to these systems is likely to continue to grow into the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, high visitation levels in relatively fragile pristine environments can have adverse ecological effects. Specifically, as visitors flock to enjoy the aesthetics of these sites, these low nutrient environments are under increasing visitor pressure, with rubbish on the shoreline, trampling of fringing vegetation and the accelerated delivery of nutrients into the lakes representing just a few of the real and concerning consequences of visitor use and activities. In response to concerns surrounding the sustainability of visitor numbers, and following on from my surveys, I conducted a series of ecological observations and experiments to examine the likely consequences of tourist-mediated nutrient inputs into perched dune lakes. I found that nutrients entering these lake environments can drastically increase algal production and, in turn, have considerable potential to alter the way the food webs in these systems function. In conclusion, it seems that the growing reputation, publicity, marketing and appeal of perched dune lakes on Fraser Island will ensure that the fate of these sites will be determined by the relative impacts of visitors and climate change and, importantly, the way that natural resource managers respond to these threats.

Greg Carter 

Department of Conservation
Programme Manager - Visitor & Historic Assets

Huts and shelters on multi-day walks - their role and benefits

The New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) manages a vast recreation facilities network. This network has been developed over the last 100 years by successive generations and includes over 12,500 kilometers of track and 950 backcountry huts and shelters. Many of these facilities are now at the heart of internationally recognized multi-day walks. These amenities provide refuge from the often harsh New Zealand elements, along with sleeping and cooking facilities that allow walkers to carry minimal equipment. A number of these huts have become destinations in themselves that attract visitors from across the globe. International tourism has become one of New Zealand largest foreign exchange earners and a driver of many regional economies (Department of Conservation, 2006). The majority of international tourists visiting New Zealand indicate that a key reason they went was for the landscape, with and over half of the international tourists visiting national parks and reserves during their stay (Ministry of Tourism, 2005). While there is no direct correlation with these statistics, it could be argued that the network of huts and shelters provides an incentive for overseas visitors to experience the unique scenery and environment. The benefits of developing and maintaining these facilities on multi-day walks are discussed.

Adam J. O'Neill1 and Arian D. Wallach1,2

1 C&A Environmental Services, Rangeland Research and Restoration, POB 177, West Burleigh, 4219, QLD.

2 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia. E-mail: arian.wallach@bigpond.com

Dingoes on Fraser Island: potential consequences of lethal control

Worldwide, research and conservation focus is turning towards the key ecological role of large predators. The devastating consequences following their loss, and the extraordinary ecological recovery that follow their reinstatement, is a pattern emerging globally. One of the clearest examples of the devastating consequences of large predator control comes from Australia, where almost half of all mammalian extinctions in the past 200 years have occurred.

Recent advances in ecological research have demonstrated a compelling link between the extinction crisis and dingo control. Since European occupation, dingoes have been controlled across the continent. Still today, dingoes are controlled on all landholding types in every State and Territory; whether they are listed as a pest or an endangered species. Poison-baiting with sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) is the most common method of control, followed by shooting and trapping. Australia is unique in that it has but a single large mammalian predator, and that this predator can be poisoned, shot and trapped everywhere.

Dingoes, like all wolf species, are socially complex predators. They form long-term social bonds that may persist for generations, and it is precisely this characteristic that makes them the top predators that they are. The main impact of control is not necessarily on dingo numbers. Their abundance may decrease, increase or remain the same, following control. Instead, the main impact of lethal control is to fracture the dingoes' pack structure. Without the pack, their ecological functioning is compromised and biodiversity is ultimately lost. The disruption of pack stability also alters population demographics resulting in an increase in young dingoes that may have a higher tendency to become destructive and aggressive.

Since 2001, over 50 dingoes have been destroyed on Fraser Island due to human-dingo conflict. This level of intervention will undoubtedly mean that the Fraser Island dingo population is being held in a constant state of social instability. It is also not evident that the objectives of these culls are being realized, namely reducing attack rates on humans. In light of recent attacks, it seems likely that this management strategy may only serves to exacerbate the problem. Given the size of Fraser Island's dingo community, we suggest that if the Island's ecology is to be prioritized and conserved, a complete cessation of the dingo culling practice is necessary. Implementing an "at your own risk" policy on the island appears to be warranted.

RW (Bill) Carter, Peter Brooks, Daryle Sullivan, Neil Tindale and Nikita Tully
University of the Sunshine Coast

Camping and groundwater quality on the eastern beach of Fraser Island: a smoking gun?

Concern for the maintenance of water quality of the lakes on Fraser Island has attracted research attention but the impact of beach camping on freshwater beach-flows has been poorly considered. The assumption has been that the natural assimilative capacity of the foredune ecosystem is sufficient to dissipate any negative environmental impact. An exploratory study of nutrients, faecal coliforms and faecal sterols in the watertable and beach flows associated with camping and non-camping zones reveals concerning and, in some cases, extreme differences. The study suggests nutrient levels in the watertable are enriched in camping areas and that in some areas faecal coliforms persist in beach flows. The link to a human cause is supported by the presence of strong faecal sterol signals in soil samples from the watertable interface.

The risk implications for human health are significant although the biological impact implications remain unexplored. It will be important to clarify the temporal and spatial nature of the variables measured to inform the management decision making process, because the groundwater pollutants may be localised and short-term seasonal. If this is the case, then management strategies of camp area rotation and health warnings may be appropriate. If the human waste signals are more widespread and persistent, then a major change in human waste disposal when camping will be essential.