Friends of Grasslands
supporting native grassy ecosystems
PO Box 440
Jamison Centre
Macquarie ACT 2614
email: advocacy@fog.org.au
web: www.fog.org.au
Suzanne Chate
NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee
PO Box 1967
Hurstville BC 1481
Email:
scientific.committee@environment.nsw.gov.au
Dear Sir/Madam
Proposed Critically Endangered Species listing of the grass Plinthanthesis rodwayi
Friends of Grasslands (FOG) is a community group dedicated to the conservation of natural temperate grassy ecosystems in south-eastern Australia. FOG advocates, educates and advises on matters to do with the conservation of grassy ecosystems, and carries out surveys and other on-ground work. FOG is based in Canberra and its members include professional scientists, landowners, land managers and interested members of the public.
FOG supports the listing for the reasons outlined in the determination. In addition, we consider that the listing would give greater focus to the protection and recovery of this particular species which would include the research into and development of appropriate fire and herbivory management regimes. Reading between the lines, the main reasons for the decline of this species would seem to be lack of sufficiently frequent fire and overgrazing by macropods. Likely, appropriately funded applied research could quickly address these root causes of the species decline and, together with offsite reproduction, give the species a good chance of recovery.
FOG has visited many natural temperate grasslands sites where lack of frequent fires and macropod overgrazing has been detrimental to the extent and diversity of the grasslands. A focus on the recovery of Plinthanthesis rodwayi will, we believe, provide valuable lessons that may be applied more broadly in other natural temperate grassland sites.
Yours sincerely
Geoff Robertson
President
30 August 2018