Endemic Endangered Species

"Rainforest Fruits" Image from WTMA

One of the great things about the Wet Tropics Region and Australia are all the unique animals. Famous ones include kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, platypuses, and emus.  When you have unique species like these that naturally occur in populations isolated to a country or region they are known as endemic.

But here are some special endemics that you might not have heard of.

First: Plants! There are over 2,800 species and over 700 of those are endemic. Orchids, ferns, epiphytes, trees, forbs, and so much more.

Then Animals!

Bennett's tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus)
                Tree-Kangaroos are shy arboreal marsupials that live n the rain forest canopy and eat leaves and fruits. though they are called kangaroos they don't "hop" instead they use their long tails for balance. Sightings are rare.

"Spotted-tailed quoll" Source: redorbit.com

Spotted-tailed quoll (northern subspecies; Dasyurus maculatus gracilis)
                The Spotted-tailed quoll is a tiny, cat sized predator with a prehensile tail. It is an opportunistic predator and will eat anything it can catch-even reptiles! They hunt and are usually encountered at night making them a nocturnal inhabitant of the forest. Their population, however, is in decline due to competition with feral and invasive animals like cats and foxes.



Rufous owl (Ninox rufa)

"Rufus Owl" Source:http://ibc.lynxeds.com

                Ninox rufa or rufous owl/boobok is one of  the largest Queensland owls, however it would appear very little data exists about its current populations. John Kanowski’s (1998) research seems to encourage the idea that their population is abundant in higher elevation rainforests in Queensland. Birdlife.org, an independent research and conservation group has it listed as a species of least concern due to the size of it’s range. However, Birdlife.org also states that the population of Ninox rufa has never been quantified and appears to be in decline do to habitat loss. This bird is also considered to be rare, due to the small number of sitings.(Birdlife.org 2012) Based on papers by Kanowski (1998) and Mooney (1998)  it is inferred that Ninox rufa requires both edge and deep forest habitat. The edge habitat is used primarily for hunting and the deep forest is needed for sufficient tree hollows that can be used as nesting sites.(Kanowski 1998, Mooney 1998) According to a short bird breeding report of the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Department from the 1970s, this bird conducts breeding in July. (Lavery 1974) Ninox rufa is considered rare based on few sightings and declining populations but, is also coming under threat due to habitat loss. (Birdlife.org 2012)

"Lace-lid" Source:wetlandinfo.derm.qld.gov.au

Australian lace-lid (Nyctimystes dayi)
                 Also known as the lace-eyed tree frog, this little amphibian lives in montane regions of the Wet Tropics region. It is usually associated with rocky streams of various speeds. Unfortunately it also appears to be in decline. It is believed that threats to this species include effects from past and current habitat destruction and introductions of viruses or disease. This may include Chytridiomycosis, a deadly disease affecting amphibians world wide and is known to exist within the region.

And of course the Southern Cassowary! (see earlier post)


Sources Include:Wet Tropics Management Authority http://www.wettropics.gov.au/endemic-species,  BirdLife International 2012. Species factsheet: Ninox rufa. Retrieved March 182012 from http://www.birdlife.org., Kanowski, John., 1998. The Abundance of the Rufous Owl Ninox rufa in Upland and Highland Rainforests of North-east Queensland. Emu CSIRO Publishing. Vol.98, 58-61
Lavery, H.J., 1985. Short Communication:Breeding Seasons of North-Eastern Australia, First Supplement 1967-1974. Queensland National Parks and WIldlife Service., Mooney, Nick. 1998. Status and Conservation of Raptors in Australia’s Tropics. The Raptor Research Foundation Inc. 32(1): 64-73
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1813, 


 

ANZAC Day Biscuits

Another tradition of ANZAC day, and Australia in general, are ANZAC biscuits. In Australia “biscuits” refers to cookies, and these particular ones are quite special. They can be used to commemorate ANZAC day or, a fun way to teach history. They started out as a cooking experiment to find a way to make a biscuit families could send in the mail to their ANZACs with out it arriving impossible to eat. (Australian mail has and still does take a long time to get any where) Eventually, a recipe for a hard/crisp biscuit was come upon and became very popular with the families and ANZACs.
Like all good recipes, there is plenty of variation from baker to baker, but here is a basic ANZAC biscuit recipe if anyone wants to try a bit of Australia!

Makes about 24 biscuits

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup Ward McKenzie desiccated coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
125g butter
2 tbs golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbs water

Method
Preheat the oven to 320°F. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the oats, coconut and brown sugar.
Put the butter, golden syrup and 2 tbs water in a small saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until melted. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place on the trays, about 5cm apart.
Press with a fork to flatten slightly. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Set aside on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack so it cools completely.

ANZAC Day

    It is 5am, still dark, and a group of Americans (Amanda, Annie, Kaileigh, Molly), an Australian (Sam), and myself are hurtling in a taxi towards the Cairns Esplanade to participate in one of Australia’s biggest public holidays.
     ANZAC Day, which begins with a dawn memorial service to commemorate the Gallipoli (Beach) Landing April 25 1915 of WWI. It now celebrates and honors all Australian service men and women from that first war and all wars up to and including the present.
    In the pre-dawn darkness we find a spot on the Esplanade near the speakers and the band but it is already so crowded we can not see them and can only listen. The bats are squabbling in the trees behind us and the occasional birds begin their dawn chorus. There is a chilly breeze of the ocean, adults are milling about looking for the right spot and children are wiping sleep out of their eyes; the young ones wondering why they have to be awake and outside so early.
    Finally, the dawn service begins.
First, is the history of ANZAC day. The word ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and was a nick name for these forces. Like many forces in WWI, “the war meant to end all wars”, the ANZACs that participated in the Gallipoli Landing were proud of their country, courageous, and young. Some had even lied about their age in order to enlist. While, militarily, the Gallipoli campaign was unsuccessful it stuck in the hearts and minds of Australians.
    After a reminder of the history, a series of speakers begin who succinctly describe the meaning of ANZAC day and the importance it plays in the lives of Australians.These speakers include high schoolers, politicians, and representatives of veterans groups.
The sky is beginning to lighten at this point and the birds’ chorus becomes more insistent. The speeches are followed by the band and a high school student performing “Abide by me”, which seems to be the traditional hymn for this occasion. The audience was asked to join in, but as the tenors beautiful voice floats into the air everyone, even the fussy toddlers, goes quiet.
    Next, comes the laying-of-the-wreaths on the memorial. From where we are, it is nothing but a long list of people and organizations that wish to let veterans and those serving know that they are remembered and that the wreath-layers are grateful. Color if not true light, really begins to seep over the mountains. It turns the sky into a blue-pink water color, swirling, changing, a palette almost about to spill.
    When the wreaths are done, there is a minute of silence, and then they play the Australian national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair”, and there is a return of the tenor. This time the crowd sings with him a bit more.
    By the time it is over the sun is coming up, clouds are moving in, and the animals begin their day.
    Latter there is a Salvation Army Service (much more religious) and a veterans and service member parade. They hand out plastic poppies and people wave tiny Australian flags.
    Ceremonies, like the dawn service, are carried out every year in nearly every town in Australia, in a solidarity of solemnness rarely experienced in the United States. ANZAC day is not an excuse for excess in food, drink, or partying, but instead dedicated to a moment in history and all people of Australia. Here the 25th of April marks both sacrifice and thankfulness with a tinge of palpable sorrow that war is still a necessity of the world.
   

Indiginous Environmental Management Post-Inensive

So I discovered why it was called an intensive- exactly for the reason you think.
8-5 makes for long days but it was good and informative. We learned about different types of land management models, protected area types and history, the Convention of Biological Diversity, the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, and more then I can manage to recall at the moment.

The best part was when we work-shopped with a bunch of people who are all traditional owners and are in some way working to promote collaboration either within communities or between communities and a management authority.

This included rangers, CEO organizations, and a community organizer who is helping Indigenous groups document and preserve traditions and knowledge; particularly fire knowledge.

It was incredible to hear the hope and resilience from all of these speakers and how they see their communities moving forward.

Fire Management

Fire Management is extremely important to Australia: both environmentally and culturally.

The potentially erratic rainfall, lightening storms, the types of soils, the animals, everything has lead to the vegetation types and adaptations across the continent. This has lead to vegetation that thrives by living and dying with fire. Thick bark, deep roots, serotinous seeding structures, and growth that leads to large litter layers at the end of the wet season- all are characteristics that encourage fire.

But what type of fire?

There are many types of fire and fire uses in land management but, generally, they fall into two categories healthy or out-of-control.

A healthy fire is lower on the heat index. It may blacken the upper most millimeters of soil but it won't damage the roots of plants or the valuable seed bank. It burns low to the ground and under certain conditions, such a change in soil or vegetation type, will put itself out. These fires also don't cover a large area all at once. Instead small patch fires are lit over a series of weeks creating a diverse amount of regrowth across the landscape. This patchwork pattern and doing regular burns prevents small fires from becoming massive bush fires.

An out-of-control bush or wildfire is much bigger then a healthy fire. The area that burns will almost always burn a larger area and the flame will always be taller and hotter. The heat can destroy the roots and seeds of plants making it extremely difficult for native plants to re-establish themselves. This type of fire also will destroy trees and shrubs that are important shelter for wildlife. These are the fires that make headlines, damage human development, and what has scared people away from fire management.

What does this have to do with Culture?

Every Indigenous group in Australia has their own relationship with fire. They each have their own unique stories, rules, practices, and associations with fire.  One rule that does seem to be universal however is: You only burn your county-never the country of someone else. And you only light fire when you have been given that knowledge by the proper people.
This is the transfer of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge based on Customary Law. Fire impacts Indigenous communities in many dimensions: politically, economically, socially, and of course ethically and spiritually.
  The political aspects are beyond the issues of sharing knowledge with land management agencies. Many see continued fire management as one of the essential practices to halt cultural and ecological declines on country.
 Economically impacts are vast on the subsistence economy which is relied on by many Indigenous Australians. Fire results in green grass that attracts animals and helps propagate plants that need fire to produce seeds. This increases the amount of resources on the land and their availability to the community.
Socially, fire used to be used to signal the presence of people on the land. It also showed that those people were looking after or caring for country. It is seen as a positive thing to see plumes of smoke to rise from the horizon and not a threat. 
Ethically and Spiritually: Fire myths and stories do more then teach. They are a tradition that ties people today with their ancestors and creation beings from what some call the "Dreamtime." Without practicing the use of fire in caring for country an essential element of these stories and connection is lost. 

Where is Fire Management Today?
The non-indigenous community perspective on fire is slowly changeing and governmental land agencies are beginning to work with Indigenous communities to learn how to use fire as a tool. As more and more Indigenous communities gain Native Title, Land Rights, or create new types of management agreements they are re-gaining access to their traditional homes and are able to put fire on the land.
This is still one of the most contentious land management issues in Australia but the out look for continued and expanding fire management (traditional or contemporary) is optomistic.

It is something the western United States could highly benefit and learn from.

Native Title and Land Rights

 One of the biggest problems facing Indigenous peoples around the world is access to land and recognition of land rights. In the past twenty years or so Australia has developed two mechanisms to allow Indigenous Australians to gain legal land status. The following is a paper I wrote for the class explaining the difference between these two policies Native Title and Land Rights

Introduction   
    Native Title and Land Rights are two ways that Indigenous Australians can gain access or effectively lay claim to land that can be then perceived as being under Indigenous “ownership.” But the processes and the rights afforded with each of these land distribution systems are quite different.
Native Title
    The idea of Native Title recognizes that Indigenous peoples’ law and customs are older then the Australian government and so can not be regulated by the government. Instead, it was necessary for the government to develop a system by which people could  have recognized rights to land/waters. Traditional law and customs could then be continued by Indigenous people more easily. The foundation of Native Title is that Indigenous Australians have rights to access resources and ‘country’ because of their traditional laws, customs, and history.(Way with Beckett, 1997-1999)
    Native Title is a federally recognized process that is applied in all states of Australia in a similar manner. Its wording and application is broad and flexible enough to accommodate the diversity of the Indigenous community and the different state attitudes.(Way with Beckett, 1997-1999)
    Native Title was not only the first recognition of the Australian government that Indigenous Australians had rights to land but also the overturning of the idea of terras nullis, in the Mabo court cases. (National Native Title Tribunal [NNTT], 2008) Since Native Title was originally recognized in court it began as common law, and was successively clarified by other court cases. This led to confusion and undefined process for claiming Native Title. To alleviate this situation, the Native Title Act was passed, which outlined the criteria and process for making a Native Title claim. (NNTT, 2008, 2009)
    The claims process for Native Title consists of collecting large amounts of information or “proof” of the claimants connection to the land/waters being claimed. (NNTT, 2009) The application is then submitted to the Federal Court and then refereed to the Native Title Register, where the application is reviewed. If the application is successful, the Register then notifies other stakeholders and the general public incase they would like to become parties to the case.(NNTT, 2008) Becoming a party will give that stakeholder a voice in any mediation that takes place. Lastly, the Register oversees the creation of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) which becomes the mediated agreement between all parties which lays the foundation of coexistent land use. (NNTT, 2008)
    While the rights gained through Native Title will differ from group to group the following are some examples: the right to negotiate mining leases, right of access to pastoral/agriculture leases, and the right to comment on proposals effecting the land for which native title is held. (NNTT, 2008)
    While Native Title is an important tool for Indigenous Self-Determination and gaining access to traditional lands it does have limitations that freehold Land Rights do not. For instance, Native Title holders can not exclude other users except in very special circumstances or where lands were held in trust for the use of Indigenous peoples in the first place. (NNTT, 2008) Also, in certain states Native Title can be “extinguished” by pastoral or agriculture leases and though the Native Title holders may be able to negotiate about development projects taking place on the land they do not have the power to stop development out right. (NNTT, 2008) This is a problem because if the development disrupts the Native Title holders from maintaining their traditions it can lead to the “extinguishing” of that title.
Land Rights
    Land Rights followed quite a different evolutionary course from Native Title. Land Rights developed out of the social atmosphere of the 1970s in the form of state statutory law. (Way with Beckett, 1997-1999) There is currently no country wide or federal system that works with Indigenous peoples to gain Land Rights. Instead, each Australian state has developed its own system of Land Rights law and claims processes. (Way with Beckett 1997-1999)
    The two states with the most extensive Land Rights legislation are the Northern Territory and New South Wales. Both of these states have created Land Councils and created a claims process. ( McRae, H., Nettheim, G., Beacroft, L., with McNamara, L. (1997) pp 175-177, 190-200) Through the claims process Indigenous groups can gain freehold, unalienable title to portions of Crownland by providing description and evidence of their connection to the portion of land in question. The Land Councils assist claimants in this process and also act as representatives and negotiators. Once a Land Right is gained it is non-extinguishable but, it can be leased back to the Australian government and still has limited defenses against mining interests. (McRae et. al 1997 pp 175-177, 190-200)
    On the other end of the spectrum are the two states with the least amount of Land Rights process or law available. Western Australia has no modern Land Rights legislation and still holds Indigenous land in trust. South Australia has assigned two large areas to Indigenous peoples with freehold title but, there are no claims procedures.(McRae et. al. 1997 pp 190-200)
    The states of Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania all have polices that fall between these two perspectives of available Land Rights.(McRae et. al. pp 190-200)

Comparison
    Each of these polices have advantages and disadvantages.
    Advantages of both are the access to resources and recognition of Indigenous rights given to peoples that have traditionally been dis-enfranchised. Native Title can be widely applied to peoples and situations which makes it a tool for gaining access but also for reconciliation between the land’s traditional users and newer interests. Land Rights are powerful because they are recognized as full ownership of land, not just by Indigenous people but, by other Australians. This gives a kind of status Native Title can’t, which can further overall self-governance.
    Dis-advantages of both lie in how sturdy they are against government and mining development policies. Native Title and Land Rights can not stand in the way of new mining projects, housing developments, or (in some cases) public parks.
    Major differences in the polices lie, as described above, in how they came about and how they are gained/administered. Native Title gives more freedom of traditional law but, requires much more negotiation and access with others. Land Rights, however, once gained can have powers of exclusion.
Conclusion
    Recognition of Indigenous land rights have come along way in the past 20-30 years but more work still can be done. Without ‘country’ the preservation of identity through culture, self-determination, and self governance is not possible. That is why the tools of Native Title and Land Rights are so important for moving forward in Indigenous, Australian, and Global communities.

Sources

McRae, H., Nettheim, G., Beacroft, L., with McNamara, L. (1997). 2nd Ed. Indigenous     Legal Issues: commentary and materials. Chapter 4 Land Rights Legislation,     163-200. North Ryde: LBC Information Services.
National Native Title Tribunal. (2009). Native Title: An Overview [Brochure].     Commonwealth of Australia
National Native Title Tribunal. (2006, Updated May 2008). About Native Title [Brochure].     Commonwealth of Australia
Way, Firth; with Beckett, Simon: Australian Research Council Collaborative Research     Project. (1997-1999). Discussion Paper 4 Land-Holding and Governance Structures     Under Australian Land Rights Legislation. The University of New South Wales     Murdoch University.

Indigenous Environmental Management Pre-Intensive

My Indigenous Environmental Management class has been taught remotely on-line over the past weeks and finally we are about to have our "intensive." The Intensive involves consolidating and reviewing all the information we have absorbed. The intensive also will have labs and seminars with traditional owners. (So excited)  It will also have a final- but that's at the end.

I plan on sharing some of the topics and issues we cover in this intensive but first there is some background information that will make the other posts more understandable.

First Australia has a history of poor treatment and relations with the people who have lived here 60,000 years or longer. Here is the quick, monstrously abridged version of this history.

When Captain Cook first visited Australia he declared it terris nullis or "empty land" making it available for claim by the British Crown. It also disenfranchised all the people already living there.
Conflicts, wars, and massacres ensued between the colonists and the Indigenous peoples.
Towards the end of the waring period Indigenous groups were moved off traditional lands onto "mission stations" to be taught European customs and beliefs. During this time Europeans hope to curb Aboriginal peoples population by a policy of absorption. Laws are put in place restricting peoples movement, and for further forcible removals. Even with these laws developing the Native Police and territory militias were still hunting done and murdering Indigenous people.
Next came a period of "Protectionist" policies where the government took the position where the Aboriginal peoples needed to be protected from the settlers and from themselves. These arguements were made using a popular pseudoscience of the day which used skull and bone characteristics to support white superiority over other ethnic groups. These policies outlawed Aboriginal employment, allowed the government to remove children from their homes, and "half-caste" children are separated from their Aboriginal identity. Segregation effectively bans Indigenous people from towns and cities and establishes a "color line" which no one can marry across without permission of the government. It was believed that by being kept isolated and the children taught "how to be white" they were simply allowing nature to take its course and "expedite the extinction of the Aboriginal race." A similar policy existed in the U.S. at one point with the tag line of "kill the Indian, save the child."
In the 1930s the government changed positions and adopted an "Assimilation" policy which meant integrating Indigenous people into "white society" regardless of their preferences. They are still are not recognized as citizens, do not have rights to vote or own land.
In the 1950s integration of some schools occurs and Aboriginal workers begin to strike for fair wages. This leads into the 1960s where discriminating legislation begins to be removed and all Indigenous people gain the right to vote. Fair wages policies are introduced. New legislation puts an end to the seisure of children from their homes. They are counted in the census and begin to be recognized for achievements with awards such as Australian of the Year.
In the 1970s protests and strikes bring and end to "white Australia" policies, self-determination begins to be promoted as are programs to improve health and welfare in Indigenous communities. Land trusts begin to be set up and the first Land Rights legislation occurs as well as anti discrimination laws.
In 1992 the Mabo vs Queensland case establishes Native Title rights and overturns the premise of terris nullis. Inquiries into the "stolen children (generation)" and into the number of Indigenous deaths in custody.
In 2008 the first official "Sorry Day" is held where the Australian Parliment appologizes to the Stolen Generations and their families.
There has been continued improvement in legislation and programs to promote reconciliation, rights, self-determination, and cooperative management in the past decade or so as well. However there is still a long way to go before everyone is on even footing. 

The Second piece of information I consider essential to any posts I make on this class is the concept of Country. Based on what I have learned this is my perception of what Country is and what it means to Care for Country.

Country is more then the homeland you come from. It is the place that hold your stories, history, ancestors- everything. As an Indigenous Australian this connection to country is the most important relationship that makes the foundation for all other aspects of life. So caring for country is central to maintaining this relationship. It is more then the westernized perspective of land management. Caring for country is taking care of your family, community, and self.  If you take care of your country it will take care of you. It is a relationship that is not well expressed by words.
This is why the removal of people from their lands, the prohibition of traditional practices, and  removal of children was so devastating to the Indigenous peoples of Australia.

Marrja Boardwalk

The Marrja Botanical Boardwalk is a beautiful way to experience the ecotones of lowland rainforest within the Daintree. It is also one of the few places in the World Heritage Park that is handicap accessible.
The boardwalk takes you through lowland rainforest, licuala palm swamp, mangrove forest, and part of the river the mangroves enter into.

Licuala Palms

For the field trip we focused on the type of experience of the tourist and what impacts they were having on the environment/infrastructure, but also what impacts the environment & infrastructure was having on them.
The boardwalk's parking lot is small and the loop is meant to be walked in one direction. This minimizes the impacts on the infrastructure but also enhances the experience of the users by limiting the disturbance people have on each other. While taking you through the ecotones the path leads you away from the road and you can hear the forest. The birds, the rustling, the river, and the buzz of mosquitoes.
The licuala palms towering above our heads make us feel like we stepped back in a time before human existence. Perhaps dinosaurs could pop out from behind the bushes! This of course did not happen but the other group saw a cassowary with a chick. Definitely jealous- even though male cassowaries with chicks are potentially dangerous out of protection of their young.

Their pneumatophores are showing

Then there are the mangroves. It would seem there are two sections of mangroves. The mangroves closer to the swamp don't experience as extreme ups and downs in the water line as the ones that line the river (maybe we were there at low tide?). So these trees don't need to invest in a dramatic, high above ground root system. Instead they have small buttressed roots and millions of pneumatophores. Pneumatophores are specialized Arial roots that allow the mangroves to carry out gas exchange in spite of living in highly compact saline mud. Closer to the river the trunks of the mangroves begin higher above the ground, along with buttressing , the thick roots weave tangles that support and the trees and allow spaces for the pneumatophores to continue their gas exchange. The river is in an estuarine zone and has varying levels of salinity through out the day as the tides change. The salt is excluded from the mangroves and can be seen on some of the bark and can also be "pumped" into "sacrificial" leaves that the plant then sheds. This hyperacumulation in certain parts of the plant allows it to function in this relatively harsh environment. The mangroves use the movement of water to disperse their seeds and help to form the structure of their communities that also contain crabs, snails, and the occasional crocodile.

Roots and Mangrove Seedling

Ok, so while we didn't have to fill out a ROS assessment we were meant to be looking at the adequacy of the infrastructure. We found the concrete and wood would need to be replaced some time in the near future as wear, tear, and use caused it to rot or erode. To accommodate wheelchairs parts of the path could stand to be a little wider. The dead spaces under the boards was minimal, and designed holes in the fencing shows a good conscious effort to minimize the effects of liner barriers to wildlife movement. We concluded that no additions or enlarging of the car park should be undertaken in the interest of maintaining the peace and quiet of limited human traffic which makes this site so enjoyable.

Wonderful field trip, Thank you Dr. Joan!!

Cow Bay

Real sign warning drivers to slow down to avoid hitting cassowaries

The visit to this site was a lot shorter then the one to Mossman. Hear we asked questions about the affects living in a tropical environment has towards a modern western lifestyle and what measures humans take to adjust themselves and their environment.
One of the biggest concerns are roads. Roads are necessary for people to move from their homes to jobs, stores selling food, and to be in touch with other people. Roads, however, create linear barriers for native species and corridors for invasive ones like feral pigs or weedy plants. They increase mortality rates due to animal/car interactions. To reduce road impacts the roads have speed bumps, signs, and are made of different materials to encourage drivers to slow down.
Other issues humans living in Cow Bay include drainage, waste collection/removal, water use and storage, and electricity. Since the community is located with in the imaginary line delineating the Wet Tropics World Heritage Park it is entirely responsible for all it's own waste, electricity, and water in a pack-it-in-pack-it-out type of mentality. Many of the houses have solar panels and large tanks for water collection, and all that have electricity have generators. Waste garbage and recycling is collected at "the local dump" and then trucked out on a regular basis. The forest is close in on some of the houses and grows at an alarming rate-meaning the home owners put up a constant battle to keep their yards in a state of order. Of course the yards themselves are an ecological controversy within themselves. Garden species and pets while safe, fenced in, inside the yards can quickly turn feral or invasive when neglected or carry diseases lethal to native species.

Cow Bay beach

Then there are the simple problems of building and living in a swampy tropic zone. The liquala plams and high water table mean any building area must first be impeccably drained- try doing that in a rainforest! Then there is the wear and tear all that rain, humidity, heat, and intense sunlight (when you get sun at all) all of which shorten the life of most building materials. Living in the heart of the tropical forest is hard on humans and their environment. Maybe it is better for visiting or if you do have a strong desire to live there- find a way to do so more in harmony with the environmental conditions rather then battling them tooth, nail, and checkbook.

Mossman Gorge

"Water Dragon" in one of the study plots

Golden Panda tree and Mossman River

The Mossman Gorge picnicking site is a popular tourist attraction within the Daintree Rainforest section of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Park. Since the 1980s it has attracted over 1/2 a million people every year.
However, Mossman Gorge, as a whole, has been home and of great importance to the Kuku Yalanji and the non-indigenous communities living in the gorge for much longer.
The picnic area and small trail loop is under public land jurisdiction which has largely lead to the exclusion of community members providing input on management practices and caring for country. 
The influx of tourism on this relatively small site has lead not only to new disturbance regimes within the edges of the rainforest, and to negative impacts on the community over the years. Disturbances include erosion, noise pollution, hardening and compacting of soil, introduction of invasive species, and feeding/harassing of wildlife. Tourism's impact on the community has been just as far reaching. Apart from displacing local use of the site, increased traffic makes use of the road dangerous, tourism buses would drive through the community and take pictures- taking away the community's right to privacy, and tourists would be rude or make racial slurs against locals.
All of this is now changing! Through talking to community members, opening a dialogue of understanding, and conducting research on the environmental impacts and pressures possible causing them the Park Authority and the people living in Mossman have developed a new management strategy: The Gateway Project. The Gateway Project creates control and monitoring of how many people are on site at a time, allows the Kuku Yalanji community to represent themselves on their own terms, and have the opportunity for job training, land management collaboration, and to earn revenue from tourist focused ventures like a restaurant and a walking track. The idea is to reduce impacts by having all visitors park at a new compound at the mouth of the gorge and take a shuttle bus up to the picnic/parkland. The compound will have offices for the park authority, ranger training, walking track tickets, art gallery, and a cafe. Both the compound and the walking track land are not owned by the park authority and so may have private ventures operating on them. The new Gateway to Mossman wasn't opened when we visited but will be in mid-June. There are a couple of websites though; http://www.mossmangorge.com.au/,
http://www.yalanji.com.au/
Its very exciting!

Now where did I get all this lovely information from? The credit is due to some very exceptional people: Roy Gibson a community elder, Rachael Hodges CEO of the Mossman Gorge Aboriginal community organization Bamanga Bubu Ngadimunk (BBN) both of which our class had the honor and privilege of speaking with on our visit; and Dr. Joan Bentrupperbaumer our professor for Conserving Tropical Rainforests who insists on field trips for her students and was author of the 2001/2002 Mossman Gorge Site Level Data Report ( a research report focusing on tourism and environmental psychology impacts)
They shared with us their stories and perspectives on the first part of our trip and reminded us that people are the reason behind why we do environmental impact assessments. That people may cause problems but they also hold the solutions.

Alestura lathami Bush or Scrub Turkey

With this in mind we split into groups, took our criteria, found our observation plots and began our rapid pressure-state-response assessment. Each of the groups was stationed next to a 3m x 3m plot of forest edge adjacent to the picnic area. The plot our group was stationed at was in fair condition and had some close to mature trees. The hardest part was assessing the plot with out actually getting into the and examining the plants. During our 1/2 hour or so observation time we did have visits from one of the scrub turkeys that were hanging around. It had a noticeable limp, was friendly, and had a deteriorating feather condition. Then we did a general assessment of the picnic area, river bank, and parking area. There was lots of compaction and erosion around the car park and a couple of the picnic tables where the grass wouldn't grow. But, the river was in apparent good health and soil compaction was minimal in less used areas of the picnic grounds. Overall our group came to the same conclusion that the park authority had come to: too many people using the site at one time-which leaves the site no time to recover.

After that we were able to tour the short boardwalk loop that allows you to really see the forest. And what a view! The boardwalk raises visitors off the forest floor and minimizes the edge effects so well that you really do get a sense of what walking through this rainforest would be like. This area is home to some of the oldest rainforest in Australia and the world and you can feel it. Its in the size of the trees, the complexity of the lianas (vines), epiphytes, and diversity that surrounds you. There were butterflies of all shades, shapes, and colors that fly tantalizingly close. It was like slipping into a national geographic magazine, but better because you are actually there.

Mossman River