Slash & Burn in the Hinterland, N.S.W.

Once there was thick subtropical rainforest, known as the 'big scrub', now there is less than 1% left. The area around Byron Bay to Mullumbimby, Wilsons' Ck, Uki and Nimbin appears as the following:
A patchwork of sugar-cane, cattle, macadamia and banana monocultures. Watercourses are clogged with algae and a permanent chemical smell around the (eroding) banana slopes. In between are weed-infested roads, clogged watercourses and private properties. Hardly any of these places seem to like and tolerate Australian plants. Thick forests of bamboo, introduced trees such as pines, succulents and most of all out of control weeds make up these places.

The 'peace & quiet' of the country is a myth as every property sprouts huge lawns, which get manicured daily. The petrol-driven power and garden tools howl 24/7. Their packs of dogs howl and yelp.

Every few turns a quarry eliminates a hill or a landmark of the landscape. In the end they are all quarries, minerals, meat, sugar or fruit. Cows and horses seem to stand inside the barbed-wire fences, cooking and unattended.

The big scrub project is not yet completed, that 1 % is irritating. Tire-less clearing is ubiquitous, not the type that gets monitored via GPS, but small individual land holders, poisoning, ring-barking trees and making these so iconic 'heaps of vegetation' which finally get incinerated. Numerous fires go all night and over days, when some get out of control, the local fire-brigade picks up the tab. In the developing world, they call it slash and burn agriculture, here it is just culture.

The goal seems to be, eradicate bio-diversity, replace it with impoverished monoculture, then mine it or put some 'cash-cows' (houses) on it. Flog off petrol-dependent wasteland without infrastructure and then move 'away from it all'.

The native flora and fauna are the big losers. They are bullied out of their homes or their space is too fragmented and they have to cross roads. Hence, most of Australia's wildife can be viewed in wild-life rescue centres or smeared on roads. Packs of dogs roam, finishing off the rest. A lot of Australian animals also find death though the endless barbed-wire and power-lines.
Land clearing NSW
Image: 'scorched Earth' and iconic vegetation heaps ,could be anywhere in the Tweed or Byron area

Snakes dancing at the beach - video

Snakes at Byron beach environments

Thanks to Hugoatbyronbay

Bitou, toxic sprays, health and land management

Australia has committed many infamous vandalisms against the landscape with the voluntary introduction of cane toads to control pests in the sugar cane industry for example. Foxes were also introduced for the leisured classes to have something to hunt for in 1871.
Many exotic plants have been introduced and are still being imported, industrially propagated and randomly released into the environment. One of these examples was the Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera) , introduced from South Africa in the 60's, it was supposed to be a quick solution to stabilise the coastal land where extractive industries had mined the beaches for sand. Yes, it is that yellow daisy that is so ubiquitous on Australian beaches left behind for you as an inheritance.

“Bitou bush has now infested about 80 per cent (or more than 900km) of the NSW coastline, extending 10km inland in some areas. It has become the dominant species along about 36 per cent of the state's coastline.“ “Bitou bush has become one of Australia's worst environmental weeds. “

The woody plant “is a highly competitive weed that smothers native plant communities and destroys natural habitat and food sources for native animals “
Authorities and volunteers attempt to halt the invasion by physical removal, fire, biological control and herbicides. Bundjalung, Yuraygir, Hat Head, Crowdy Bay, Botany Bay and Eurobodalla national parks have had spraying from the air and additional ground spraying of toxins that kill the plants. National Parks authorities aim to “ to ensure that all aerial spraying programs are undertaken to the highest possible standard, whilst preserving public safety and minimising harm to the environment. “

Cape Byron Headland Reserve and Broken Head, Wooyung and Brunswick Nature Reserves will get $120,000 worth of funds 'to battle bitou bush'. (NP)

Some people in the area object to councils spraying poisons, some relate herbicides with degenerative diseases, some communities are concerned herbicides drift into the drinking water.

What assurance is given to residents, bushwalkers and beach-goers, as well as to wild-life, that all are not immersed in toxic chemicals that one day might be discovered to have been 'a mistake'. The aerial mist and ground wash-off will have entered the circuit of all living organisms, as well as the water and air currents.
Health effects of herbicide
Health effects of 2,4-D
Toxic Human
Parkinson and Herbicide
Effects of Roundup on mammalian fertility
10 reasons to stop herbicide
The EU banning Paraquat
A community resisting herbicide
A contemporary sustainable educational institution refraining from spraying toxins

Update 260609:

• " Weed killer kills human cell... Used in yards, farms and parks throughout the world, Roundup has long been a top-selling weed killer. But now researchers have found that one of Roundup’s inert ingredients can kill human cells, particularly embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells." Environmental Health News, 220609
• Nora Benachour and Gilles-Eric Sralini, Glyphosate Formulations Induce Apoptosis and Necrosis in Human Umbilical, Embryonic, and Placental Cells, Chem. Res. Toxicol., 2009, 22 (1), pp 97–105 DOI: 10.1021/tx800218n Publication Date (Web): December 23, 2008

Update 062011:
Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark? Earth Open Source Report, June 2011 on scribd

Broken Head Nature Reserve

In the frenzy of clearing Australia there is rarely an exception where the endemic vegetation is allowed to grow right to the beach. Broken Head Nature Reserve is such a rare place in NSW where the coastal sub-tropical rainforest meets the Pacific Ocean. No road, no car-park etc in between. Steep slopes might have helped to keep the hoofed animals and motorised Australians off. The 75 ha large reserve has various beaches. On the walk to King's beach one can see old Figs, Burrawangs, Bangalow palms tangled in Hoya and many other vines into a considerable canopy. Brush Turkeys cross the path often. Pandanus, Banksias and Palms stabilise the beach and provide shade. Lichen encrusted rocks reach out into the ocean where they peak as islands. Rare Sooty Oystercatchers rest on the rocks as the Ocean is protected there and still provides food and habitat for them. Elsewhere in Australia every, but every, Oyster is scratched out by needy Australians, not leaving one for reproduction, let alone sharing it with wildlife.Signs prohibit certain activities that are not compatible with nature reserves. This list can also be read as a list of everything that IS done. So the dark rainforest floor is littered with endless white paper tissues that wiped off that essential lippy or other stuff. Each Pandanus stand has sand-castles, sand-beds and other coves erected. All plastic garbage, glossy mags etc are generously shared with the wildlife for good. The intensive 'my beach-is-my-castle' usage of these coves severely erodes the vegetation and soil. As usual, Bitou creeps up everywhere to finish the degradation off.
Approaching the area, many developments are moving in on the little reserve. It is still unique and gives a feel of what Australia was or could have been.
Indigenous Fibrecraft from Pandanus
Rainforest Turkey Videos

Can NSW afford Tyagarah Nature Reserve ?

A day at Tyagarah Nature Reserve: “ a thin strip of protected coast encompassing 7 km of secluded and unspoiled beach backed by coastal heath.” (N.P.) Longing to be emerged in a coastal flora and fauna environment, we drove north of Byron Bay (map). The way to the NATURE RESERVE was a continues strip of mining the Earth, the trees, the soil, the water, grab & cash it in. The dust off the wide road suffocated the plants. A 'fire trail' on the left seemed like a 'bushy' track to walk into that environment. It was 'clear-felled' to either side in such a butch way that walking became unpleasant. Mainly old banksias were hacked in half, but all the weeds, lantana and bitou left untouched.

Off to the iconic Australian beach car-park. A very busy place, cars arriving at high speed, no-one but us paying the fee. Through the bitou dunes to the beach. After a short time it becomes clear that all the hasty male lurkers might not be naturalists. They move in and bully. 7 km of beachfront seems too small for enjoying the conservation of nature. Hassled off the beach we try another northen walk, this time it ends after a short time in a clear-felled patch that is privatised to raise introduced bees. Disappointed, we try one more path and get to a once divine coastal lake, framed by paperbarks, rushes and lotus. The entry had a warning sign about 'sexual harrassment'. The banks and roots of the trees were trodden bare and eroding.

A local ecologist summed up about the state of the place:

• Cars -Speeds up to 70 - 100 kph have been observed routinely.
• Motorised speed craft in the shallows
• Every day there are dogs on the beach and they are almost never on a leash
• Trail bikes on the beach
• Cars on the beach
• Littering
• Sexual harrassment

Also heard the rumour that the beach will receive aerial bombing of herbicide (VN style)
It does appear that the conservation of nature is contrary to the aims of the big quarry Australia, but in a NATURE RESERVE one would expect that some sustainable land management is taking place. It is the Australian dilemma: How to eat the cake and flog it off at the same time. It would have been appreciated to have prior warning by the authorities on their website about the use and the condition of the reserve.

Tallow Beach, Byron Bay, Arakwal N.P.

Arakwal National Park is south of the Cape Byron State Conservation Area. We entered it via the Cosy Corner carpark. The Byron Bay Arakwal Country is co-managed by the Bundjalung people and National Parks. From the car-park one reaches the Pacific Ocean, the Cape Byron Marine Park.
The good news is, that there are no motorised vehicles on the beach, which is unusual for Australia. A Brahminy Kite patrolled the very long beach. Kingfishers and many other birds are in the dunes. “The park protects the largest remaining area of coastal clay heath left in the state, and is home to numerous threatened plant and animal species.” ( N.P.)The native dune-vegetation thows a healthy net over the sand and pumice. The 'bush' behind the dunes is infested with bitou which will kill it in the end. Frequent army aircraft fly very low, at near membrane-bursting levels. Locals jog off obesity and play ball.

At the northern end in the Cape Byron State Conservation Area the introduced weeds and pests seem to increase, peaking at the The Cape Byron Lighthouse cliffs. Feral goats degrade the headland and bitou is killing the last banksias.
At dusk a guy threw a giant fishing-line into the 'protected'? Marine Park and pulled out numerous large fish in no time. Many of the mutilated fish were left to rot on the beach after he hastily left with a big bucket. A common sight all over Australian beaches and protected Marine areas.