Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park

About

The Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park is a national park that is located in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia. The 21,650-hectare (53,500-acre) national park is situated approximately 275 kilometres (171 mi) northeast of Melbourne, and extends west from Beechworth across the Hume Freeway and the Albury-Melbourne railway line to the west of Chiltern. The park was established under the National Parks (Box–Ironbark and Other Parks) Act, 2002 (Vic) to protect a diverse range of threatened species and ecosystems. The distinctive features of the park include the Woolshed Falls, picturesque Mt Pilot summit, culturally significant Aboriginal rock art at Yeddonba and historical relics of the goldmining era scattered throughout. The park is used for a number of recreational activities including bushwalking, hiking, trail riding, rock climbing, picnicking, camping, bird watching and prospecting.

At the time of European settlement, box-ironbark forests covered approximately 3,000,000 hectares (7,400,000 acres) or 13% of Victoria. As a result of settlement, nearly 80% of these forests were cleared and the remaining areas were badly degraded by grazing. The forests of the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park are living testament to these claims with some of its natural systems deteriorated as a result of grazing, clearing, logging and mining. [ citation needed ]

When gold was discovered in the area during the mid-1800s, extensive alluvial and reef mining, quartz mining and gravel quarrying began. Fossicking, prospecting and gem hunting are still permitted within the park today. Evidence of these activities including disturbed ground, mullock heaps, dams and old mineshafts may be found scattered throughout the park.

Pastoralists driving cattle through Chiltern, known at the time as Black Dog Creek, discovered the forests of box and ironbark during the 1930s. The species were renowned for their strong durable timber and soon felled for fencing, construction and firewood. In fact, firewood collection continued until 2002 when the National Park was formed. A landscape that was originally dominated by large, mature trees and grassy forest floors quickly deteriorated into closely packed stands of multi-stemmed coppice regrowth.

The clearing of land for agriculture and grazing impacted negatively on this landscape. Grazing continued through the Chiltern section of the park until the 1980s and the Mt Pilot section until the 1990s. Common problems associated with these activities including the introduction of pest species, soil compaction and erosion, increased salinity and habitat fragmentation were all reported as a result.

The Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park is an amalgamation of two separate parks, each with distinct geological, historical and ecological profiles.

The Chiltern Regional Park, first known as the Chiltern State Park, was a 4,250-hectare (10,500-acre) Box-ironbark forest that was reserved in 1980 following the 1977 Land Conservation Council (LCC) recommendations. The Mt Pilot Multipurpose Park was also established under the 1977 LCC recommendations. The Environment Conservation Council (ECC) replaced the LCC in 1997 and gave rise to the Chiltern Box-ironbark National Park of 4,320 hectares (10,700 acres).

When the Victorian State parliament gave assent to the National Parks (Box–Ironbark and Other Parks) Act, 2002 (Vic) it initiated the creation of a highly protected system of parks and reserves. The Chiltern Box-ironbark National Park and the Mt Pilot Multipurpose Park, in addition to Woolshed falls and surrounding land, were brought together to form Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park as it is known today.

At the time of European settlement, box-ironbark forests covered approximately 3,000,000 hectares (7,400,000 acres) or 13% of Victoria. As a result of settlement, nearly 80% of these forests were cleared and the remaining areas were badly degraded by grazing. The forests of the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park are living testament to these claims with some of its natural systems deteriorated as a result of grazing, clearing, logging and mining. [ citation needed ]

When gold was discovered in the area during the mid-1800s, extensive alluvial and reef mining, quartz mining and gravel quarrying began. Fossicking, prospecting and gem hunting are still permitted within the park today. Evidence of these activities including disturbed ground, mullock heaps, dams and old mineshafts may be found scattered throughout the park.

Pastoralists driving cattle through Chiltern, known at the time as Black Dog Creek, discovered the forests of box and ironbark during the 1930s. The species were renowned for their strong durable timber and soon felled for fencing, construction and firewood. In fact, firewood collection continued until 2002 when the National Park was formed. A landscape that was originally dominated by large, mature trees and grassy forest floors quickly deteriorated into closely packed stands of multi-stemmed coppice regrowth.

The clearing of land for agriculture and grazing impacted negatively on this landscape. Grazing continued through the Chiltern section of the park until the 1980s and the Mt Pilot section until the 1990s. Common problems associated with these activities including the introduction of pest species, soil compaction and erosion, increased salinity and habitat fragmentation were all reported as a result.

The Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park is an amalgamation of two separate parks, each with distinct geological, historical and ecological profiles.

The Chiltern Regional Park, first known as the Chiltern State Park, was a 4,250-hectare (10,500-acre) Box-ironbark forest that was reserved in 1980 following the 1977 Land Conservation Council (LCC) recommendations. The Mt Pilot Multipurpose Park was also established under the 1977 LCC recommendations. The Environment Conservation Council (ECC) replaced the LCC in 1997 and gave rise to the Chiltern Box-ironbark National Park of 4,320 hectares (10,700 acres).

When the Victorian State parliament gave assent to the National Parks (Box–Ironbark and Other Parks) Act, 2002 (Vic) it initiated the creation of a highly protected system of parks and reserves. The Chiltern Box-ironbark National Park and the Mt Pilot Multipurpose Park, in addition to Woolshed falls and surrounding land, were brought together to form Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park as it is known today.

The Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park falls within the Victorian Riverina and Northern Inland Slopes sub- bioregions. The Chiltern section of the park comprises low-lying hills formed from Ordovician sedimentary rock which are distinctly contrast to the rugged Devonian granite of the Mt Pilot section. The park protects a total 18 ecological vegetation classes (EVCs) of which four are threatened: Box-Ironbark, Spring-soak Woodland, Gilgai Plain Woodland/Wetland Mosaic and the Valley Grassy Forest. The park supports over 600 native species of flora and has the most intact assemblage of fauna with more birds, mammals and reptiles recorded than any other Box-ironbark forest. Most notably, the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park provides a critical habitat for the recovery of the barking owl ( Ninox connivens ) and brush-tailed phascogale ( Phascogale tapoatafa ). It is part of the Warby–Chiltern Box–Ironbark region Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of Box–Ironbark forest ecosystems and several species of threatened woodland birds dependent on them.

The park supports a diverse range of native fauna with 276 different species of mammals, birds and reptiles being reported. As well as common species including the grey kangaroo ( Macropus giganteus ), koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus ) and laughing kookaburra ( Dacelo novaeguineae ), the park is home to 43 fauna species listed as threatened; 21 one of which are listed under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Some significant species are described in more detail below.

The squirrel glider ( Petaurus norfolcensis ) is a small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial that occupies a vast range of habitats throughout Eastern Australia. It is listed as a threatened species under the FFG Act 1988. The gliders have highly specific feeding and nesting requirements and use trees to move through the landscape. Consequently, they are highly susceptible to changes in forest conditions. Squirrel gliders have a reported home range size of approximately 3.9 hectares (9.6 acres) in northeast Victoria. This size can vary greatly and is strongly influenced by the availability of food and the quality of the forest habitat. The glider's diet consists of arthropods, nectars and insect exudates with foraging accounting for a high proportion of their nocturnal activity. Most of their time is spent in living eucalypt trees with a strong preference for large, mature trees in flower. Gliders use dead trees to shelter in and facilitate movement through the forest.

Brush-tail phascogales ( Phascogale tapoatafa ) are small carnivorous, arboreal marsupials that are solitary by nature. They breed once per year with all males dying at the end of each breeding season. These mammals are widely distributed across Australia but habitat loss and degradation following European settlement in Victoria has meant this species is now listed as threatened. The average home range size for females is 41 hectares (100 acres) and for males it often exceeds 100 hectares (250 acres).

Phascogales are regarded as foraging generalists with invertebrates comprising the bulk of their diet. Foraging in trees accounts for up to 90% of their nocturnal activity with larger trees offering greater surface areas for phascogales to forage on. Large remnant trees also contain more hollows and potential nest sites than smaller trees. Phascogales typically occupy living trees of large diameter and it is not uncommon for them to maintain multiple nests across the majority of their home range. For these reasons, sites that offer mature, evenly spaced trees and well connected patches are considered the most suitable habitats.