Advice to the Minister for the Environment from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee on Amendments to the List of Key Threatening Processes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
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Listing advice - Aggressive exclusion of birds from potential woodland and forest habitat by over-abundant noisy miners (PDF - 206.16 KB)
Listing advice - Aggressive exclusion of birds from potential woodland and forest habitat by over-abundant noisy miners (DOCX - 54.49 KB)
Ministers Reasons for a Threat Abatement Plan decision. Date of decision - 07/04/2014
The noisy miner is a native honeyeater species that defends habitat aggressively, excluding smaller birds from favoured habitat. Noisy miners prefer open structure at habitat edges, and thus have been favoured by extensive fragmentation of woodland habitat into small patches, with high edge:interior ratio. In such fragmented habitats, the diversity and abundance of smaller bird species is substantially reduced. As the noisy miner is a native species that only becomes a threatening process under particular circumstances, it is important that clear guidance be developed with regard to the circumstances and means by which the threat is abated. The threat may be abated by revegetation of habitat patches to provide greater shelter for small bird species, but abatement methods may also include direct control. A national-scale threat abatement plan is unlikely to be a feasible, effective and efficient way to abate the process as it would necessarily be broad in scope and coarse in resolution. The development of threat abatement advice, based on the most up to date understanding of the interaction of Noisy miners with their environment, and providing clear guidance to land managers regarding the context and means by which it may be appropriate to control noisy miners, is the most feasible, effective and efficient approach to abating this threat. The decision not to have a threat abatement plan can be reviewed by the Minister at any time within five years of the listing of this key threatening process. Following a review, a threat abatement plan(s) could be implemented if it is considered to be a feasible, efficient and effective way to abate the threat at that time.