THE protection of older native trees will provide crucial habitat for many native animals such as vulnerable superb parrots and glossy black-cockatoos in the ACT, says ACT Conservator Ian Walker. 

Following advice from the ACT Scientific Committee older native trees will be the first listing on the Key Threatening Processes list under the “Nature Conservation Act 2014″.

“It will also mean an action plan can be developed with detailed measures on what can be implemented to provide greater protection for mature trees,” says Mr Walker.

“Mature trees can provide crucial habitat that can take over a century to replace. Hollow formation is an incredibly slow process with most hollows forming in eucalypt trees after 120 years.

“They are formed through weather damage, branch shedding, insect attack, and advanced through modification by strong-billed native parrots like cockatoos and galahs.

“Since urbanisation and land clearing began in the ACT region, there has been a dramatic decline of mature aged trees.

“Competition for suitable nesting hollows is fierce, and birds such as superb parrots, that migrate to the ACT each year, must work extra hard to compete with our resident parrot community for nesting hollows.

“Superb parrots, like many other threatened Australian birds including swift parrots, brown treecreepers and glossy black-cockatoos, are unlikely to persist in the ACT without stronger protections of hollow-bearing trees.”

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