The Protected Areas on Private Land Program (PAPL) was a joint initiative between the
National Reserve System Program, the Department and the
Tasmanian Land Conservancy which recognised the important role private landowners play in efforts to conserve Tasmania's unique natural values.
The aim of the PAPL program was to contribute to Tasmania and Australia's Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) Reserve System by promoting and facilitating voluntary
Conservation Covenants between the Tasmanian Government and landowners with important natural values on their properties. Natural values of interest included under-reserved vegetation communities, freshwater values, threatened species and geoconservation areas.
The PAPL program was largely interested in areas that were greater than ten hectares in size and in good condition - vegetation that had a diversity of species, limited management issues such as weeds, and ideally was linked to other areas of native bush.
Flipping useful resources
The four 'Flips'
Photo: Iona Mitchell
Since the publication of the EucaFlip, a portable folding weather-proof (laminated) guide to the eucalypts of Tasmania in 2007, a trend was started. Next came the TreeFlip, a life-sized guide to the native trees of Tasmania, followed by the FungiFlip and just recently the PooFlip, a life-sized guide to the scats of Tasmanian native mammals.
The EucaFlip is an excellent resource for identifying the native species of eucalypts which occur in Tasmania. The pictorial guide shows the real-life shape and size of juvenile and adult leaves with key features to note. The shape, size and number of gum nuts are also key features for identifying species, with excellent photos provided to show buds and the capsules they later mature into. The character of bark is also an identifying aspect and photos show good examples of this for the different species. Distribution maps show where you are likely to find each species, along with some information on their habitat preferences.
The most recent addition to the Flip guides is the PooFlip, the life-sized guide to the scats of Tasmanian native mammals. The hand drawings of Tasmanian marsupial species by Jane Burrell of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery are superbly detailed. Many native mammals are nocturnal and so may not be actually seen, but you will know they have been around from the scats (poo) they leave behind! The PooFlip has excellent photos showing the size, shape and form of scats with detailed descriptions of their texture and content.
- Iona Mitchell
More detail about each of the 'Flips' is available in the full article in the June 2019 edition of The Running Postman newsletter.
Running Postman Newsletter No. 27 June 2019 (855Kb)
** The 'Flips' are available at most book stores