Friends of Lord Howe Island Newsletter N
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A great 2003 weeding season 2003 again saw six weed trips to Lord Howe over winter. There were 123 participants, and 1986 hours were contributed by the volunteers. The main focus was again Transit Hill, removing Ground Asparagus and Climbing Asparagus. The Friends organization also collaborated with the Lord Howe Island Board on a number of conservation projects – replanting significant areas such as the endangered Lagunaria swamp community, sponsoring a Cherry Guava eradication project and production of a walking track weed guide. And with a repeat rate of participants at around 50 percent means a lot of satisfied weeders! Thanks to 2003 supervisors Each 2003 trip had a different supervisor, all volunteers who gave their time to ensure the program carries on professionally and safely. Many thanks to our six supervisors Colin Lambert, Elizabeth Brown, Rymill Abell, Alan Leishman, Danny Hirschfield and Samantha Olson. 
Samantha Olson giving a field demonstration On the September 2 to 9 trip. Phasmid nymphs hatch! – see page 9 
Photo Patrick Honan Dates set for 2004 weed tours The following dates have been set for 2003 weed tours: June12 to 19 June 19 to 26 July 10 to 17 July 24 to 31 August 14 to 21 August 29 to Sept 5 (Brisbane trip) The trips will be the same format as previous years, with accommodation at Pinetrees, and the morning weeding sessions followed by the afternoons exploring the island. Cost is $1593 ex Sydney. Contact Ian Hutton P.O. Box 157 Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 phone 02 6563 2447 or email lhitours@bigpond.com 
There are still plenty of “big ones” to remove- two kiwis from the September2003 trip with a prize ground asparagus crown. Presidents Report It has been another great year for the Friends of Lord Howe Island. Another six weed trips were run, with the major portion of time being spent on the Transit Hill site that has been worked on since 1998. The initial work was the follow up work over the entire areas previously worked, then the later groups moved up parallel to the track, between Edie’s Glen on the west side and the small gully about 50 metres from the track on the east side. It is gratifying that the interest is still here to continue the work of all the previous years; we can’t give up now. There have been some additional activities carried out during the year that have benefited the island:
These activities all help the environment of Lord Howe, help raise awareness of conservation issues, and also provide the volunteers with some variety in their work effort here on the island. A special thanks goes out to all the volunteers, who come from all over Australia, and even a group from New Zealand in 2003. Let’s hope the volunteer program can go on just as strong in 2004 and well beyond to rid the island of weeds Des Thompson President FLHI Treasurers Report Hello to all our Friends. It is Christmas Eve as I am writing this Treasurers Report and in the distance I think I hear sleigh Bells! By the time you read this Santa will have come and gone. I am sure that all our weeders have been very good and have been rewarded. We currently have funds available of $26,563.00 after paying out some of the grant monies for the fabulous walking track weed guide and Sally Wood revegetation projects. We are now gearing up for the next onslaught and are in the midst of purchasing gloves, etc. It is that time of year again for membership renewals. So just a little reminder to those whose membership is outstanding to forward a cheque to the Friends of LHI, P.O Box 157, Lord Howe Island, 2898. See you soon in paradise. Stephen Gale Treasurer New LHI Board Ranger appointed Sean Thompson recently joined the Environment Unit on a permanent basis as the ranger for the Lord Howe Island Board. Sean previously worked as a ranger for the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service at Beecroft Peninsula-Jervis Bay and Uluru Kata-Tuja National Park, and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service at Sydney Harbour, Barrington Tops, and Kosciuszko National Parks. The winter volunteers have always worked closely with the LHIB rangers and we look forward to Sean joining a morning or two with the volunteers in 2004. Sean enjoying a day off with a scuba dive Ecotourism Association Conference. A paper was submitted to the Ecotourism Association of Australia on the Lord Howe Bush Regeneration program. The paper was accepted for presentation at the Annual Conference held in Adelaide in November 2003. Due to the cost Ian Hutton was not able to travel to attend the conference, but called on an old Friend of Lord Howe Island to deliver a computer presentation at the conference. Greg Leaman, former LHI Board Manager and now Director of National Parks S.A., was pleased to do the presentation. Greg, and his wife Olwyn were staunch supporters of the weeding trips even before the formation of Friends of Lord Howe Island. Back in 1999 and 2000 Olwyn enjoyed participating in some weeding mornings with the groups on Transit Hill. Marine Park Draft Planning Scheme In January the Marine Parks Authority of New South Wales released the draft planning scheme for the LHI Marine Park. The Scheme has four components: Draft Zoning Plan Draft Regulation Draft Operational Plan Submission form for public comment
The Manager LHI Marine Park PO Box 161 Lord Howe Island NSW 2898
A number of Lord Howe residents have reported January 2004 as a bumper time for butterflies. 14 species are recorded for LHI, including the Blue Tiger Danaus hamatus. Report on 2003 groups 
June 21 to 28 group from the Friends of Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens. This group had a mix of experienced and newcomers to bush regeneration. About half the time was spent removing ground asparagus seedlings from the creek gully north of the Transit Hill track, and about half the time doing primary control of climbing asparagus in Steven’s Reserve. Botanist Elizabeth Brown from the Sydney Herbarium led the group. Halfway through the week a violent wind storm (that the Weather Bureau termed a “weather bomb”) swept across the island, bringing branches down all through the settlement, and bruising leaves on large areas of the forest, so much so that a few weeks later many areas looked as if a bush fires had swept through and burnt the leaves. The groups spent the morning after helping cleanup Pinetrees and the museum grounds of fallen debris. 
Cleanup at Pinetrees July 8 to 15 Rymill Abell supervised this group, with a mix new faces and old hands, including Warren and Carole Bennetts, Mal and Danina 
July 8 to 15 group Anderson, Barry O’Farrell and Ian Stromborg. Carol Clarke, John Zyla and Soie Policarpio signed up for the 2 July trips. Most weeding was done on ground asparagus between Edie’s Glen and the Transit Hill track. This group also visited Ron and Bev Owens to continue the work on ground asparagus and passionfruit from their lease. Highlights of the exploration was the walk out to Red Point, with billy tea for lunch and of course the North Bay picnic. 
Departing North Bay July 15 to 22 This group had again a mix of new faces and old hands – and quite a demographic mix with people from NSW, Victoria, Brisbane and Adelaide. 
Leader was Danny Hirschfield who is a supervisor from Coogee. He enthusiastically took control of the daily weeding and enjoyed the afternoon walks, leading some when Ian Hutton went down with the flu. 
LHI Board staff Chris Hasselton and Terry Wilson address the group. Weeding mornings continued to move up between the Transit Hill track and Edie’s Glen, on ground and climbing asparagus. Boat Harbour and North Bay were favourite afternoon activities. August 26 to Sept 2 A few old hands, but mostly new faces on this trip, ably led by Alan Leishman. Alan works as volunteer co-coordinator at Sydney Botanic Gardens and handled his role with ease. 
August 26 to Sept 2 group This group continued south between Edie’s Glen and the Transit Hill track, and the ground asparagus infestation started to become patchy, so that rapid progress was made, with occasional holdups from dense infestations, but overall fast moving compared to previous years. This marks the end of the worst infestation in this part of Transit Hill and future groups should make rapid progress. The week generally had fine weather and the group had memorable a Middle Beach seashore walk, glass bottom boat trip and excursion to the Herring Pools. 
Trevor Mitchell with a big climbing asparagus September 2 to 9 Our first International group (with two ring-in Aussies). Ian Hutton had met kiwi Alison Stanes in 2001, and Alison was taken with the island and returned with this New Zealand contingent to help fight the weeds at Lord Howe. Samantha Olson supervised the group and enjoyed a return to the island (Samantha was LHI Board Head Ranger 2001-2003). 
The Kiwi contingent The group were very conscientious and threw themselves into the weeding – and everything else- the walks, the snorkeling, the bbqs. Most evenings were very quiet as the group was too weary from the day to party on at night. 
Notes from the Weeders Digest The Weeders’ Limerick Weeders of Lord Howe are Winners, Ground or Aerial Asparagus the Sinners, As Weeders cut, poison and dig, They don’t give a fig, That Asparagus they will eat for their dinners. Jane Dalley 
A snorkeling trip at North Beach Out in a tinny on the briny blue Excited Kiwis and an Aussie crew Full of confidence or stirrings of fear We all headed to North Beach with our bags full of gear into the water, a cool 18 degrees we flippered to the wreck with the greatest of ease The locals came rushing their lunch we were bringing. All shapes, sizes and colours in a frenzy they were flinging… themselves into the fray gobbling bread all the way. swimming up to our face masks they would peck at the glass, The small ones thank goodness not the double headed wrasse. A speckled moray leered out from his cave, a close encounter we dared not brave. Back in the boat dripping wet and cold. excited to get back for our story to be told. Round a BBQ lunch we did not recount with great zeal our intrepid adventures not imagined but real A Good Weed Had By All They came from all over the place to pull out weeds, A noble but weird vacation it seems. To jump on a plane, To pull weeds is insane But to us Pina Coloda’s on the beach is obscene.
The intrepid weed bandits scoured the land. They sought far and beyond, For that damned Asparagus frond; With Ian and Alan leading the noisy band.
As he stood vaguely scratching his head, Who would have thought, The implement sought; Was lodged firmly in his back pocket instead.
Like assassins stalking their prey to kill. Once the massacre is over, We dine on pavlova; And high tea at Government House was a thrill.
So the smiling assassins floated happily away, Were amazed at the scene, Coming from the colourful marine; While Action Man kept watch for sharks off the bay.
To cruise to North Beach for a Barbie & a potter. Around the Gulch for a gaunt, Then Mt Eliza was sought; With our cosie climbing the peak was not a bother.
With a billy brewed on the fire, topping another horrible day. There were masked Boobies to be seen, But some thought it a bit obscene; So broad-minded Trev supposed perving on chicks is OK. Though Ian Hutton may be quiet and unassuming, he has a unique character that some find amusing. With a cheeky little smirk, He will baffle you with a quirk; Then turn around and make geology less confusing!! It’s almost time for us all to board that plane, To go home to loved ones and kids that are a pain. But no matter what age you be Lord Howe Island is the place to see; And if you don’t come back to weed, you’re bloody insane.
I’d known Ifeanna for 2 years before we went (unattached) on the same LHI weeding trip in 2001-actually, there was 3 of us on that trip from the Gordens Bay Coogee Bushcare group. 
Ifeanna and Danny on Mount Gower 2001 After a week of weeding together in paradise; a round–the–Island-boat-trip, (she got green around the gills); a climb in not too pleasant conditions to the razorback over the far side of Mount Gower (wow she’s a keen bushwalker) and many shared carafes of house red (between 4), she still wasn’t put off by my quirky nature (eg. Snaffling extra bread rolls from the basket in the dining room) enough, that she asked me out as we left the airport on arriving back in Sydney. (I didn’t think it was right for me to make the 1st move- I supervise the Coogee group-or was I shy?)……And they lived happily ever after. Danny. P.S. It has since been explained to me that it is standard behaviour of female Homo sapiens not to complain on strenuous bush walks in the presence of potential suitors-thanks Helen-even though it wouldn’t have changed things. 
Danny tending the bbq August 2003 trip Friends of LHI weed track brochure. In 2003 the Friends of LHI, with a grant from WWF, produced a walking track weed brochure for LHI. This is to enable any interested tourist to identify and remove some of the more common weeds of the walking tracks on the Island. FLHI member Marion Westmacott provided superb drawings of the weeds for the brochure, which is available at the island museum and lodges. 
Howe did they do it? A team of five bush regenerators came together to tackle Sweet Pittosporum, Cherry Guava and Cotoneaster. This trip was my second weeding visit to Lord Howe Island the other members (Hank, Kel, Gustarvo and John) their first. On this occasion I was the only Victorian the other four-team members were from Queensland and N.S.W. The team dynamics worked really well, exchanging information on our work locations and the types of weeds we have worked on. Each team member gave a presentation on a project they were working on which was well received by members of the board and the rest of the team. We were housed at the luxurious research centre sharing the living quarters with David Springate from Kew Gardens, London. David became accustomed very quickly to our Aussie slang and taught us how to identify Howea flowers and the difference in the species. The accommodation was five star and a selection classy chefs prepared the food, Naked Chef eat your heart out. The area we worked on was Transit Hill just west of the Clear Place. The day began with a short bike ride to the Depot and a heart starter walk to the work site. Our main task was to remove woody weeds in order for reclaimed farmland to regenerate. The team worked diligently on a severe infestation of Sweet Pittosporum and Cherry Guava, the largest trunk being approximately 50 to 60 cm in diameter. Once finished weeding the site, the team did a sweep around the boundary and throughout the area. While finishing the final sweeps we came across small infestations of Bridal Creeper, Crofton Weed and Climbing Asparagus, these weeds were dealt with while moving through. We were also tempted to tackle the several infestations of Ground Asparagus but left that for another day. The team managed to clear all the weeds in the allocated time and have time to plant Kentia Palms in the Board’s revegetation site near the airport. Our efforts paid off with a barbecue and drinks at the end of the fortnight. We then moved onto the Bowling Club Disco with DJ Darryl. On the Saturday we were invited over for afternoon drinks at Darryl’s with superb views and a selection of his classic hits. The experience on the island was not all-hard work. We managed to trek to the top of Mount Gower and learn the art of climbing a palm. The weekend weather was fine and the fish were biting, four of the team helped Jack Schick christen his freshly painted boat. We caught just enough fish to fill the freezer. The snorkeling at Ned’s was as good as ever swimming with large King fish, Double Headers, Wrasse, Garfish and many others. The team, sorry to leave the island and the many friends made, flew out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, all agreeing that it was a great experience. We would like to thank the Friends of Lord Howe Island for making this weeding experience possible and members of the Board for their cooperation. The project is a great initiative; I hope that other Islands and sites of biological significance may benefit from similar projects. Brad Curtis – Maroondah City Council, Victoria Sampling for Phytophthora on Lord Howe Island. Concern expressed by Dr Tony Auld NSW NPWS about the possibility of the potentially dangerous fungus Phytophthora cinnamoni being on Lord Howe has prompted sampling and testing for its presence. Murray Carter and Terry Wilson took samples of soil from likely locations, mainly around the settlement area, for testing by Sydney Botanic Gardens. One site, an avocado orchard, was identified as having the fungus. Dr Auld has recommended treatment of the site and implementation of LHIB quarantine plan as several LHI plant genera are known to be susceptible to this pathogen – Dracophyllum and Gahnia. 
Terry Wilson and Murray Carter taking soil samples for Phytophthora testing. Phasmids nymphs hatch In February 2003, NSW NPWS Senior Research Officer David Pridell and LHI Board staff visited Ball’s Pyramid and collected 2 pairs of phasmids for delivery to the mainland for captive breeding programs. One pair was taken to the insect department at Melbourne Zoo, the other to private insect breeder David Fellenberg in Sydney. Both pairs of phasmids have been laying eggs, and some nymphs have hatched. 
Phasmid nymph. photo Patrick Honan Report from Melbourne Zoo A pair of Lord Howe Island stick insect adults were brought to Melbourne Zoo in February 2003. After laying her first batch of eggs, the female appeared to become gravely ill and was on death's door. She was thoroughly investigated by Melbourne Zoo vets, who could find nothing wrong despite x-rays from every angle. After five days of continued illness, she was fed a concoction of glucose, calcium and ground-up food plants, and she miraculously recovered. Both adults are still healthy after almost a year in captivity. 
Phasmid eggs. PhotoPatrick Honan The female stick insect has produced more than 170 eggs, the first of which hatched on 7 September 2003, which coincidentally was Threatened Species Day in Australia. We now have 10 young stick insects, feeding on the Lord Howe Island endemic Melaleuca howeana as well as plant species local to Melbourne. We are busy making notes on their biology, which has not been recorded before, and trying to breed up their numbers so that they may one day be released back onto Lord Howe Island Patrick Honan Melbourne Zoo Rat Eradication progress The Cost Benefit Analysis for Rodent Eradication commissioned by the LHI Board has been completed, and is undergoing peer review before release to the public. We will report in the next newsletter on its content. Palm Research As outlined in a previous newsletter, researchers from Kew Gardens in England are undertaking a lengthy study of the ecology and phenology of the two Howea palm species on Lord Howe Island. Previously Bill Baker and Vincent Savolainen visited to make some initial observations and collections for DNA analysis. The lucky man chosen for the stay of several months was Dave Springate, who has been on the island since last September. Dave has been very busy with intense flowering studies, sampling of palm leaves from across the island and recording palm numbers in 20 X 20 metres plots at 100 sites chosen randomly across the island by a computer program – this method provides some very interesting locations! 
Dave Springate on the job at Red Point Australian Museum study into the impact of rodents on plants and insects on LHIRodents, particularly rats, have a played a major role in the decline and extinction of many bird and insect species on LHI, as well as having an influence on the palm industry. Attempts to control rodents on LHI have had mixed outcomes, resulting in research into rodent eradication. However, prior to any eradication program it is essential that adequate research be conducted into the impacts of rodents and the effects their removal may have on the plants and insects of LHI. Eradication programs have been quite successful on a number of islands, particularly off New Zealand. Studies on these islands, after rodent eradication, have found significant positive benefits for plants, lizards, insects and birds. Eradicating rodents from LHI could improve the biodiversity, by restoring habitats and ensuring food chains are maintained. A study into the impact of introduced rodents on the plants and insects of LHI is relevant in many other ways;
LHI Board staff constructing exclosures Staff from the Australian Museum have set this study up to look at the impacts the rodents are having on the plants and insects of LHI. Staff from the LHI board have constructed rodent-proof experimental exclosures which will be used to investigate what happens when rodents are removed. A total of 16 exclosure cages, approximately 7m by 7m, have been constructed at Soldiers Creek and behind the Golf Course. The design of the rodent-proof experimental exclosures should deter both climbing and digging rats. Collars on the trunks of the trees within and surrounding the cages will act to deter the rodents from climbing up or down the trunk and will reduce the number of rats gaining entry through the canopy. Information about seedlings and insects, once the rodents have been removed, could be evident within a year of the experiment starting. The study is expected to go for 2 to 3 years with 2 major sampling periods a year as well as other minor ongoing sampling. The study will look at the changes in the number and type of insects and spiders found in the exclosures. All seedlings in the exclosures will be monitored for mortality and recruitment and all existing plants measured. Seed predation will also be a key element to the study. Staff from the LHI board and the Australian Museum have already conducted preliminary rodent density surveys, as well as insect surveys. In the coming months the first of the major sampling periods will occur, Ian Hutton will be providing his expertise in identifying the plant species. This study will provide important information into island biodiversity and the impacts of introduced species, such as rodents. Island systems around the world have suffered greatly from rodents but very little in the way of research has been conducted and very little is known about the impacts. This study could potentially be used as a bench-mark for other studies here in Australia, as well as globally in other island systems of the world. 
Louise Meades; Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Research. The Australian Museum, 6 College St, Sydney, NSW 2000 Friends of LHI PO Box 155 Lord Howe Island N.S.W. 2898 | ||||
