From the Mandurah Mail 11th July 2002

Why Tuarts need help

Some of the main stressors causing the severe decline and deaths of Tuarts include changes in land use, local hydrology and geology (including groundwater extraction), changes in fire regimes, the availability of nutrients, climate, change, and drought.

These factors have weakened the trees to the point where tuart borer activity becomes life threatening and not just a part of the natural cycle, where the trees cannot use their own defences to curb borer activity.

There is no doubt that human activities are threatening the survival of the Tuart as a plant species unique to unique to WA's coastal strip from Jurien to Busselton. Now is the time for humans to help the Tuart.

Tuart Summit on November 18 helped to pool ideas and brainstorm issues to help save the Tuart.

These included:

creating immediate response tactics in cases of threatened clearing of Tuarts.
identifying, researching and monitoring, threats to Tuarts and developing actions to ameliorate the threats developing an atlas of the condition of Tuarts in different places throughout its range
creating guidelines for private landowners and developers
implementing a levy on bulldozing of Tuart trees on public and private land
promoting Tuarts - holding a Tuart Week- and ensuring that information on them is included in Education Department curricula
involving local government in saving and promoting Tuarts
supporting research projects in universities
identifying heritage value or significant Tuart trees
preserving adequate amounts of plant communities in which the Tuart occurs
liaising effectively with the State Governments Tuart Response Group and making sure the TRG project officer oversees regeneration of Tuarts, regular water testing and coordinating experimental trials by individuals and groups.

Anyone wanting to be involved in the Tuart Coalition can contact the SW Environment Centre on 9754 2049.
Item taken from The Preservation Times