Howard Springs Hunting Reserve

Last updated

Howard Springs Hunting Reserve
Howard Springs [1] ,  Northern Territory
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) [2]
Australia Northern Territory location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Howard Springs Hunting Reserve
Nearest town or city Palmerston City
Coordinates 12°25′38″S131°04′07″E / 12.4271°S 131.0687°E / -12.4271; 131.0687 [2]
Established11 July 1984 (1984-07-11) [2]
Area16.05 km2 (6.2 sq mi) [2]
Managing authorities Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory
Website Howard Springs Hunting Reserve
See also Protected areas of the Northern Territory

Howard Springs Hunting Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Howard Springs.

Contents

The hunting reserve occupies land in section 4076. This land is part of a larger parcel of land under the protection of the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act and extends from the reserve’s south to its immediate north and east and ultimately to the shoreline of Shoal Bay. The land to the south has been gazetted as the Howard Springs Nature Park while land to the north and the east has been gazetted as the Shoal Bay Coastal Reserve. The land on which the hunting reserve and neighbouring protected areas are located on is part of area called the Howard Sand Plains which is considered by the Northern Territory Government as a Site of Conservation Significance. [1] [3]

The hunting reserve was established in 1984. It was managed in conjunction with the Howard Springs Nature Park from 1992 to 2016. [2] [1]

The right to hunt particular bird species within the reserve is available only to permit-holders usually during the fourth quarter of the calendar year (i.e. October to December), but may change from year to year. Hunted species is limited to Grey teal, Hardhead duck, Magpie goose, Maned duck, Pacific black duck, Plumed whistling duck, Pink-eared duck and Wandering whistling duck. Firearms and weapons used for hunting are restricted to lever-action shotguns and bows. The use of lead shot in shotgun cartridges is illegal in the Northern Territory. Research as early as 1991 found that magpie geese in the hunting reserve and nearby sites had toxic lead concentrations in their livers due to the indigestion of lead shot. [4] [5] [6]

The hunting reserve is categorised as an IUCN Category VI protected area. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected areas of the Northern Territory</span>

The protected areas of the Northern Territory consists of protected areas managed by the governments of the Northern Territory and Australia and private organisations with a reported total area of 335,527 square kilometres (129,548 sq mi) being 24.8% of the total area of the Northern Territory of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area</span> National Wildlife Area in Quebec, Canada

The Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the National Provincial Capital Region of Quebec, established on 28 April 1978. It is one of the critical habitats for the greater snow goose during migration. Flocks of tens of thousands of these birds stop over to feed on the bullrushes in the spring and fall. The tidal marsh was recognized as a wetland of international significance per the Ramsar Convention in 1981, the first North American site to receive that distinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magpie goose</span> Species of bird

The magpie goose is the sole living representative species of the family Anseranatidae. This common waterbird is found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. As the species is prone to wandering, especially when not breeding, it is sometimes recorded outside its core range. The species was once also widespread in southern Australia but disappeared from there largely due to the drainage of the wetlands where the birds once bred. Due to their importance to Aboriginal people as a seasonal food source, as subjects of recreational hunting, and as a tourist attraction, their expansive and stable presence in northern Australia has been "ensured [by] protective management".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcated duck</span> Species of bird

The falcated duck or falcated teal is a gadwall-sized dabbling duck from the east Palearctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian wood duck</span> Species of bird

The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta. Traditionally placed in the subfamily Anatinae, it might belong to the subfamily Tadorninae (shelducks); the ringed teal may be its closest living relative.

Howard Springs Nature Park is a 286 hectares protected area located 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Darwin, Northern Territory. A suitable habitat for waterfowl of the Northern Territory, it also has swimming areas and walking trails. The actual Springs became important in 1910 when they came under consideration as a solution to Darwin's unreliable water supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bool Lagoon Game Reserve</span> Protected area in South Australia

Bool Lagoon Game Reserve is a protected area located in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, about 24 kilometres south of the town of Naracoorte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spittal Pond Nature Reserve</span> Wildlife sanctuary in Bermuda

Spittal Pond Nature Reserve is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Bermuda, located close to the Atlantic coast of Smith's Parish. Surrounding the third largest pond in Bermuda, Spittal Pond, it covers an area of 60 acres (24 ha). It is one of 13 parks or reserves managed by the Bermuda Department of Conservation Services which protects and conserves environmentally critical areas and habitats. The pond reserve, a wetland site, is one of the seven Ramsar Sites in Bermuda, which was approved on 10 May 1999 for the criteria of its unique characteristics such as its lagoon which is permanently brackish, ecology featuring wet grassland and mangrove forests, seasonal shorebirds, other ver run waterbirds and European eels. It is also home to many types of species mostly including birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterfowl hunting</span> Practice of hunting waterfowl for food and sport

Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and other waterfowls or shorebirds for food and sport. Many types of ducks and geese share the same habitat, have overlapping or identical hunting seasons, and are hunted using the same methods. Thus it is possible to take different species of waterfowl in the same outing. Waterfowl can be hunted in crop fields where they feed, or, more frequently, on or near bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, sloughs, or sea coasts.

Harold James Frith was an Australian administrator and ornithologist. He was born at Kyogle, New South Wales and studied Agricultural Science at Sydney University. Harry Frith first joined the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry but later transferred to the Division of Wildlife and carried out extensive research on malleefowl, waterfowl, especially magpie geese, and pigeons. He eventually became Chief of the Division and was instrumental in proposals that led to the establishment of Kakadu National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom</span>

In the United Kingdom, the term hunting with no qualification generally refers to hunting with hounds, e.g. normally fox hunting, stag (deer) hunting, beagling, or minkhunting, whereas shooting is the shooting of game birds. What is called deer hunting elsewhere is deer stalking. According to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) over a million people a year participate in shooting, including stalking, shooting, hunting, clay shooting and target shooting. Firearm ownership is regulated in the UK by licensing. Provisions exist for those without a Firearm or Shotgun certificate to shoot under the supervision of a certificate holder.

Australia has a population of about 26 million while the Commonwealth Government estimating there are 640,000 recreational hunters in the country. There are around 6 million legally owned guns in Australia, ranging from airguns to single-shot, bolt-action, pump-action, lever-action or semi-automatic firearms.

Currency Creek Game Reserve is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-western side of Lake Alexandrina in the gazetted localities of Currency Creek and Goolwa North about 0.5 kilometres north-east of Goolwa.

Tolderol Game Reserve is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the north-western side of Lake Alexandrina in the localities of Lake Alexandrina and Tolderol about 11 kilometres south-east of Langhorne Creek.

Moorook Game Reserve is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia covering the floodplain on the south side of the River Murray in the localities of Kingston-on-Murray and Moorook immediately south of the section of the Sturt Highway that passes between the towns of Kingston-on-Murray in the west and Cobdogla in the east. It is located about 180 kilometres east north-east of the state capital of Adelaide.

Lake Robe Game Reserve is a protected area located about 6 kilometres south of the town of Robe in South Australia. It covers the saline lake, Lake Robe, and some surrounding land and also immediately adjoins the northern boundary of the Little Dip Conservation Park. It was proclaimed on 4 November 1993 to protect "valuable habitats for a variety of waterbirds, and terrestrial mammals notably the hooded plover, sharp-tailed sandpiper, and the swamp rat " and to manage recreational duck hunting activity. The area is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.

Channel Point Coastal Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Shoal Bay Coastal Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Duck hunting is an outdoor recreational activity practised under a permit system in the Australian state of South Australia. Hunters use shotguns and are provided with permits issued by the Department of Environment and Water. The activity is opposed by animal welfare groups who consider the practice to be unacceptably cruel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park</span> Protected area in the Northern Territory, Australia

N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia consisting of an area of low sand dunes, rocky outcrops, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Alice Springs. It is significant principally because of thousands of Indigenous rock carvings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Howard Springs Nature Park Plan of Management" (PDF). Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. October 2016. pp. i & 6. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Terrestrial Protected Areas by Reserve Type in Northern Territory (2016)". CAPAD 2016. Australian government. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  3. "Howard Sand Plains - Site of Conservation Significance" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 10 October 2019 via Greening Australia.
  4. "Magpie geese and waterfowl hunting rules". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  5. "Magpie geese and waterfowl season dates". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  6. Whitehead, Peter J.; Tschirner, Kurt (28 February 1991). "Lead shot ingestion and lead poisoning of magpie geese Anseranas semipalmata foraging in a Northern Australian hunting reserve". Biological Conservation. 58 (1): 99–118. Bibcode:1991BCons..58...99W. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(91)90047-D.