7.1 Approach
The aim of the preliminary Western Conservation Alliance reserve proposal is to develop a reserve network that protects large reserves as cores for survival of viable populations, maintains connectivity between those large reserves, and protects remnants of extensively cleared ecosystems (see Map 1). It focuses mostly on the immediate reservation of State Forest areas with a subsequent assessment of other crown tenures. It supports voluntary conservation initiatives on private land within a strategic, spatially explicit conservation framework.

The proposal has been developed by taking into account the extreme level of threat and ongoing decline of species in the region. The criteria set down by the National Forest Policy Statement for reserve development are not adequate to address a landscape in this state of crisis. It is of great concern that no appropriate conservation criteria has been developed by the NSW Government for the Western Regional Assessment. Therefore, the Western Conservation Alliance have attempted to apply improved criteria to produce a reserve proposal that aims to represent all elements of biodiversity in the reserve system. Further analysis of this will inform and refine our position during stakeholder negotiations in September.

7.2 Core Reserve Areas
The option proposes that large reserves within the East and West Pilliga, and all of the Goonoo and Bebo forests should form the backbone of the reserve system. These large reserves would provide a critical core to enable the long term survival of fauna communities in the BBSB region. Large reserves are required to buffer against fragmentation, ensure adequate protection of habitat resources, protect viable populations and provide refuges against climatic extremes.

There are no alternatives to protection of these areas. Their size and conservation value makes them completely irreplaceable and unique with Australia's temperate woodlands for the conservation opportunity which they provide.

As noted by Reid 2000, large blocks of State-owned near-natural and semi-natural vegetation (ie such as Pilliga and Goonoo) "bear the major responsibility for the continued persistence of many, probably most, of the declining bird species in the Sheep-Wheat Belt in the immediate and medium-term future".

The importance of large areas of intact native vegetation for integrity of fauna communities has been highlighted by the results of the recent fauna survey project in the bioregion (RACD 2002d). It identified a 'depauperate' fauna community in the bioregion which was predominantly recorded from highly fragmented woodland patches, and from which a significant number of declining woodland birds were notably absent. This result emphasises the importance of the protection of large areas to the ongoing integrity and viability of fauna communities in the region.

7.3 Connectivity
In highly fragmented landscapes, it is both large fragments and smaller 'stepping stones' and their collective distribution across the landscape that ultimately determines overall connectivity and affects movement between patches and maintenance of biological diversity throughout the region.

The Western Conservation Alliance conducted an analysis of vegetation patch size and distribution across the BBSB and used this to identify patches of vegetation that are significant for connectivity across the region. Smaller State Forests which are important for connectivity, and some known areas of Vacant Crown Land, have been identified as 'stepping stones' and proposed for immediate reservation.

7.4 Remnants
In fragmented landscapes, remnants that contribute to sampling the full range of biodiversity are vital parts of a forest reserve system. The areas should be identified and protected as part of the development of integrated regional conservation strategies (JANIS 1997).

On the productive soils in the BBSB, as in other fragmented landscapes, there are many

"ecological communities that were once extensive but are now represented by many small, widely scattered remnants in varying states of ecological health. Often there is no available small subset of large remnants that can adequately represent such communities; instead a large set of mostly small remnants is needed to represent the original ecosystem in the conservation estate" (Prober et al 2001).

For the conservation of woodland bird species in highly degraded landscapes, Reid (2000) suggested that a major imperative is to:

"prevent the deterioration in habitat quality of existing remnants, particularly remnants in the small to medium size class (15-250) hectares. Principal threats facing these types of patches are firewood harvesting, 'cleaning up' the understorey, over-heavy and continuous grazing, and insufficient regeneration".

There are a number of woodland patches, some of which occur on State Forest and other crown tenures, which represent critical remnants of extensively cleared ecosystems. Small State Forests, and selected parcels of Vacant Crown Land, which protect remnant areas are therefore proposed for immediate reservation.

7.5 Reserve Selection
Reserve selection has been guided by the application of an improved JANIS criteria which aims to protect all elements of biodiversity in the protected area network. In particular, the emphasis in reserve selection for this proposal has been on the protection of critical habitat elements at risk from ongoing logging and associated practices on public land tenures.

One of the major impacts of forestry practices in the region has been a severe reduction in the abundance of hollow-bearing eucalypts and mature eucalypts in the region. This is likely to affect the abundance of more than 73 vertebrate fauna species which are known to use hollows in the BBSB.

These practices have also affected other critical habitat resources such as rich nectar sources and nesting sites in mature trees. The Western Conservation Alliance has used extensive field survey and interrogation of logging history data to identify hollow-bearing and mature tree 'hotspots' and older forest remnants in the region. These are proposed for immediate reservation.

The other major impact of forestry practices has been the conversion of mixed eucalypt and cypress pine forest into regrowth 'monocultures' of dense cypress pine. Therefore the proposal also emphasises the adequate protection of mixed, productive ironbark and cypress pine in the reserve system to prevent further degradation and maintain examples of these ecosystems in a less modified state.

Intensive grazing and inappropriate fire regimes have also severely impacted on vegetation structure resulting in a decline in fauna species dependent on grassy and shrubby understoreys. To address this issue the proposal focuses on the western box and narrow-leaved ironbark communities which in their natural form are grassy understorey dominated species and need urgent rehabilitation in the Pilliga and elsewhere. Protection of shrubby understorey dependent species is addressed through the proposed reservation of broombush and other healthy areas particularly on the eastern edge of the Pilliga.

Lastly, this proposal aims to address the existing bias in the reserve system towards low site productivity areas and ensure that more productive areas are represented hereafter. Areas of high site productively are predicted to be critical faunal hotspots eg Pilliga birds species, Date 2001. Such areas are highly likely to be faunal "hotspots" and to represent "source" areas from which faunal populations can disperse to lower site quality areas within their local distributions.

This arises from the fact that the primary factors driving ecosystem processes for fauna are ultimately food supply, which in turn is driven by soil moisture in the BBSB. Therefore, reserve selection has emphasised areas of high soil moisture retention. In the Pilliga forests this translates to the deep sandy soils of the outwash areas and soils of high clay content, such as areas of box woodland.