Still trying with this species. I have managed to speak with the developers and have come to an arrangement regarding the future of C. pulchellus. Despite the two populations being marked for destruction in the first stage of the residential development, the company has agreed to wait until the end of this month before bulldozers are allowed to clear the orchid sites. An on-site meeting with the Project Manager and Civil Engineer was productive in that they have agreed to wait until personnel from the Department of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change can effect a translocation of the offending plants. The meeting also discovered the four original plants were intact and the single plant in a sawn-off tree stump has produced nine seedlings including a new plant in the stump. Plants in the ground will be dug up by garden shovel, placed into containers and relocated to a suitable site in the Environmental Protection Zone in the hope they will survive. The stump will be removed by the developers using their machinery and also relocated. As the species is heavily mycorrhiza dependent, this is at best a 50-50 chance but as the species will not be granted legal status as a Vulnerable Species until later this year, it appears the only chance available. I am not a proponent of translocation but at the moment it's the only game in town, as consent for the development was granted prior to the formal recognition of C. pulchellus as a new species. I also will partake in this operation and a series of photos will be taken of the in the hope we can learn something but it is a tragedy we are interfering with a growing population. Alan W Stephenson National Conservation Officer Australasian Native Orchid Society (ANOS) _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
