This guide was prepared to assist strategic level planning and management of native vegetation at the catchment and regional scale, with particular consideration given to integrated natural resource management. It is structured around five major questions of interest to regional managers, which are discussed in the section ‘How do I use this document?’ This guide is a resource manual, not a sequential ‘how to’ recipe for managing native vegetation. It is therefore designed so that you can dip in and out of the report, rather than having to read it from front to back.

So if you’re a catchment or regional manager from anywhere in Australia, and are facing a native vegetation management issue and want to take action – then this guide is for you! The guide presents findings relevant to decision-making, based on research and investigations from across the country. The guide is designed to help catchment and regional managers quickly access this information by summarising R&D findings and their implications, providing ‘Actions’ throughout the text and ‘R&D Tips’ at the end of each Question. For easy reference, both the actions and tips are summarised in a checklist at the end of the report. If you want to explore further, a CD-ROM has been compiled with full copies of a large number of the references.

Box 1: Who is a regional manager?

Research outcomes relevant to the management of native vegetation at the property level are available in the companion to this report, Native Vegetation and Property Management  1. The Resource Directory and Action Manual on Managing Dryland Salinity at the Catchment Scale 2 will also be of interest to readers of this report, as it explores the link between salinity and vegetation management in some depth.

Three general references are also recommended as an introduction to economic, social and environmental issues associated with managing native vegetation (both original and replanted vegetation) in rural landscapes. Managing the Bush 3 reviews the key research findings from the first phase of the National Native Vegetation R&D Program. This summarises research from around 40 projects that spanned the ecological, social and economic dimensions of native vegetation management, focusing on southern and eastern Australia. The book, Managing and Conserving Grassy Woodlands 4, distils the key findings from six years of research on the sustainable management of grazing country. It presents the theory and practice behind six main principles for managing eucalypt woodlands, many of which are based on the maintenance and management of native vegetation in the landscape. Trees and Biodiversity 5 provides a basic framework of understanding on how farm forestry might be applied to protect and enhance biodiversity at a number of scales, from a stand of trees to the broader landscape.