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Peter Stanton

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James Peter Stanton PSM (born 23 April 1940) is an Australian landscape ecologist, fire ecologist, botanist and biogeographer who individually conducted systematic environmental resource surveys throughout Queensland whilst working for the National Parks department of Forestry (Qld.) from 1967–1974. He carried out his assessments in a range of dissimilar landscapes leading to the identification and protection of many critically threatened ecosystems across the state during a period of rapid and widespread land development under the Joh Bjelke-Petersen government.[11][12][13][14][15] For this work he became the first Australian to receive the IUCN Fred M. Packard Award in 1982.

Peter Stanton
PSM
Stanton in 2004
Born
James Peter Stanton

1940
Shorncliffe, Queensland
NationalityAustralian
Alma mater
Known for
  • National Parks for Cape York Peninsula (1976)[7]
  • Project 'Rakes': a rapid appraisal of key and endangered sites, the Queensland case study (1977)[8]
  • Cape Melville incident (1993–1994)
  • The Rainforests of Cape York Peninsula (1995)[9]
  • The Vegetation of the Wet Tropics of Queensland bioregion (2005)[10]
SpouseKaren Stanton [6]
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

He was involved in two incidents where implemented or proposed disciplinary actions became prominent controversies. The first began with him standing in the path of bulldozers, the other with ordering that a vehicle and items seized from a smuggler be turned over to the police rather than being handled by higher-ups in his organization.

Since 2003, Stanton has worked with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy as a fire and vegetation ecologist.[16][17][18]

Early life

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Peter Stanton was born on 23 April 1940 at Shorncliffe, on the northern outskirts of Brisbane. He was educated at Banyo State High School, where he excelled at languages and athletics, and later at the University of Queensland and the Australian Forestry School (Canberra), emerging with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Diploma in Forestry in 1962.[19]

His formative years in the field of ecology were as a young child, on the mudflats of Shorncliffe and in the bushland of Bribie Island along with his younger brother, John, an actor. Stanton would later describe the sand island landscapes of his childhood around Moreton Bay as "unspoiled paradises of forest, swamp, flowering heath, giant sandhills, and seemingly endless surf and still water beaches" citing the subsequent broad-scale development of many such environments on the South-Eastern coastal fringe of Queensland in the 1960s as an early motivating influence upon his conservation work.[20][21]

Stanton worked for five years as a forester until, in 1967, he was transferred to the National Parks branch of the Queensland Forestry Department. His transfer was a result of the interest he had shown in National Parks while working in Mackay, and his nomination of and the subsequent gazettal of Cape Upstart (east of Bowen) as a National Park.[22][23]

Career

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In 1973, Stanton undertook a field review of the conservation status of the Wet Tropics area of Queensland spanning two reports which were published by Queensland Forestry in 1974.[24][25] The reports reinforced and extended the 1965 conservation assessments of Dr. Leonard Webb and Geoff Tracey of CSIRO[26][27] which had been confined to the lowland areas of the region on account of the extreme development pressures which were placed on the lowlands from the mid-1950s onwards.[28][29] Stanton's assessments confirmed that "the areas Webb and Tracey had identified were still some of the highest priorities for conservation" whilst also identifying and recommending the protection of a number of additional endangered habitats both within and beyond the lowland areas.[30][31] The early conservation work conducted in the Wet Tropics by Stanton, along with that of Webb and Tracey, was instrumental to the later protection of many rare and threatened landscapes within the region, including the lowland rainforests of the Daintree and Cape Tribulation area.[32][33][34][35][36]

In 1980 Stanton was invited to address the second World Wilderness Congress which was held in Cairns, Queensland the same year. His oration ‘The Wilderness of Cape York Peninsula’ was delivered alongside addresses by Bob Brown, Laurens van der Post, Jean Dorst, Ian Player, Madame Laurence de Bonneval, Geoff Mosley and Ray Arnett amongst other delegates representing 25 countries.[37][38] The congress was to result in the commitment to protect areas of virgin rainforest in Queensland under park status by the premier of the state as well as the recommendation for the inclusion of the Great Barrier Reef on the World Heritage list by then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.[37][38]

From 1977 to 1997, he worked as a senior scientist for the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, relocating from Brisbane to Cairns in 1979 where he remained stationed throughout his career. During this period Stanton produced a body of field research which was to inform and support the listing process of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage area and its ongoing ecological management.[39][40][41][42][43] His conservation work in the Wet Tropics and Northern Queensland contributed to Stanton being awarded the Public Service Medal of Australia in 1996 for "outstanding public service to natural system protection and conservation planning" [44][45] and the Australian Centenary Medal in 2001 for "a long and distinguished public service career contributing to conservation of the Wet Tropics".[46]

From 1992 to 1994, Stanton, accompanied by botanist David Fell, led the first major study of the rainforest ecosystems of the Cape York Peninsula bioregion resulting in the publication of the research report ‘The Rainforests of Cape York Peninsula' in 1995.[47] Taking the form of a systematic ecological survey and mapping project, the study examined the full range of rainforest areas in the region with initial designation on aerial photographs followed by ground-truthing and stratification into 72 separate forest types. 140 sample plots were established encompassing each forest type and within each plot the full range of botanical species was identified and recorded along with the links between each ecosystem and the soils of the sites they occupy.[48] The study also included a review of the conservation status of the various rainforest types, identifying the need for additional reserves, critical management issues and recommended management actions. ‘The Rainforests of Cape York Peninsula' was later republished by The Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management at James Cook University in 2004.[49][50][51]

In 2001, Stanton was the recipient of the Australian Wet Tropics Management Authority's ‘Cassowary Award’ for his scientific work and his vegetation mapping of the region which later culminated in the publication of 38 vegetation community maps at 1:50,000 scale entitled "The Vegetation of the Wet Tropics of Queensland bioregion" (J.P. & D.J. Stanton, 2005).[52][53] The vegetation communities, initially designated within 90,000 polygons across 4,000 aerial photographs were then ground-truthed leading to the identification and description of 250 distinct ecosystem types in the region. The project built upon previous 1:100,000 vegetation mapping (Tracey and Webb 1975) [54] providing finer and more accurate vegetation mapping accompanied by a series of reports describing the main vegetation types of each mapsheet area, their understory types, disturbance histories and their links to the geology of the sites they occupy.[55] In 2023, in conjunction with an Honorary Doctorate in Science which was awarded to Stanton by the James Cook University, the Vegetation of the Wet Tropics of Queensland bioregion was cited as being the most detailed such study in the world.[56]

For his conservation work in the 1960s and 70s he became the first Australian to receive the IUCN Fred M. Packard Award in 1982.[57][58] Since 2003, Stanton has worked with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy as a fire and vegetation ecologist.[59][60][61][62]

Political controversies

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During his career within the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service Stanton was twice threatened with dismissal by the Queensland Government. In 1983, during the construction of the road through the Cape Tribulation National Park to Bloomfield he was suspended from the position of Regional Director for several months after having stood in the path of bulldozers in order to protect both the lives of protestors and what he considered to be the most significant tracts of rainforest. Due to public outcry as well as threats of broadscale strike among employees of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Stanton was reinstated to the Regional Directorship at the recommendation of the Public Service Board in 1984 and remained in the position until he returned to full-time scientific field work in 1988.[63][64]

Later, in 1994, Stanton was recommended for disciplinary action by the State Government after he ordered that a vehicle containing guns and chainsaws which were suspected of being used for the purpose of smuggling the seeds of the threatened Foxtail Palm be sent to the Cooktown Police Station. Stanton had advised Department of Environment and Heritage officer Pat Shears, who had confiscated the vehicle inside the Cape Melville National Park, to leave the matter in the hands of the police rather than immediately inform the DEH head office in Cairns. Stanton did not trust DEH senior management and feared that Shears might become the victim of "political interference". The vehicle was soon discovered to be connected to key political figures within the then Labor Government. The events were to culminate in a political scandal that came to be variously known as the Foxtail Palm Affair or the Cape Melville incident. The disciplinary action which had been recommended for Stanton was eventually abandoned in the face of significant public outcry.[65][66][67][68][69]

Selected works

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Stanton.
  1. ^ "Packard Awardees". IUCN. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Award Extract - Australian Honours - James Peter Stanton". Australian Government - Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  3. ^ "James Peter Stanton". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Wet Tropics Management Authority Honour Roll" – via Wet Tropics Management Authority.
  5. ^ "Robed and ready: 221 new Cairns graduates". James Cook University. 27 March 2023.
  6. ^ Stanton, James Peter & David James; Stott, Mike; Parsons, Mark (6 March 2014). "Fire exclusion and the changing landscape of Queensland's Wet Tropics Bioregion 1. The extent and pattern of transition". Australian Forestry. 77 (1): 51–57. doi:10.1080/00049158.2014.881702. S2CID 85235073 – via Taylor & Francis.
  7. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter), 1940-; Australian Conservation Foundation (1976), National Parks for Cape York Peninsula, Australian Conservation Foundation{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Stanton, J.P.; Morgan, M.G. (27 April 1977). "Project 'Rakes': a rapid appraisal of key and endangered sites, the Queensland case study". The University of New England (Australia) School of Natural Resources – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ Stanton, J.P.; Fell, D.G. (27 April 1995). "The rainforests of Cape York Peninsula". Brisbane, Qld. : Dept. of Environment and Heritage – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ Stanton, J.P. & D.J. (27 April 2005). "Vegetation of the Wet Tropics of Queensland bioregion". Wet Tropics Management Authority – via Trove.
  11. ^ Fitzgerald, Ross (1984). A History of Queensland Part 2: '1957 to the Early 1980s: Conservative Monopoly'. University of Queensland Press. pp. 289–303. ISBN 0-7022-1734-4.
  12. ^ Wright, Judith (1977). The Coral Battleground. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 0170051668.
  13. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Gregg Borschmann (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, p. 44, retrieved 22 February 2021
  14. ^ Curtis, Syd (Herbert Sydney); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Herbert Sydney Curtis interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 63, 77, 91, 92, 93, 101, 111, 161, 162, retrieved 22 February 2021
  15. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 40, 42, 63, 99, 100
  16. ^ Wildlife Matters (Issue 15), The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, December 2007, pp. 3, 22
  17. ^ Wildlife Matters (Issue 8), The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, October 2004, p. 6
  18. ^ Wildlife Matters (Issue 40), The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, November 2020, p. 27
  19. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 7, 22, 23, 24, 24, 34, 37, 52, 53, 54
  20. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter) (2003), Care and catastrophe: fire and the Australian bush, vol. 66, Victoria: Arena, p. 41
  21. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 3, 4, 11, 13, 14, 17
  22. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 45, 46, 47, 48, 68, retrieved 3 September 2020
  23. ^ Curtis, Syd (Herbert Sydney); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Herbert Sydney Curtis interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 63, 77, 91, 92, retrieved 3 September 2020
  24. ^ Stanton, J.P. (27 April 1974). "A report on the Daintree River - Cooktown region". Queensland Department of Forestry – via Trove.
  25. ^ Stanton, J.P. (27 April 1974). "A proposed system of national parks for Queensland coastal areas (Bundaberg to the Daintree River)". Queensland Department of Forestry – via Trove.
  26. ^ Webb, Leonard (1966). "The Identification and Conservation of Habitat Types in the Wet Tropical Lowlands of North Queensland". Proceedings of Royal Society of Queensland. 78: 59–86.
  27. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Gregg Borschmann (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 44, 52, retrieved 22 February 2021
  28. ^ "State of the Wet Tropics Report 2017-18" (PDF). The Wet Tropics Management Authority. 1 December 2018. p. 46 – via Federal Dept. Environment.
  29. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Gregg Borschmann (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 44, 52, retrieved 22 February 2021
  30. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey) (1982), The Vegetation of the Humid Tropical Region of North Queensland, p. 85
  31. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Gregg Borschmann (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 44, 52, retrieved 22 February 2021
  32. ^ "State of the Wet Tropics Report 2017-18" (PDF). The Wet Tropics Management Authority. 1 December 2018. p. 46 – via Federal Dept. Environment.
  33. ^ Hutton, Drew; Connors, Libby (1999). History of the Australian Environmental Movement. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0521456869.
  34. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey) (1982), The Vegetation of the Humid Tropical Region of North Queensland, p. 85
  35. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Gregg Borschmann (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 44, 52, retrieved 22 February 2021
  36. ^ Curtis, Syd (Herbert Sydney); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Herbert Sydney Curtis interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 63, 75, 77, retrieved 22 February 2021
  37. ^ a b Stanton, J.P. (1982). "The Wilderness of Cape York Peninsula". In Martin, Vance G. (ed.). Wilderness (PDF). The Findhorn Press. pp. 76–80. ISBN 0906191610.
  38. ^ a b "WORLD WILDERNESS CONGRESS Creating new opportunities for the protection of wilderness". Wild.org. 2020.
  39. ^ Hutton, Drew; Connors, Libby (1999). History of the Australian Environmental Movement. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0521456869.
  40. ^ "State of the Wet Tropics Report 2017-18" (PDF). The Wet Tropics Management Authority. 1 December 2018. p. 46 – via Federal Dept. Environment.
  41. ^ Stanton, J. P.; Godwin, M.D. (27 April 1989). "Report on the conservation status of the remaining habitats of the wet tropical lowlands of Queensland". Brisbane, Qld. : The Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service & Dept. of Environment and Heritage – via Trove.
  42. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 58, 110, 111, 112, 113, retrieved 3 September 2020
  43. ^ Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Gregg Borschmann (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 60, 61, retrieved 22 February 2021
  44. ^ "Award Extract - Australian Honours - James Peter Stanton". Australian Government - Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  45. ^ The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 1996 No. S 13. Canberra: The Australian Government Publishing Service. 26 January 1996. p. 3. ISBN 0644-46335X.
  46. ^ "James Peter Stanton". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  47. ^ Stanton, J.P.; Fell, D.G. (27 April 1995). "The rainforests of Cape York Peninsula". Brisbane, Qld. : Dept. of Environment and Heritage – via National Library of Australia.
  48. ^ Stanton, J.P.; Fell, D.G. (2005). "The rainforests of Cape York Peninsula". Rainforest CRC – via National Library of Australia.
  49. ^ Stanton, J.P.; Fell, D.G. (2005). "The rainforests of Cape York Peninsula". Rainforest CRC – via National Library of Australia.
  50. ^ Underwood, Roger (2006). Book Review - The Rainforests of Cape York Peninsula. The Forester. Volume 4 number 49. Australia: Institute of Foresters of Australia. p. 29. ISSN 1444-8920.
  51. ^ Veldner, V.J.; Clarkson, J.R. (1995). Vegetation survey and mapping of Cape York Peninsula. Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy. Australia: Qld. And Commonwealth Government. pp. 1, 14, 103.
  52. ^ Stanton, J.P. & D.J. (27 April 2005). "Vegetation of the Wet Tropics of Queensland bioregion". Wet Tropics Management Authority – via Trove.
  53. ^ "Wet Tropics Management Authority Honour Roll" – via Wet Tropics Management Authority.
  54. ^ Tracey, J.G.; Webb, L.J. (27 April 1975). "Vegetation of the humid tropical region of North Queensland" – via National Library of Australia.
  55. ^ "Wet Tropics Conservation Strategy (2004)" (PDF). Wet Tropics Management Authority. 27 April 2004. p. 17 – via Wet Tropics Management Authority Website.
  56. ^ "Robed and ready: 221 new Cairns graduates". James Cook University. 27 March 2023.
  57. ^ "Packard Awardees". IUCN. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  58. ^ WCPA Members Guide January 2008 (PDF). IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature. p. 63.
  59. ^ Wildlife Matters (December 2007) p. 3-23, The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, December 2007
  60. ^ Wildlife Matters (October 2004) p. 6, The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, October 2004
  61. ^ Wildlife Matters (September 2019), The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, September 2019
  62. ^ Wildlife Matters Issue 40, The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, November 2020
  63. ^ Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 113–125, retrieved 3 September 2020
  64. ^ Wilkie, Bill (2017). The Daintree Blockade. Australia: Four Mile Books. pp. 44, 137, 138, 139, 192, 193. ISBN 978-0994631800.
  65. ^ Curtis, Syd (Herbert Sydney); Gregg Borschmann (1994), Herbert Sydney Curtis interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, pp. 143, 146, 147
  66. ^ O'Regan, Robert; et al. (1994). A report of an investigation into the Cape Melville incident. Brisbane: Criminal Justice Commission. pp. 28–30.
  67. ^ Conley, David (1995). "Cape Melville affair coverage: what is news?" (PDF). pp. 139–141. S2CID 150407533.
  68. ^ Dickie, Phil (9 October 1994). "A law unto itself (Cape Melville Affair- An interview with Syd Curtis)". The Sunday Mail. p. 56.
  69. ^ Schofield, Gary (17 September 1994). "A Cape and His Name to Defend". The Cairns Post. p. 8.
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