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Those documents showed the company would clear 1,023.6ha of koala habitat.

Vitrinite said ecological assessments it submitted to the Queensland Department of Environment to support the Vulcan South application last month were “prepared to an EIS technical standard”. Habitat destruction and clearing were named as major causes of extinction, along with introduced species. The latest state of the environment report, released on Tuesday, found Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent, and has one of the highest rates of species decline in the developed world. “It’s like the difference between losing a leg and losing two legs.” “We need to consider cumulative impacts,” he said. Lindenmayer said a piecemeal approach to environmental approval, in which projects were assessed in isolation, amounted to a system that threatened to make Australia the “extinction capital of the planet”. “What’s the point of uplisting a species to endangered if you’re then going to just allow more and more habitat for that species to be cleared?” he said. Prof David Lindenmayer, an Australian National University ecologist, said allowing the habitat of endangered species to be destroyed “made a mockery” of environmental protections. The company said it would “conservatively offset the affected habitat” from the Vulcan South site in a “managed offset area specifically focused on koala habitat conservation”, and that the project would have limited long-term impacts on koala populations That mine is clearing more than 200ha of koala habitat and was approved by former Coalition federal government in March. Vitrinite already has approval for an adjacent mine, Vulcan, that will also produce 1.95m tonnes a year. The Nature Refuge Landowner Grant will cover the cost of engaging a Koala expert to support the design of the monitoring program.ĭonate today to help us continue this and other vital conservation work.Vitrinite’s proposed Vulcan South project is the latest in what environmental campaigners describe as a “disturbing trend” of coalmines being proposed that fall fractionally below the thresholds that trigger the EIS process.Īt Vulcan South, Vitrinite proposes to produce 1.95m tonnes of coal every year, below the 2m tonne threshold that would require the company to prepare an EIS. The Fitzroy Basin Association has been extremely generous in funding the purchase of extra monitoring equipment, to be used not only on the Koala surveys but regular surveillance of predator activity. We also help conserve Koalas by managing the threat of invasive species (predators and weeds) which degrade habitat.īush Heritage is very fortunate to have found strong partners in this work. Combined with their stillness and sleepy habits, they can easily go unnoticed by people working below.Īt Goonderoo, we're now rolling out a dedicated monitoring program to pay close attention to the health and dynamics of the local Koala population and their habitat. As staff and volunteers have discovered, Koalas are not always easy to spot!ĭespite their size and unmistakable features, they can climb to some of the highest, thinnest tree branches where their silhouettes are broken up by waving foliage and a glary skyline. We have Koalas on both our Carnarvon Station Reserve and Goonderoo Reserves and they've also been spotted at Currumbin Valley Reserve (all are in Queensland). In 2022 the status of Koalas in Queensland and NSW moved from vulnerable to ‘ endangered’. Chlamydia is also a significant threat and is more prevalent in stressed populations. With their slow movements, Koalas are also susceptible to bushfires, and can be affected by dehydration during heat waves. Sadly, with their homes cleared, individuals are vulnerable to be killed by cars or dogs as urban areas encroach on remnant habitat, and climate change is expected to further shrink the suitable habitat available.