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Koalas and raising Warragamba Dam Wall

The Colong Foundation for Wilderness have raised concerns about inadequate koala field assessments completed in relation to raising Warragamba Dam Wall.

On 18 March 2020 the Sydney Morning Herald reported on a leaked document that showed the NSW Government’s biodiversity assessment of the 5,700 hectare proposed World Heritage Zone was rushed with ecologists having only eight weeks to complete the task.  The Herald reports that the search for koalas during the assessment lasted only three hours and forty minutes when the search should actually have taken 112 hours.

It is extremely alarming that such little regard has been shown for the wellbeing of koalas and other species given the fight the our wildlife now faces for survival after the recent bushfires.

Colong Foundation is asking concerned readers to send a short email to Environment Minister Matt Kean telling him that he should demand a proper survey of this iconic Australian species in the Blue Mountains. The following points have been provided by the Colong Foundation to help you write your message:

  • The leaked document showed a total of 3 hours and 40 minutes was spent looking for koala’s over an impact area the size of 10,600 football fields (5,700 hectares).
  • The document also showed just 15 hours was spent looking for greater gliders over the same 5,700 hectare area.
  • The leaked assessment report did not once mention the words ‘World Heritage’.
  • All assessment field work undertaken before the bushfires is not worth the paper it is written on and needs to be re-done, as the fires have caused a dramatic redistribution of threatened species across NSW.

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