Newsletter – Autumn 2017 CLARENCE ENVIRONMENT CENTRE 31 Skinner St, South Grafton 2460 Phone / Fax 66 43 1863 Email: [email protected] Website www.cec.org.au

______Chaffin Creek drying up

Some of those involved with the Upper Coldstream Biodiversity project will recognise the log crossing that we used to cross Chaffin Creek waterholes on the crown land at the northern end of Firth Heinz Road, home to the very healthy Giant Dragonfly population.

As you can see there was no need for the 'bridge' when this picture was taken in mid February. The creek had ceased to flow, but I had never seen the waterholes so depleted. I know there was a major drought in the Clarence, and none worse affected than Pillar Valley, but I was still surprised at the dramatic drop in the level of water in these permanent waterholes.

It so happens that the crown land is right next to the Pacific Highway upgrade As can be see there was no need for a 'bridge' when this picture (forest now cleared right up was taken in mid February. The creek had ceased to flow. to the crown land boundary), so I went to check on my way out, and guess what the RMS has done?

200m down-stream of the log crossing, the RMS has installed a great big pump and were drawing the last remaining water out of the billabong to suppress dust and help pack down the new road foundations.

What the Hell is the 3 year's supply of water stored at Shannon Creek for? Nobody else is using it, and trucks could simply hook up to a hydrant in Tucabia without destroying the riverine habitat. This was not the first local creek that the RMS had pumped dry, having been forced to remove another pump they had installed at Whites Bridge in Amos Creek. A strongly worded letter from CEC to the EPA, pointing out the many environmental threats, not the least of which was to the population of endangered Giant Coastal Petaltail Dragonflies that had been identified in a swamp less than 100m away, and the pump was immediately withdrawn.

And then the rains came! Two heavy dumps in quick succession. The above picture was taken at the bottom of a steep hill down which the new highway route is being constructed, with a huge stockpile of dirt already in place to form the bridge approach (see image at right). The flimsy 1 metre high silt trap across the slope and that along the river bank (see above) was never going to stop erosion even from a moderate storm event, and so proved to be completely ineffective when the flood came.

The picture at left, taken several days after the first, relatively small flood event, shows the upper silt trap cloth spread and half buried at the right of frame, while the brand new white section of meshing along the river, and the plume of silt show where the entire mud flow, along with the original silt trapping, have ended up in the Chaffin Creek waterhole.

A kilometer further north at Summervale Road, the RMS 'brains trust' (engineers) had designed the highway to run directly along a small creek line and wetland complex.

The drought conditions made it easy to transform the wetland, at left. By filling it with rocks it ended up as shown above right. The creek too was filled but no provision was made for the water that would normally flow along it, so nature provided the solution (see below)

The creek found a new course, washing away all the flood mitigation devices and silt traps (below left), carrying thousands of tonnes of silt, over-topping silt traps, and depositing it all into the remaining wetland (see below right where the top centimetre of mesh is still visible above the silt). And than the bigger flood arrived! I was unable to access these sites immediately after the event to view the destruction, having been flood-bound myself, and when I did go, the place was a hive of activity, with excavators frantically trying to sort things out in drizzling rain.

At a subsequent meeting with the EPA at the Environment Centre, this matter was discussed, along with others, and it was explained to us that the RMS is required to deal with erosion mitigation measures in line with specifications laid down in the EPA's “Blue Book” which takes into consideration geographical regions, annual rainfall etc. However, I doubt if their Blue Book has ant standards for dealing with road building along creek lines!

I was unable to ascertain whether or not the RMS had complied with Blue Book regulations, or if any punitive action was taken, other than being told to remove silt from the Summervale Road wetland.

* * * The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) cares – yeah right!

In early February I wrote about the search for the endangered Coastal Petaltail Dragonfly in the Voices for the Earth column, which the Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition contribute to the Daily Examiner's environment page each Monday.

In that article, which had received input from two dragonfly researchers, Dr Ian Baird and local ecologist, Fig Forest, I reported that the Pacific Highway upgrade construction was in the process of destroying entire sub-populations of the giant insects near Tucabia.

That destruction has been particularly galling because, as regular readers of this newsletter might recall, sightings of the giant insects had been reported to the RMS on numerous occasions after their ecologists had declared the species was likely extinct, concluding that highway construction would have no impact on the species.

However, two days after the Voices for the earth article was published, a letter from Bob Higgins, the RMS's Pacific Highway upgrade manager, appeared in the Examiner's Letters to the Editor section, responding to the article. The Coastal Petaltail Dragonfly While certainly gratified to know there are some avid readers of our column, some of Higgins' comments were irritating to say the least. One was his assurance to readers that: “RMS and the Pacific Highway team take our environmental obligations under the project approval very seriously”. To back that up, and respond to the habitat destruction report, he claimed: “Highly qualified and experienced ecologists” carried out targeted surveys for the Dragonfly in 2014, and didn't find any, hinting to readers that their reported occurrence was false and simply vexatious.

Adult Giant Dragonflies only emerge over a brief 2-3 months each year during which they mate and lay their eggs in damp mud and peat habitats of swamps, after which they die. Their appearance can occur at any time during spring and summer, presumably depending on favourable conditions.

This year, ecologists studying the species as part of the Government's Save our Species program, did not sight any of the dragonflies until late Swamp mud, complete with at least 5 generations of dragonfly December, so if targeted surveys lavae, excavated from the wetland. There will be no survivors. are to be successful they must occur regularly over that spring-summer period.

However, on checking the RMS's 180 page “Threatened Invertebrates Management Plan”, we learn that only a single survey was undertaken by those “highly qualified” ecologists, and that was in November, clearly indicating their ecologists have plenty to learn.

These before and after photographs depict the stark reality for the Coastal Petaltail Dragonfly. Other comments in Mr Higgins' letter claiming any impact from the destruction of “potential habitat” would be insignificant, as there are extensive wetlands to the west, is further evidence of his (and presumably his highly qualified team's) total lack of knowledge of the life cycle of the dragonfly.

After all the adult Coastal Petaltail Dragonflies have died at the end of their breeding cycle, the eggs hatch in the moist soils of their swamp habitat, and the lavae spend the next five years or more in burrows underground before finally emerging as adults. As, in this case, the RMS has dug up the swamps along the route, filled them with rock, and will later cover that with gravel and concrete, at least 5 years of breeding cycle will have been destroyed. There will be no survivors! As for the swamps to the west, there are currently no Coastal Petail Dragonflies living there because they are floodplain wetlands, subject to lengthy periods of inundation during floods, an event that would drown the larvae. Also those wetlands are is grazed, and the larvae cannot survive in areas where stock continually trample their underground burrows, again highlighting the RMS's total lack of understanding of the species.

One of those swamp breeding areas destroyed by the RMS is outside the main corridor, and appears to have been deliberately targeted for destruction with a strip of dry creek bank cordoned off and marked for environmental protection (see at right).

So much for Mr Higgins' boast that: “The RMS has made further improvement to the route including reducing land-clearing by about 50 hectares”. This statement is meaningless in any event, because the RMS's charter requires them to minimise environmental impacts, so he can hardly expect brownie points for doing what they are required to do in the first instance.

If we really want to see how seriously the RMS takes its environmental responsibilities, we only have to look at the annihilation and fragmentation of Koala habitat that is occurring north of Wardell. There they have steadfastly refused to alter the highway route to avoid the impacts that could spell the end to Koalas in that area.

* * * The CEC heads to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal over water.

The NSW Government's policy to ensure the environment takes a back seat to development has been highlighted by the current blueberry fiasco. Our letter to the Primary Industries (DPI) Minister received the usual 'pat on the head' response assuring us that everything is under control.

That half page response contained very little of substance, other than stating the obvious in that: “DPI Agriculture supports the sustainable growth of agricultural industries within the NSW North Coast region”, and: “The blueberry industry is considered an important agricultural industry contributing significantly to the local and regional economy”.

Of course, the term “sustainable” has been inserted to make people think the government has given thought to the environment, but clearly the term has absolutely no meaning for them.

The letter makes the claim that: “DPI Agriculture is actively working with and relevant state agencies to promote best practice within the industry and to support strategic planning that avoids/reduces land use conflict risk”. This is a reference to the formation of The Inter-agency Blueberry Advisory Committee (IBAC), which was formed here on the , as a direct result of the emerging widespread problems associated with the industry.

However, as we pointed out in response to the DPI's letter, the Committee has no powers because, as they point out, all they are doing is “promoting” best practice, not “ensuring”, and quite frankly it seems the industry is taking no notice of any advice they are being given. We also pointed out that the assurance that IBAC “supports strategic planning that avoids/reduces land use conflict risk”, is an absolute 'crock', because there is absolutely no planning, which is the direct core of the problem. Over recent years the industry has been found guilty of illegal land clearing and dam building, erosion and waterway pollution, underpayment of pickers, employment of illegal workers, water theft, harassment of neighbours, and more, as is identified by IBAC's 15th February, 2017 meeting, where we read:

Right now, blueberry growers can bulldoze native vegetation, even endangered communities and threatened species, build huge dams that starve downstream landowners of water, and transform rural landscapes into 'seas' of white plastic. All this without needing to apply for any approval, much less undertake an environmental impact assessment or present a water management plan.

Water, or lack of it, is fast becoming a major problem for the industry, the main reason being the fact that most soils in the region have low fertility, meaning a significant amount of fertiliser has to be used. These nutrients are supplied directly to the the plants through the irrigation systems and, according to the DPI fact sheet between 2 and 3 megalitres of water per hectare is required annually.

In our summer newsletter I reported the case of the international consortium, Golden Eagle Berries' plan to develop 's largest blueberry farm, 850 hectares, near Bawden's Bridge, which has applied for a 66Ml per year pumping licence from the to irrigate 30 of those hectares. The company also built a massive farm dam to hold it's 90Ml harvestable rights (10% of water run- off), enough to irrigate a further 45 hectares. You don't have to be Einstein to work out that their plan for 850ha of blueberries has a 2,000Ml a year water shortfall.

As a result, some dozen landowners and the Clarence Environment Centre are being forced to take matters to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which has twice been postponed and is now being held on 2nd June, where we hope to be able to get our concerns heard.

The case before the Tribunal is over the relatively minor water licence application involving 66Ml a year from the Lower Orara River (which comes under the Clarence River Water Sharing Plan). It needs to be understood that the Lower Orara Report Card, identifies that the total water availability is just under 800Ml a year, all of which is currently allocated.

Within the last few months, that same international consortium has acquired another 1,000 hectare property nearby. That property had hundreds of hectares of timber plantation, planted under the Howard Government's 100% tax incentive scheme. In other words paid for by Australian taxpayers! The proponents of that managed investment scheme rort, all declared themselves bankrupt some years ago, and right now, the consortium is bulldozing those trees, and preparing the ground for more blueberries. How many more hectares of orchard are being planned for that property we don't know, nor apparently does NSW Water, or Department of Primary Industry.

Bawdens Bridge pumping site, 8th April last year At Poley Bridge this year, 19th February These two images of a barely flowing Orara during the last two wet seasons highlight the problem. And it's about to get a lot worse. Right now other blueberry operators are clearing land and building dams on every available first and second order streams at Glenreagh, Kremnos, Halfway Creek, Kungala, Lanitza, and Qwyarigo, and every month sees more land acquired by the industry, all within the Lower Orara River catchment area, and nobody knows how much water will be needed, or where it will come from.

Despite all of this, NSW Water has granted conditional approval for the licence application without any consideration of cumulative impacts, and we do not think that is good enough.

Currently the NSW Department of Primary Industry is reviewing harvestable rights legislation and the industry is lobbying to be allowed to dam the larger 3rd order streams and collect 50% of run-off, further reducing river flows across the board, which will be a disaster for riverine ecologies across the region.

We have tried to interest Council in making changes to its LEP that would require intensive horticulture to present an environmental impact assessment, but haven't even been able to get the matter listed as an agenda item. No good news here I'm afraid.

* * * The Upper Coldstream Biodiversity Project (UCBP) extended to TAFE learning Our man at Pillar Valley, Pete Turland has extended his great landholder engagement work with the UCBP at his “Red Gum Flats” work site on Firth Heinz Road. As Pete reports: “I had a good day with the a Grafton TAFE class recently (Conservation and Land management students) – Firstly, I showed them the ponds and nest boxes at my place to demonstrate how habitat can be created/ enhanced and how the ponds can serve as a water refuge during fires/drought/heat waves”

“We then went to Red Gum Flats where I explained the UCBP revegetation TAFE students receiving advice on landscape rehabilitation from Peter Turland project, followed by a strategic planting of 50 Black Oaks beside a previous planting of Forest oak (this now makes 86 Allocasuarinas planted). This exercise was to demonstrate how to create a habitat for a threatened species, in this case the Glossy Black Cockatoo. There was 7 of us and it’s good having a group to plant trees as it gets it done easily”

Anyway, another good effort for our ‘UCBP reveg work’ – at least 884 plants have been planted so far at Red Gum Flats – these include over 200 primary Koalas trees (e.g. Forest Red Pete's ponds. providing habitat and vital water to wildlife Gum, Swamp Mahogany and Tallowwood).” We extend a hearty vote of thanks to Pete for his tireless work for the environment, and also to Josh and Jamie who have ably assisted from time to time, not to forget our Land for Wildlife team of volunteers who, under Pete's guidance, planted the very first trees at Red Gum Flats over three years ago.

* * * Nature springs into action after the flood

For nature lovers, this past summer has been one of disappointment. Prolonged drought and heatwave conditions had resulted in stressed forests, dried up wetlands, and minimal growth of annual flowering plants.

However, with heavy rain followed by high humidity and warm temperatures, nature instantly bounces back through a proliferation of growth, not just the annuals and new leaves on shrubs and trees, but with a sparkling array of fungi.

Thy come in every form, size, colour and shape imaginable. They grow on trees, rocks, the forest floor and on rotting logs, even on grasses.

The more common groups include mushrooms, those with simple gills on the under surface that distribute their spores, while others have pores. There are coral fungi, puffballs, earth stars, underground truffle like fungi, slime moulds; shelf, jelly and birds nest fungi, and stinkhorns. These latter, while beautifully intricate of form, live up to their names giving off an unpleasant odour to attract flies to help spread their spores.

Phallus indusiatus Aseroe rubra, stinkhorn. Courtesy Mazza Verdante Phallus rubicunda

Some fungi are barely visible, with heads only 2 - 3mm across supported on long stalks no thicker than a thread of cotton, while others are immensely powerful, able to force their way through the rock hard surface of termite nests that even a wielded mattock would have difficulty breaking. The variety is endless. * * * CEC cooperation with the National Parks Service

An offer to the Office of Environment and Heritage to purchase land at Koukandowie, south of Coutts Crossing, has been received by the service with enthusiasm. Strategically placed and adjoining the three currently separate sandstone outcrop portions that make up the Koukandowie Nature Reserve, this acquisition will serve to provide continuity of habitat for the wildlife that currently inhabit the cliff habitats, including the endangered Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby.

Ward's Point. one of the outstanding sandstone features of the Reserve, and known Rock Wallaby habitat.

Lunch time with the OEH assessment team

The CEC has a long record of undertaking both voluntary and contract work for the Office of Environment, and right now our weed team is engaged in weed eradication at the Trenayr rainforest site on the Grafton Ag Research Station. That work is being funded through the Save our Species program, aimed at preserving the populations of endangered Brush Sauropus, or Paddy and Rob, two of our experienced weed team, survey Phyllanthus microcladdus, that grows there, the mess of weeds threatening the endangered Bush and at the Shannon Creek Dam. Sauropus at the Grafton Ag Station rainforest. The latter population was first discovered in about 2001 by CEC members investigating shoddy ecological assessments undertaken for the dam's EIS, and for many years it was thought to be the southern limit of the species until a further discovery of a small population near Nymboida in 2010. Bush Sauropus (Phyllanthus microcladdus) * * * Want's Lane Travelling Stock Reserve. A disaster hopefully averted

Some months ago, the CEC was alerted to the fact that Local Land Services had granted a grazing licence over a Travelling Stock Reserve at Sandy Crossing on 8 Mile Lane (Wooli Road), sometimes known as Wants Lane TSR. Many of our members will recall camping there while taking a break from the Glenugie CSG blockade a few years ago, and swimming in the beautiful waterhole in the which borders its northern and eastern boundary.

I reported on this issue in our Summer newsletter and this is an update on this on- going saga.

Subsequent to writing to LLS to protest the granting of a grazing licence over the reserve, it was acknowledged that a management plan should have been drawn up that adequately reflected the ecological values on the reserve, something we had highlighted in our letter.

In early May we received a letter back from LLS advising that in recognition of the high conservation values and the threats associated Pristine wetlands at Sandy Crossing TSR with increased grazing pressure, a decision had been made not to issue an Annual Grazing Permit on the reserve. That encouraging statement was followed by the bad news that, “a Reserve Use Permit will be issued for the short term containment of straying stock only”, and that: “This will enable the proposed lessee to maintain the TSR roadside boundary fence to ensure any straying stock do not enter the road.”

We responded pointing out that the use of the term “lessee” in relation to the proposed issuing of a Reserve Use Permit, and allowing the lessee to carry out fence maintenance along Wants Lane, implied that a payment would be sought, which in turn will grant, at least in the mind of that lessee, the right to actively allow his stock to stray, especially in drier periods when grazing is short. In fact, late last year, a small mob of less than 10 large bullocks, grazed the entire sedgelands of the reserve to ground level in less than a week.

We stressed the point that cattle are incredibly destructive and ongoing grazing would, we believe, undoubtedly increase as a result of issuing the permit, and will have a major negative impact, and severely retard the recovery of both endangered ecological communities (EEC) that occur across 100% of the lease area. We reinforced the fact that it is a criminal offence to knowingly damage any plants in an EEC, with substantial fines applicable, and while they assured us that, “grazing of the TSR is not the purpose of the permit”, that grazing is precisely what the cattle will be doing almost constantly while they are there, browsing and trampling native plants, and destroying on-ground nests of water birds, including the endangered Brolgas.

We also reiterated our earlier concern that cattle are also a known vector of weeds, and the latest identified biological threat, Tropical Soda Apple, was a case in point. That invasive weed has already been identified growing on neighbouring properties, and will ultimately be spread to the reserve if cattle are allowed there.

We also challenged LLS's justification for granting the permit because,“cattle have been accessing this TSR for some time because there are no viable boundary fencing options on the Coldstream River side due to the very wide flood flows”. We expressed the belief that the lack of viable fences was entirely due to that property owner's failure to maintain them, pointing out that there are viable fences along the equally flood-prone eastern boundary with another neighbour, almost twice the length of that of the lessee's, despite the constant flooding. In fact the Reserve's own fences at the southern end of Wants Lane are still perfectly viable despite many recent flood events that have over-topped them.

Finally, we pointed out that we have already seen how the proposed lessee “maintains” fences. It starts with a bulldozer, and the recent maintenance saw more than a hectare of EEC bushland cleared for the purpose, another activity guaranteed to introduce weeds.

The Clarence Valley Birdos have also visited the reserve, and compiled a sizable list of birds found utilising the site including numerous threatened species.

The CEC has provided a full report on the ecological and some Aboriginal heritage values of the reserve at the request of that section of LLS that was formerly the Catchment Management Authority. As well, we have requested the Office of Environment's threatened species unit to intercede on our behalf, so we are still Clarence Valley Birdos at work at the Sandy Crossing TSR hopeful of a favourable outcome.

There are very few, if any, wetland communities of the quality of those in the Sandy Crossing reserve remaining in the Clarence Valley, and they should be preserved.

* * * Local Land Services make use of the CEC's professional services

Following on from what we like to think resulted from voluntary veg surveys of crown land at Pillar Valley, the North Coast Local Land Services has contracted the CEC to undertake weed eradication work on two of their Travelling Stock reserves (TSR), flora surveys at three, and a fauna survey of one of them.

Specifically, those TSRs are Sandy Crossing, which I have written about at length above, Bostock's Waterholes TSR near Tucabia, and the Fortis Creek TSR on the Coaldale Road. Apart from giving us the opportunity to identify the high conservation values contained within these reserves, it also brings in some much- needed revenue for the CEC.

All three reserves are rich in biodiversity, and a joy to work in. Bostock's Waterholes contains a wetland complex with two protected endangered floodplain communities, and two flora species found there represent range extensions for those species, something that has now been reported to the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens for listing on the Atlas of A dry Bostock's Waterholes wetland during the drought in Feb 2017 Living Australia.

Likewise at Fortis Creek, two threatened species have had their ranges extended as a result of the surveys.

Vulnerable Prostanthera sejuncta The spectacular endangered Acacia ruppii The Fortis Creek reserve also supports 3 other threatened species, the Square-fruited Ironbark, the Broad-leaved Sandstone Apple, and a rare grass species Ancistrachne maidenii.

Fauna ecologist, Russell Jago, was sub- contracted by CEC to undertake the survey, identifying large numbers of bird species, thanks in part to an extensive area of Banksia heath country at the eastern end of the reserve, where the bird-life was spectacular.

It was a real education to watch Russell at work and a privilege to work with him. The methodologies he employed included: • A series of herpetological searches, under logs, bark, rocks, and leaf litter at selected sites. John assisting Russell during his fauna survey • Dusk micro-bat searches using 'Anabat' at the Fortis Creek TSR, conducted for North ultrasonc sound detector Coast LLS by the Clarence Environment Centre • Night-time call playback for threatened species, Koalas, gliders and forest owls. • Meander bird searches across the reserve to compile a comprehensive bird list. • Opportunistic observations of habitat features, tree hollows, nests, feed trees, scats, scratches on tree bark, tracks, and other signs of fauna. • Opportunistic visual and auditory searches along creek lines, and around swamps and dams for frogs and other aquatic species.

Scarlet honeyeater * * *

The bush bounces back following the March rains The recuperative qualities of the Australian bus never ceases to amaze, and this was never more pronounced following flood rains in march after one of the driest, and certainly hottest summer on record. The rains brought on a late flowering of most ground cover species.

Ground orchids, while being relatively predictable bloomers, can remain dormant if conditions are unfavourable, but the rains have certainly encouraged their proliferation this autumn.

Orchids have fascinated people throughout history, and are popular with collectors and breeders around the world who compete to produce the most brilliant blooms, or unusual colour However, they are not always showy, many are plain, even drab and colourless, but all are nevertheless fascinating to those that take the time to examine and enjoy them.

Orchids can be found year round in the Clarence Valley as each species makes its often predictable appearance. They can be found growing on rocks, on the Tiger Orchid ground, in swamps, and on trees, the latter frequently choosing a single host species, such as the the Brush Box and Ironbark Orchids, or the Rat's-tail Orchid (Dockrillia teretifolia) that grows almost Rat's-tail Orchid exclusively on Swamp Oaks. The variety of form, colour and size are seemingly endless. In the Clarence Valley we have the world's smallest, the Red Bead Orchid, with 1mm long leaves and tiny red flowers that are large by comparison, reaching to 3½ mm across.

It is best spotted growing on rocks or tree branches, almost resembling moss, with sometimes extensive 'strings' of 3-4mm round pseudobulbs resembling strings of beads.

The World's smallest orchid At the other extreme, the spectacular Sydney Rock Orchid with its 600mm long racemes crowded with white flowers is probably the largest species in the valley.

There is an infinite variety of ground orchids, which for much of the year are not visible. For many, a leaf, or leaves, are first to appear and give searchers something to look for. However, some only have a single leaf that resemble a blade of grass, while others have no leaves at all. While species like the Rock Orchid are easily spotted the majority of orchids are not, but for those that search the rewards are endless.

Elbow Orchid Wasp Orchid Tiger Orchid Large Pink Fingers Orchid

* * * Forest Corp at it again

When Dailan Pugh and his North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) team undertook an audit of logging operations in the Gibberagee State Forest near Whiporie in April, they were confronted by an array of breaches so blatant that even the hardened forest campaigners were shocked. Buffer zones for endangered Narrow-leaved Melichrus had been ignored, endangered floodplain vegetation damaged, along with the usual failures in relation to habitat protection.

The breaches were reported to the EPA and Dailan was asked to accompany the EPA officers to the site to show them the alleged breaches. However, on arrival Dailan was refused access, and later threatened with a $2,400 fine if he entered the forest again.

We now have a ridiculous situation where someone alerts the authorities of a crime, damaging endangered species and communities, and is threatened by a massive fine, when Forest Corporation will likely escape with a warning of a Penalty Infringement Notice and fined $150. Ridiculous!

Anyone who knows Dailan however, would know the threats would not dampen his resolve. The reaction by Forest Corp was such that he knew they were desperate to hide something. Within days the team revisited the site and found whole creek lines had been logged in a blatant breach of conditions. Melichrus sp. Giberagee In this case not only did the logging breach the stream buffer requirements, but Forest Corp had ignored buffer requirements for the endangered Purple Spotted Gudgeon, the requirements for which are clearly spelt out in the Integrated Forests Operations Approval, as the subsequent NEFA media release explained.

An entire creek line trashed by Forest Corp logging in Gibberagee SF

“The Purple Spotted Gudgeon is a small attractive freshwater fish. It was listed as Endangered in NSW in 2008 and since then the Forestry Corporation has been required by its Fisheries Licence to not log Endangered Purple-spotted Gudgeon within 10m of headwater streams upstream from potential Purple Spotted Gudgeon habitat”. For years the Forestry Corporation claimed it didn't know where the habitat of the Purple Spotted Gudgeon was, but in May 2016 Fisheries NSW published maps of potential habitat. “Since then Forestry Corporation has had no excuse not to meet its legal obligations to account for the habitat requirements of the Purple Spotted Gudgeon when planning its logging operations", said NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh. Like many native fish the Purple Spotted Gudgeon is extremely sensitive to sediment in the water, and logging operations at the very tops of catchments can send sediment all the way down the rivers. “However the Forestry Corporation have refused to comply with the Fisheries Management Act 1994 and stop logging headwater stream buffers above where habitat of the Purple Spotted Gudgeon has been mapped" Mr. Pugh said”.

There is no doubting the significance of the protections that have been applied to the Gudgeon, A review by NEFA of current logging operations identified 43 forestry compartments, that constitute habitat for the Purple Spotted Gudgeon under the Fisheries Licence, for which the Forestry Corporation stated it was intending to log buffers of headwater streams. These compartments are scattered through the headwaters of the Clarence River, , Pine Creek, , , , River, and .

This would make a significant dent in Forest Corporation's wood supply and offer protection to many of the upper catchment headwaters which are currently being trashed.

* * * GOOD NEWS It's always good to report a good news story on the environment, something all too rare these days, so I'm glad to end with this uplifting story by Patricia Edwards (WIRES Koala Coordinator): Shane the Koala, still fit and well at Waterview Heights At dusk on 23 May 2014 a male koala was released into a red gum tree on Mulligan Drive, Waterview Heights. He climbed awkwardly, gripping the tree with one hind leg instead of his foot, bringing doubts about his survival chances in the wild and the decision to release him. This koala first came into WIRES' care in October 2013 after a tangle with a dog. Named after the owner who promptly called WIRES then helped to get him out of his garden shrub, Shane was an 8kg 6 year old with a few bites on his rump and a broken hind foot from the fray. X-rays later found he also had a previously broken tibia, but otherwise was in good shape. Once captured Shane was given painkillers and antibiotics at the Clarence Valley vet clinic, and next morning was in surgery at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, where his crushed toe was amputated and he spent the next seven months undergoing treatment and therapy. As a dominant male Shane could only be returned to his home territory, as close as sensibly possible to his pick-up site. And so, after many further hours confined in a basket returning to Grafton, a travel-weary, grumpy Shane was finally freed into the favoured food tree some 400m from where he was found. With so much effort and hundreds of dollars spent in getting Shane safely home, the only thing to do now was wish him a safe and trouble-free rest of his life and leave him to his own devices. The rest was up to him - and luck Shane, 3 years after release following Now photos taken by resident Gary Eggins of hospitalisation because of a dog attack a big koala who regularly visits his property, wearing an orange ear tag with the word WIRES and number 1177, have positively identified Shane, alive and well and in great condition almost exactly 3 years after his release. Shane now is old for a wild koala, so residents are asked to watch for him, to keep him safe while he happily lives out the rest of his time in the area he grew up in. Take care big guy.

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