Species impact statement Sportsmans Creek Bridge removal, Lawrence March 2016 THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK Contents DGR checklist ................................................................................................................................ 7 Declaration ....................................................................................................................................11 Definitions .....................................................................................................................................12 Acronyms ......................................................................................................................................15 Executive summary .......................................................................................................................16 1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................18 1.1 Background .....................................................................................................................18 1.2 Compliance with DGRs ...................................................................................................18 2 Contextual information ............................................................................................................20 2.1 Existing environment .......................................................................................................20 2.2 Description of the proposal ..............................................................................................21 2.2.1 Site establishment ....................................................................................................22 2.2.2 Road treatments .......................................................................................................23 2.2.3 Bridge removal .........................................................................................................23 2.2.4 Site disestablishment ...............................................................................................25 2.2.5 Ancillary facilities ......................................................................................................25 2.2.6 Timing ......................................................................................................................26 2.3 Subject site .....................................................................................................................28 2.3.1 Ecological features ...................................................................................................28 2.4 Study area .......................................................................................................................29 2.4.1 Definition of the study area .......................................................................................29 2.4.2 Description of SIS study area ...................................................................................29 2.4.3 Vegetation communities ...........................................................................................30 2.4.4 Land use ..................................................................................................................30 2.4.5 Topography ..............................................................................................................30 2.4.6 SEPPs .....................................................................................................................30 2.4.7 Key ecological features ............................................................................................31 2.4.8 Land tenure ..............................................................................................................31 2.5 Locality ............................................................................................................................31 3 Initial assessment ...................................................................................................................35 3.1 Identifying subject species, populations and/ or ecological communities .........................35 3.1.1 Assessment of available information ........................................................................35 4 Survey ....................................................................................................................................38 4.1 Requirement to survey ....................................................................................................38 4.1.1 Sportsmans Creek Bridge surveys ...........................................................................38 4.1.2 Surveys for other Large-footed Myotis breeding colonies .........................................38 4.2 Survey effort ....................................................................................................................39 3 4.2.1 Justification of reduced survey effort ....................................................................... 42 4.3 Survey results ................................................................................................................ 42 4.3.1 Sportsmans Creek Bridge surveys .......................................................................... 42 4.3.2 General species survey results................................................................................ 47 5 Assessment of likely impacts ................................................................................................. 49 5.1 Assessment of species likely to be affected.................................................................... 49 5.2 Discussion of conservation status .................................................................................. 54 5.2.1 Local, regional and state-wide conservation status ................................................. 54 5.2.2 Key threatening processes ...................................................................................... 54 5.2.3 Habitat requirements ............................................................................................... 55 5.2.4 Applicable recovery/threat abatements plans .......................................................... 55 5.2.5 Reservation within conservation reserves ............................................................... 55 5.2.6 Distribution .............................................................................................................. 56 5.3 Discussion of local and regional abundance ................................................................... 58 5.3.1 Discussion of other known local populations ........................................................... 58 5.3.2 Discussion of habitat utilisation ............................................................................... 58 5.3.3 Description of vegetation ......................................................................................... 59 5.4 Assessment of habitat .................................................................................................... 59 5.4.1 Description of habitat values ................................................................................... 59 5.4.2 Extent of habitat removal ......................................................................................... 59 5.4.3 Consideration of corridors ....................................................................................... 60 5.5 Description of feasible alternatives ................................................................................. 60 6 Ameliorative measures .......................................................................................................... 62 6.1 Long term management strategies ................................................................................. 62 6.2 Compensatory strategies ................................................................................................ 62 6.2.1 Biodiversity offsets .................................................................................................. 67 6.3 Roost exclusion .............................................................................................................. 67 6.3.1 Exclusion timing ...................................................................................................... 67 6.3.2 Exclusion methodology ........................................................................................... 68 6.4 Roles and responsibilities ............................................................................................... 70 6.5 Reporting and communication ........................................................................................ 71 6.6 Monitoring ...................................................................................................................... 71 7 Assessment of significance ................................................................................................... 76 7.1 Seven-part test ............................................................................................................... 76 7.2 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 85 8 Additional information ............................................................................................................ 86 8.1 Qualifications and experience .......................................................................................