WILLATOOK WIND FARM FLORA AND FAUNA ASSESSMENT FOR MNES REFERRAL Prepared for Willatook Wind Farm Pty Ltd Suite 5, 61–63 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn VIC 3123 P.O. Box 337, Camberwell VIC 3124 Ph. (03) 9815 2111 Fax. (03) 9815 2685 April 2019 Report No. 16087 (3.2) Willatook Wind Farm: Flora and Fauna Assessment Report No. 16087 (3.2) CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Proposed development ............................................................................................ 2 1.2. Scope of Work and Timeline of Surveys ................................................................. 4 2. REGULATORY CONTEXT ................................................................................................... 6 2.1. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) ..... 6 2.2. State Legislation and Policy .................................................................................... 6 2.2.1. Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) ........................................... 6 2.2.2. Environmental Effects Act 1978 (EE Act) ....................................................... 6 2.2.3. Planning and Environment Act 1987 ............................................................. 6 2.2.4. Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CaLP Act) .................................. 7 2.2.5. Local laws and regulations .............................................................................. 8 2.3. Other Guidelines ...................................................................................................... 8 3. VEGETATION AND FLORA SURVEY ................................................................................ 10 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 11 3.2. Methods .................................................................................................................. 12 3.2.1. Existing information ....................................................................................... 12 3.2.2. Field methods ................................................................................................. 13 3.3. Assessment results ................................................................................................ 17 3.3.1. Native vegetation ........................................................................................... 17 3.3.2. Flora species .................................................................................................. 26 3.3.3. Listed ecological communities ...................................................................... 36 3.4. Impacts of Proposed Development ...................................................................... 39 3.4.1. Design response to mitigate impacts on flora and fauna ........................... 40 3.4.2. Native vegetation ........................................................................................... 40 3.4.3. Modelled species important habitat ............................................................. 40 3.4.4. Listed flora species ........................................................................................ 40 3.4.5. Threatened ecological communities ............................................................. 40 3.5. Implications of the proposed development ......................................................... 41 3.5.1. Implications under the Guidelines ................................................................ 41 3.5.2. EPBC Act ......................................................................................................... 42 3.5.3. FFG Act ............................................................................................................ 42 3.5.4. EE Act .............................................................................................................. 42 Page | i Willatook Wind Farm: Flora and Fauna Assessment Report No. 16087 (3.2) 3.5.5. CaLP Act .......................................................................................................... 43 3.5.6. Mitigation recommendations ........................................................................ 44 4. FAUNA OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................... 45 4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 45 4.2. Existing information ............................................................................................... 45 4.2.1. Existing reporting and documentation ......................................................... 45 4.2.2. Listed matters ................................................................................................ 45 4.3. Field methods ......................................................................................................... 45 5. BAT ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................... 47 5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 48 5.2. Methods .................................................................................................................. 48 5.2.1. Timing of surveys ........................................................................................... 49 5.2.2. Location and description of survey sites in 2018 ....................................... 53 5.2.3. Limitations ...................................................................................................... 55 5.3. Results of the surveys ........................................................................................... 56 5.3.1. EHP Surveys – Spring 2009 (EHP, 2018) .................................................... 56 5.3.2. Bat species – Spring 2018 ........................................................................... 56 5.3.3. Bat activity ...................................................................................................... 59 5.3.4. Height distribution of bats ............................................................................. 60 5.3.5. Threatened species ....................................................................................... 61 5.4. Comparison of current survey and previous work in the Willatook region ........ 65 5.5. Summary and Conclusions .................................................................................... 65 6. STRIPED LEGLESS LIZARD ASSESSMENT .................................................................... 67 6.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 67 6.2. Species Biology ...................................................................................................... 67 6.3. Sources of information .......................................................................................... 68 6.3.1. Existing Information ....................................................................................... 68 6.3.2. Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................... 69 6.3.3. Field Methodology .......................................................................................... 70 6.3.4. Limitations of field assessment .................................................................... 70 6.4. Results .................................................................................................................... 71 6.4.1. Existing Information ....................................................................................... 71 6.4.2. Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................... 71 Page | ii Willatook Wind Farm: Flora and Fauna Assessment Report No. 16087 (3.2) 6.4.3. Survey Results ................................................................................................ 74 6.5. Implications ............................................................................................................ 74 6.6. Mitigation Measures .............................................................................................. 74 7. WETLAND FAUNA ........................................................................................................... 75 7.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 76 7.2. SPECIES’ BIOLOGY ................................................................................................. 77 7.2.1. Migratory shorebirds ...................................................................................... 77 7.2.2. Growling Grass Frog ....................................................................................... 79 7.2.3. Swamp Skink .................................................................................................. 80 7.3. Sources of information .......................................................................................... 82 7.3.1. Existing Information ....................................................................................... 82 7.3.2. Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................... 83 7.3.3. Other