For many
years the Clarence Valley was not exactly seen as a hotspot for koalas. In fact
many residents did not suspect we even had koalas in the Valley. In a landscape
of sugar cane, cattle and sprawling rural development, koalas did not readily
spring to mind.
A small but
viable koala population was known around Ashby, for which the then Maclean
Shire Council developed a plan of management to try to maintain it in
perpetuity. But it seemed isolated. The previous Iluka colony was believed
extinct, and only a few forestry workers and local landowners with eucalypts on
their properties mentioned seeing an occasional koala.
With the introduction of the NSW
Wildlife Atlas and the advent of WIRES into the Valley things began to change.
At first WIRES' records were hazy - jottings in dog-eared notebooks with little
information about where an animal was found. But as the significance of
location became clearer so the importance of WIRES' records began to be noticed.
No other group was able to collect so much data, about so many different
species, in a short space of time, totally free of charge.
Due mainly to WIRES' records we now
know koalas survive in scattered numbers along the rivers, creeks and tributaries
in a rough crescent around the floodplains. We also know they still exist in
Iluka, from where a small but regular inflow of records triggered another
survey by ecologist Steve Phillips, whose ensuing report warned Council to
tread carefully around Iluka because koalas were returning.
Now the Clarence Valley has been
mapped as hosting two meta koala populations, Coffs Harbour/Guy Fawkes to the
South and Clarence/Richmond to the north.
Clarence Valley WIRES will hold their next
training course on 22-23 March. Anyone interested in rescuing and caring for
native wildlife should book by the hotline 6643 4055
Patricia Edwards
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| Young koala in care |
