CLARENCE VALLEY ECOLOGIST PETITIONS ENVIRONMENT MINISTER ABOUT COASTAL EMUS

Dr Greg Clancy, ecologist and Clarence Valley resident, has emailed Rob Stokes, the NSW Minister for the Environment, about a petition he has started to help save the coastal emus of the Clarence. The emus' habitat will be affected by the proposed Pacific Highway upgrade through the Clarence Valley.

A link to Dr Clancy's petition is given at the end of this post.

 I have seen transcripts and heard sections of speeches that you have recently given to various groups.  From these I get the impression that you have a genuine concern for the environment and are willing to take the necessary action to protect it.   I have started a petition to you (that will be submitted in due course) requesting that you intervene to help save the Coastal Emu in the Grafton area.  The Coastal Emu is an endangered population under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and as such deserves serious conservation attention.  Instead the Roads and Maritime Services are planning to run the Pacific Highway upgrade directly through the habitat of the Coastal Emu.  There is an alternative route available.   I would be happy to show you the old growth forests, wetlands, riparian areas and Emu habitat that will be affected by the preferred route of the Highway upgrade.  An additional 80 threatened species of flora and fauna will be impacted by the construction.  The alternative route will have minimal ecological impact.

SAVE THE COASTAL EMU PETITION

KOALAS AND THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY UPGRADE

The RMS - Roads and Maritime Services (previously known as the RTA) - continues to show a lack of concern about protecting important populations of native species.  The route of its proposed Pacific Highway upgrade from north of Coffs Harbour to Ballina will have a devastating effect on many species because of the clearing of native vegetation and the increased likelihood of roadkill. 

An important koala habitat area near Wardell, south of Ballina, is one area of concern.  Recently ecologist Mark Graham wrote to local papers expressing his concern about a statement made about this area by the Highway Upgrade Manager. This letter is printed below.

Yesterday on the ABC Mr Bob Higgins, Pacific Highway upgrade manager for the RMS said about the proposed Broadwater to Ballina deviation "The route that was selected is mostly on cleared land."  His statement is not correct.  The reality is the proposed route will clear and sever intact corridors of forest and wetland that connect the Wardell heathland (part of the National Reserve System called the Ngunya-Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area) with the nationally significant forests (and koala habitats) of the Blackwall Range.  Indeed these areas are recognised as some of the most important wildlife corridors in Ballina Shire.

What Mr Higgins has repeatedly failed to address is that the proposed route is several kilometers longer than the existing highway.  It will require clearing lots of nationally important koala habitat and result in the isolation and  permanent degradation of hundreds of hectares of adjacent koala habitat.  It will clear and fragment the largest and most significant tracts of native vegetation in Ballina Shire.

The RMS policy about biodiversity states: "When managing biodiversity, RMS aims to: 1. Avoid and minimise impacts first. 2. Mitigate impacts where avoidance is not possible. 3. Offset where residual impacts cannot be avoided."

Mr Higgins has been informed (in person and in writing) since 2005 that building a highway along the proposed route will cause local extinctions of nationally protected species such as the koala and long-nosed potoroo.  He knows there is  no native vegetation, protected areas or culturally significant features along the existing highway between Broadwater and Ballina.  He also knows that avoiding any impacts on biodiversity is readily achievable.

Mr Higgins, you have no excuse for killing Ballina's koalas.

      - Mark Graham

This letter was published in The Daily Examiner on July 17, 2014.

BALLINA KOALAS THREATENED BY PROPOSED NEW PACIFIC HIGHWAY ROUTE

Roads and Maritime Services, or RMS (the former RTA), is planning to upgrade the Pacific Highway between Woolgoolga and Ballina on the NSW North Coast.  Some sections of the proposal will have very severe impacts on biodiversity as they pass through areas of native vegetation which are home to a range of native species, some of which are threatened.

One such section is Section 10 from the Richmond River to Coolgardie Road, Wardell.  This section cuts through the Blackwall Range wildlife corridor, including the regionally and nationally significant Lower Richmond Koala population.

Friends of the Koala, Ballina Environment Society and Ballina Councillor Jeff Johnson are running a campaign to have the route on this part of the new highway changed because of the impact it will have on the local koala population.  Koalas in NSW, along with those in the Australian Capital Territory and South-east Queensland, were listed in 2013 as vulnerable under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

For the RMS to be planning to put a major highway through prime koala habitat is inexcusable. There are other route options that do not impact on this important biodiversity hotspot, including widening the existing route.

The entire upgrade has been declared a controlled action under the EPBC Act.  So the proponents require approval from the Federal Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, as well as from the NSW Minister for Planning, Brad Hazzard.  Whether these politicians will protect the koalas in this area by forcing RMS to change its plans is debatable.  What may force them to do so is the pressure of public opinion. So letters or emails to these politicians may help - as may signing the on-line petition -  Save Ballina Koalas

HIGHWAY UPGRADE THROUGH CLARENCE VALLEY TO DEVASTATE WILDLIFE

NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), an agency of the NSW Government, is upgrading the Pacific Highway in the north of the state.  The proposal for the upgrade of the 155 km section from Woolgoolga, north of Coffs Harbour, to Ballina recently went on public exhibition. 

The Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition has grave concerns about the environmental impact of the proposed route of this upgrade through the Clarence Valley.   Below is part of the CVCC’s submission on the proposal.

A.  COMMENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS - GLENUGIE TO THE  ILUKA TURNOFF

1. The Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition opposes the proposed highway route through the Clarence Valley because of the severe impact it will have on the biodiversity of the area.

2. The 48 km of the route from Glenugie to the Clarence River will have a devastating effect on flora and fauna. 

• Around 948 hectares of vegetation will be cleared in an area important for its biodiversity. Threatened  flora species to be destroyed include Square-fruited Ironbark and Weeping Paperbark.

• Vegetation to be cleared includes 337 hectares of Endangered Ecological Communities (EECs).  Amongst these EECs are sections of Nationally Listed  Lowland Rainforest.

• The Endangered Coastal Emu (with an existing population of only about 100 birds in the Clarence Valley) will have its range bisected by the highway. This almost certainly will have a disastrous effect on this remnant population.

• More than 80 other threatened species will be impacted by the chosen route.   Some species relying on this area for habitat include the Rufous Bettong, Powerful Owl, Yellow-bellied Glider, Grey-crowned Babbler, Diamond Firetail, Black-chinned Honeyeater, Brown Treecreeper and Squirrel Glider.

3.  At a time when scientists and members of the community are becoming increasingly concerned about extinctions and the threat of extinctions as well as general biodiversity loss, we need to be taking a much more precautionary approach to developments which are certain to have severe impacts on the natural world.

4. The CVCC is concerned that the RMS has chosen from its original list of possible routes the one which will cause the most severe environmental damage.

5. While social and economic factors need to be considered in route selection, it is important to remember that both the economy and society are subsets of the environment.  Neither will continue in a healthy state if the environment continues to be damaged.  It is not just this one development – damaging as it will be – but the cumulative impact of many developments which place unreasonable stress on the natural world.

6. The CVCC believes that the least damaging route environmentally would have been the orange route in the original list – the route which follows the existing highway.  Construction of the highway upgrade in the Kempsey area clearly indicates that such a route, with the highway raised to limit problems with flooding, is possible.  While this may be dismissed as being too expensive, there is the question of valuing the environment and biodiversity loss along the route already chosen by the RMS.  The true cost of the chosen route has not been assessed because the cost of the environmental damage that is inevitable has not been factored in.

B. COMMENTS ON SOME OF THE MITIGATION MEASURES

1. The Endangered Coastal Emu

The CVCC is very concerned about the mitigation measures proposed for the endangered coastal emu.

• There is no certainty that the underpasses described in the documentation will be an effective measure in allowing the emus access to their range.  As well as the issue of whether the species will use an underpass, there is the issue of the location of these structures to suit the birds’ movement pattern.

• ·        The RMS (former RTA) has known about the coastal emu issue in the Clarence Valley for years and the fact that its highway upgrade will impact on this species. However, it has not undertaken or, as far as we know, moved to have undertaken any scientific studies of this species until very recently.  Moreover this recent satellite-tracking study of young birds raised in captivity has been a failure. It did not run its intended course, largely, as we understand it, because of the mortality of a number of the subject emus. The RMS’ lack of commitment to any research on this matter is extremely disappointing and does not augur well for its mitigation proposals.

2. Off-sets

• ·          The CVCC acknowledges that offsets are supported by government instrumentalities and developers as a way to expedite developments in areas with important natural values which will be destroyed or severely damaged by developments.

• ·        However, it cannot be logically argued that providing another area as compensation will result in no net biodiversity loss.  Quite obviously biodiversity lost in one area cannot be relaced by biodiversity already existing in another area.

• ·        And net biodiversity loss is a major issue. Scientists and members of the community are concerned about this and about the cumulative impact of biodiversity loss across the nation.

• ·        Governments and their instrumentalities continue to pay lipservice to the concept of ecologically sustainable development and its principles but, in reality, little has changed.  Putting in place measures such as off-sets merely gives the appearance that something positive is being done.

• ·        Even if off-sets were a valid compensation for loss of ecosystems, there is always the problem of finding the equivalent or even near-equivalent ecosystems to use as off-sets.  Where, for example, will the RMS or its agents find suitable offsets for the Clarence Lowland Rainforest EECs ?

CONCLUSION

In conclusion the Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition strongly opposes the chosen route for the Pacific Highway through the Clarence Valley because of the devastating environmental impact this development with have on an area with significant remnant native vegetation which provides habitat for a broad range of fauna, including many which are threatened.

CLARENCE VALLEY HIGHWAY UPGRADE IS OVERKILL

Following the 31^st August public meeting on the threat the proposed Clarence Valley Pacific Highway upgrade will have to the Coastal Emu, John Edwards wrote to Bob Higgins on behalf of the Clarence Environment Centre. Bob Higgins is General Manager, Pacific Highway, Roads and Maritime Services of NSW (formerly the Roads and Traffic Authority).

Below is an edited extract from the letter which questions the RMS' plans for the proposed route for the highway through the Clarence Valley.

The North Coast Environment Council(NCEC), the Clarence Environment Centre (CEC), and other local  conservation groups, have always claimed that the 'motorway' concept for the Clarence Valley is 'over-kill'. The section of highway between Coffs Harbour and Ballina undeniably carries the lowest traffic volumes of anywhere along Highway One from Warrnambool in Victoria to Gympie in Queensland. So why a separate motorway?

We have always asserted that a simple addition of two more lanes to the current highway is all that is needed, and would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. There would need to be minor straightening, and diversions around South Grafton and the hamlets of Ulmarra and Tyndale. There are already two sections of divided road, at Shark Creek and Cowper, that are perfectly adequate for the amount of traffic using the highway for the foreseeable future, and provide the safety levels demanded by the public.

We also assert that if that course of action had been pursued, the section of highway upgrade from Wells Crossing to at least Maclean could now have been completed at minimal cost. We acknowledge that that route has flooding problems, something that is likely to worsen over time with predicted sea level rise. However, I point out that the preferred route is only flood-proofed to a one in twenty year flood level, which means traffic would sometimes need to transfer to the New England Highway for 2 or 3 days, as is already the case; hardly an insurmountable problem.

To support our argument even further, the RTA (now the RMS) has identified that 70% of Pacific Highway road-users in the Clarence Valley are local commuters that will continue to use the existing highway, and that the existing road will also be upgraded to 4 lane status for safety reasons, bypassing Ulmarra in the process. So where is the logic for building a totally separate, highly environmentally damaging motorway, to cater for just 30% of the total traffic volume?

We believe the current bypass plan will not only be a disaster for the Coastal Emu and the scores of other threatened species  that will be directly impacted  (See CVCC Blog on Coastal Emu) , but will also be disastrous for Grafton, with the longest off-ramps in the country (12km from the south, and a further 30km to the north).

Finally, we also believe it is not too late to reassess the entire Clarence Valley proposal.

        - John Edwards

COASTAL EMUS THREATENED BY PACIFIC HIGHWAY PLANS

The NSW Government instrumentality Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), formerly known as the Roads and Traffic Authority  (RTA), is planning to re-route a section of the Pacific Highway in the Clarence Valley.  If the RMS proposal goes ahead there will be a severe impact on biodiversity.  The upgrade, from Glenugie to the Iluka turnoff, will leave the old highway south of Grafton, pass through the Tucabia area and re-join the current highway route near Tucabia.  This new route passes through significant areas of native vegetation which provides habitat for a variety of species, many of which are threatened.

Of particular concern is the Coastal Emu, a population which is listed as endangered in NSW.  The proposed route dissects the last significant habitat of this species.  According to local ecologist  Dr Greg Clancy there is another population at Main Camp between Grafton and Casino  (north west of the highway upgrade route) but the species is now apparently close to extinction in Bundjalung National Park, a coastal park north of the Clarence River, and is extinct in Broadwater National Park further to the north.

                                        Male Emu with Chick                    Photo: K Cranney

Dr Clancy is very pessimistic about the survival chances of the remaining Clarence Valley emus.  He said, "The biology and ecology of the Coastal Emu is poorly known but it appears to undergo annual movements from coastal sites to areas to the west.  The existing Pacific Highway constitutes the western boundary of the population centred on Yuragir National Park.  The highway proposal is likely to prevent this movement as it will create a barrier to Emu movement.  It is most unlikely that the usual underpasses constructed by the RTA (now the RMS) will be suitable for Emus.  Emus do not handle fences very well and do not easily find exits from large paddocks and are therefore unlikely  to find the underpasses they are supposed to use.  It is most likely that the Emus will enter culverts to access areas to the west of the highway and therefore further isolation of an already declining population will occur."

Dr Clancy pointed out that changes to the route from Tyndale to the Harwood Bridge (across the Clarence River) would also affect the Emus. The proposed upgrade  "originally ran at the western edge of the Emu's habitat but following representations by the Cane Growers of the area it has now been moved further east which will cause the northern birds to be isolated from habitat to the west of the new highway between Tyndale and Maclean if the highway is constructed there."

A large number of other threatened fauna as well as some flora species will be adversely affected if the proposed route goes ahead.

NSW-listed threatened fauna which will be adversely affected are:

 Rufous Bettong, Powerful Owl, Yellow-bellied Glider, Grey-crowned Babbler, Diamond Firetail, Black-chinned Honeyeater, Brown Treecreeper and Squirrel Glider.

Federally-listed flora and fauna likely to be adversely affected are:

Square-fruited Ironbark, Quassia sp. ‘Moonee Creek’, Lindsaea incisa, Grevillea quadricauda, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Koala, New Holland Mouse, Australasian Bittern, Bush Stone-curlew, Green and Golden Bell Frog, Grey-headed Flying-fox, Eastern Osprey, Regent Honeyeater, Glossy Ibis, Swift Parrot, Australian Painted Snipe, Latham’s Snipe, Marsh Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Magpie Goose, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Cattle Egret, Eastern Great Egret, White-throated Needletail, Fork-tailed Swift, Rainbow Bee-eater, Rufous Fantail, Black-faced Monarch, Spectacled Monarch, Three-toed Snake-toothed Skink.

Conservationists believe that the only route that will reduce the impact on the ecosystems of the area is the orange route which approximates the existing highway with a small by-pass at Clarenza and another at Ulmarra. It was rejected by the RMS on social and economic grounds.