Annual General Meeting: Will be held Saturday 29th July 2pm Meeting Room Koala Conservation Reserve. All WelcomeDates for your diary:Birdlife Bass Coast: Outing to Wonthaggi Rifle Range Friday 28th July 2-4pm. Meet at the Rifle Range car park at the west end of Reed Crescent. Contact Nola 0418 348 392 Outing to The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve Friday 25th August 2-4pm. Meet at the Dunbabbin Rd picnic area behind The Gurdies reserve – enter Dunbabbin Road from Stewart Rd. The Gurdies. Contact Gil 0416 118 393 Phillip Island Conservation Society (PICS): Planting at Saltwater Creek Sunday 30 July 10am – noon. Meet at car park at western end of Settlement Road. Bring a bottle of water and dress for the weather with sturdy shoes. See PICS Facebook page www.facebook.com/picsvictoria and website www.picsvictoria.org.au for details of events . Membership Enquiries:Memberships are due on 1/1/2023 membership benefits have now been confirmed by the Phillip Island Nature Parks – see page 11 for details. All money received used to assist koalas and other wildlife, to improve habitat and provide newsletter. Enquiries: Pauline Taylor – 0415 721 439. Payment can be made by direct deposit at Commonwealth Bank Account 063835 10015713 with your name as a reference, then forward your membership form to us by post, indicating payment method. We value your support. Website: www.friendsofthekoalas.weebly.com FOK can be contacted on 0419 552 385 or 0484 921 028 Presidents ReportWelcome to our Winter newsletter. Our group continues to make submissions and comments on any issues relating to koalas and their habitat. We also continue to make donations. At our last committee meeting approval was given to donate $200 each to Wildlife Victoria and local wildlife carer Colleen Gilbee. We plan to make further such donations in coming months. The reality is however, that in order to continue making donations and lobbying we need to have the support of more members. Please renew your membership so that Friends of the Koalas can continue. Free-ranging koalas are probably down to single figures on Phillip Island and koalas in other parts of Australia are increasingly endangered. From the articles in this newsletter it is clear there is still much more to be done for Australia’s koalas and other wildlife. Although Phillip Island’s free-ranging koalas are probably a lost cause FOK can still continue to keep up the pressure on all levels of government to make the right decisions regarding wildlife and their habitat. We are proud of our legacy created in our 33 years of existence. The thousands of hours of volunteering – planting trees and other indigenous plants, removing weeds, assisting with koala surveys, informing and educating with our newsletters and displays and making numerous submissions. Although physical volunteering is now limited we would love to continue with our lobbying and making donations. Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday July 29th at the Koala Conservation Reserve meeting room commencing at 2pm. I would love to see some of you there. Otherwise I hope you enjoy this newsletter and will consider renewing your membership. Patsy Hunt, President New Victorian Koala Management Strategy released (VKMS)On 12th May FOK received an email from the Wildlife Policy Team, Biodiversity Division, Environment Climate Action and First Peoples Group of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (using the email wildlife.policy @delwp.vic.gov.au) !, advising of the release of the ‘New Victorian Koala Management Strategy’, with the comment “Thank you for your feedback during the public consultation process on the draft strategy, your feedback was used to shape the final strategy”. A link provided in the email (www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/our-wildlife/koalas) resulted in the availability of 4 different documents:
Koalas also face the threat from habitat destruction and being killed on the road. In the stated history of the Koala the strategy mentions the introduction of koalas to Phillip Island and French Island in the late 1800s. It then mentions the relocation of koalas to the mainland from the 1920s, with these animals becoming the source of many of the current established mainland populations. There is no specific mention of the relocation of koalas from Phillip Island, which continued for many years. There is no further mention of Phillip Island in the rest of the strategy documents despite the rapid decline in koala numbers on the island. The strategy is divided into 10 themes and followed by a list of management actions. The themes which seem to be of most importance to the survival of koalas in Victoria are koala overabundance, koala genetics, disease, habitat conservation and understanding koala populations. There is a definite link between genetics and koala overabundance. The overabundant populations, which make up a large part of Victoria’s total, come from the relocated koalas which were disease free. While they are overabundant now they are genetically challenged (French Island is a perfect example) and their future is insecure. The only genetically pure population is the Strzelecki koalas in Gippsland who are the real hope for the future survival of all of Victoria’s koalas. These koalas have been subjected to diseases like Chlamydia and had good numbers. However, their current population after facing bushfires and continual habitat loss needs to be accurately measured. The strategy seems to be rather optimistic about the future of koalas in Victoria. The genetically challenged populations could crash quickly and the wellbeing of the Strzelecki population is far from ensured. If you wish to read the strategy in full go to the link mentioned earlier. National Environment Law RedraftThe Federal Government is redrafting our national environment laws. This means Australia’s nature laws are being reformed for the first time in 20 years. Friends of the Koalas has received information from many environment groups (Australian Conservation Foundation, Wilderness Society, Birdlife, IFAW, Environmental Justice Australia etc.) who are gearing up to help strengthen our environmental laws. The current laws are outdated and are not protecting the country’s biodiversity. The weak laws are doing nothing to stop the continuing destruction of habitat. Too often the EPBC Act, which was meant to protect ‘matters of national environmental significance’, has failed. Stronger laws are needed to turn the nature crisis around. Threatened species are being pushed to the brink of extinction. The 2020 bushfires are estimated to have killed or displaced 1 billion animals, including thousands of koalas. The koala, regarded as Australia’s most iconic animal, was declared endangered in 2022. There needs to be more community rights as well as the end to biodiversity offsets which do not prevent the loss of habitat. As stated by the Wilderness Society, “Australia leads the world in mammal extinctions, and shamefully 1400 native species are classified as at-risk. Even iconic state emblems like the koala, numbat, and platypus are slipping away. This is the legacy of a broken system”. Professor Graeme Samuel who conducted the second EPBC Act review said in 2019, “Australia is losing biodiversity at an ALARMING RATE. The EPBC Act is not fit to address current or future environmental challenges”. Let us hope that this review secures laws strong enough to stop the extinction crisis and allow our habitat and vulnerable animals to not just survive but thrive. Habitat Destruction and Koala We all know the feeling locally when yet another significant tree or area of native vegetation is removed. It is one of despair. Little attempt is made by developers to preserve what exists. Instead we are placated with the planting of offsets usually a long way from the site and consisting of an assortment of plants. The actual loss of habitat remains. We do, at least, have the means to comment and try to prevent or mitigate the loss. Then there is the habitat destruction that happens with no accountability. In Queensland the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) heard that koala habitat was being bulldozed near Brisbane illegally. The area had been mapped as important koala habitat highly likely to have koalas present. A helicopter was used to reveal the full extent of the destruction – 183 hectares of native vegetation destroyed for beef production! The majority was older regrowth forest with some remnant (never before cleared) forest. The destruction was likely to have breached national nature laws. The clearing which took place between October 2022 and February 2023 was stopped and the matter referred to the Federal Government. These photos again reinforce the need to strengthen Australia’s environmental laws Clean Up Australia Day 5th March 202 Friends of the Koalas has been participating in Clean up Day for over 25 years. Every year we remove rubbish from Harbison Road, the roadside at the Koala Conservation Centre, the path towards Cowes, and a large part of Coghlan Road. This year five FOK volunteers took part and collected 15 bags of rubbish. As well as the usual bottles, food and snack wrappings, there was also building material, car parts, and some clothing. Volunteers Lee and Gunther collected rubbish along the pathway and roadside in front of the Koala Centre and as far as Newhaven College. Jeff walked the entire length of Harbison Road and back. Patsy did half of Harbison Road with Jeff and part of the pathway to Cowes, while Maurice did both sides of Coghlan Road from Phillip Island Road to the cemetery. Thank you to Jenny from Rhyll who removed some rubbish from the roadside on Rhyll-Newhaven Road and reported to Bass Coast Shire the dumping of clothing along the road . SUBMISSIONSProposed Rhyll PathwayOur roadsides and foreshore vegetation is becoming increasingly important for the survival of wildlife, but is under continued pressure from proposed pathways. Pathways for the community are a great idea but they SHOULD NOT come at the expense of the preservation of vegetation. Foreshore vegetation from Cowes to Ventnor is under threat from pathways proposed to go through it, and now a proposed path at Rhyll would also lead to roadside vegetation loss if plans remain unchanged. Friends of the Koalas have made the following submission to Bass Coast Shire Council in the hope that common sense prevails: "Dear Sir/Madam, Re: Proposed pathway at Rhyll Friends of the Koalas has completed the online survey for the ‘Cowes-Rhyll Pathway – Stage 4 Project’ Friends of the Koalas has a long standing interest in roadside conservation. In the online survey FOK selected option 3, being the eastern extension of the PINP pathway. Photos clearly indicate the natural tendency to continue east, and the minimal impact of a pathway (on an area of largely exotic pasture grasses, and bare earth in patches). Koalas While the free-ranging koala has become a rare sighting on Phillip Island, this area provides the vegetation needed by koalas and other species. The photograph below shows the mature vegetation at the site available for koalas and other species. It must be ensured that any pathway does not take a route that compromises our declining roadside vegetation. Option 3 obviously provides a less invasive, cheaper, and more attractive route to enter Rhyll. Patricia Hunt President, Friend of the Koalas” Significant Roadside Vegetation SignageA ’Significant Roadside Vegetation’ sign is in place on McIlwraith Road. The integrity of these areas must be retained. Options 1 and 2 represent threats to the plants and animals on McIlwriath Road. As well as an initial destruction of vegetation, pathways provide a vector for the introduction of weeds and plant and animal pathogens, which can lead to ‘dieback’ and other plant diseases. The under-storey on McIlwraith Road contains native grass species (which are becoming increasingly rare), which have been utilised as a seed-stock for propagation by the Barb Martin BushBank for revegetation of other areas. During a visit to McIlwraith Road today the call of frogs could be heard. Frogs are a species that are particularly vulnerable to the spread of pathogens. Bass Coast Distinctive Area and Landscapes ProjectThe Planning Panel Hearing for this project was conducted over 27 days from March 6th to 27th April. The Panel heard from many conservation groups, developers, potential developers, local community groups, Council, and some individuals. The developers (and their lawyers) presented detailed presentations about the extension of town boundaries, while the conservation groups also made extensive presentations in an attempt to preserve Bass Coast’s distinctive areas and landscapes. Now we wait for the panel’s report, but we hope that after such a long drawn out procedure a good result will happen. 273 – 297 Church Street Subdivision Sadly, despite objections (including ours) the application for a subdivision of 59 small lots was approved by Council. There are more than 55 trees on the site, which will probably all be removed. These intensive subdivisions with little regard for the preservation of vegetation and local character and amenity are becoming all too common. The Bass Coast Council makes much of its tree planting plans and its respect for the environment, but vegetation removal continues ! Toondah Harbour update from the Koala Action Group (QLD) newsletterMembership News Thank you to those who have renewed their membership. Due to a drop in volunteering opportunities and the effects of COVID membership numbers have declined significantly. As mentioned earlier we would really like to be able to continue to do what we can to assist organisations and individuals who dedicate their time and energy to the preservation of koalas and other wildlife. This includes wildlife carers and organisations that lobby to preserve habitat or do research. Apart from the cost of producing the newsletter the rest of your membership money and donations are distributed at the discretion of the committee to the mentioned worthwhile recipients. Following the May committee meeting donations of $200 each were made respectively to Wildlife Victoria and local wildlife carer Colleen Gilbee. Wildlife Victoria has been devoting extra time to respond to emergency wildlife calls on Phillip Island, while Colleen works tirelessly to care for sick and injured wildlife. An extra thank you to those who also made donations with their membership renewals. Special mention is made to Louise Reeve, a long-time member who made a $200 donation in memory of her sister Sonia Beaumont who was also a long-time FOK member. Please consider renewing your membership so FOK can continue to make donations and continue the newsletter. Healthiest Koala Colony Collapses into Extinction The Age reports that the koala colony in Gunnedah NSW was once the healthiest in the state. The town still calls itself the ‘Koala Capital of NSW’. Research suggests that a massive tree planting program in the 1990s to combat salinity had the unintended consequence of boosting koala numbers. The koalas were then affected by heat-wave, drought and then the new threat of Chlamydia, which increased from 10% to 60-70% of the population. That sort of level is unsustainable for the population numbers to be maintained. It became clear that the Gunnedah koalas, once the hope for the future, were functionally extinct. The research project has ended and the remaining elderly koalas have been left to live out their lives, but few if any young will be born. The FOK committee President: - Patsy Hunt Vice President: - Jan Fleming Vice President + Membership Secretary: - Pauline Taylor Secretary: - Maurice Schinkel Treasurer: - Jeff Maltman Committee: - Irene McKell, Ann Stocker, Lee Tierney Members are entitled to:
Please enrol/re-enrol me/us as a member of Friends of the Koalas Inc. Surname _______________________________________ First name/s______________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cheque/money order to the value of $______________enclosed Please indicate type of membership required:
Photo: Jackson Stock Photography, Shuttershock via Australian Conservation Foundation
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