By Catherine Watson
THE title of Victorian National Parks Association’s new report puts the choice bluntly: Western Port Woodlands: wildlife corridor or sand pit?
“In one of the most cleared regions in the most cleared state in Australia, the Western Port woodlands corridor is an oasis amongst a sea of cleared land,” says VNPA’s Jordan Crook, who co-wrote the report.
Threatened species recorded within the forest corridor include the southern brown bandicoot, the powerful owl, the lace monitor and the white-footed dunnart, three orchids, two eucalypts and the extremely rare tea tree fingers fungus, found in only two other locations in the world.
THE title of Victorian National Parks Association’s new report puts the choice bluntly: Western Port Woodlands: wildlife corridor or sand pit?
“In one of the most cleared regions in the most cleared state in Australia, the Western Port woodlands corridor is an oasis amongst a sea of cleared land,” says VNPA’s Jordan Crook, who co-wrote the report.
Threatened species recorded within the forest corridor include the southern brown bandicoot, the powerful owl, the lace monitor and the white-footed dunnart, three orchids, two eucalypts and the extremely rare tea tree fingers fungus, found in only two other locations in the world.
But Mr Crook says this “oasis” is under imminent threat, with around 40 per cent of the area designated as an Extractive Industry Interest Area. There are 19 current mining work authorities within the investigation area and another seven under application.
Severing the corridor would certainly lead to localised extinctions of iconic species, he says
Western Port Woodlands: Wildlife corridor or sand pit? is published by VNPA in association with Save Western Port Woodlands, a community group set up to preserve Bass Coast’s remnant coastal forest. It will be launched via Zoom webinar on Wednesday, September 15.
Severing the corridor would certainly lead to localised extinctions of iconic species, he says
Western Port Woodlands: Wildlife corridor or sand pit? is published by VNPA in association with Save Western Port Woodlands, a community group set up to preserve Bass Coast’s remnant coastal forest. It will be launched via Zoom webinar on Wednesday, September 15.
| The report notes that at 880 hectares the former Holden Proving Ground provides crucial habitat for many species, and is also an important link of connectivity between the high conservation value reserves. “The HPG is the heart of the woodlands,” Mr Crook says. “The tragedy? It’s under threat from industrial sand mining. The opportunity? The Proving Ground is up for sale. We’re at a critical crossroads.” | Join VNPA online at 6.30pm next Wednesday, September 15, for the launch of this important report, created in association with Save Western Port Woodlands. RSVP https://vnpa.org.au/rsvp-woodlands. The report will be available online after the launch. |
Many of the ecological vegetation classes in the corridor are also classified as endangered or vulnerable within the Gippsland Plains bioregion.
Yet environmental Significance Overlays cover only 1 per cent of the investigation area, leaving the majority of high value conservation areas outside the protection of these overlays.
Yet environmental Significance Overlays cover only 1 per cent of the investigation area, leaving the majority of high value conservation areas outside the protection of these overlays.
“Staggeringly, there are no gaps between reserves … that do not contain work authorities current or applied for.”
Western Port Woodlands: wildlife corridor or sand pit
The report notes there is a long history of local advocacy for the woodlands dating back to the early 1990s and continuing today in the face of new mining applications and extensions.
More than 3500 people recently signed petitions to the Victorian Parliament calling for a moratorium on sand mining in the forest. The Labor MLC for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing, tabled the e-petition in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, and a paper petition will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly this month.
Bass Coast Shire Council has also written to the Planning Minister Richard Wynne expressing concerns about the expansion of sand mining operations.
The council is also investigating permanent protection of the Holden Proving Ground forest, including rezoning it from farming to conservation.
Meanwhile, Save Western Port Woodlands spokesman Tim O’Brien called for the council to press for the purchase of the HPG under the State Government’s $156 million Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund.
“While our views of the forest ecology and its value are known, we argue that the Proving Ground, with the building infrastructure it offers on the highway, provides an unparalleled opportunity for a 'Gateway to Bass Coast' Tourism Centre of benefit to the whole of the region.”
The VNPA report Western Port Woodlands: Wildlife corridor or sand pit? will be launched via Zoom webinar on Wednesday, September 15, at 6.45pm.
Speakers are Matt Ruchel, the chief executive of VNPA, Professor Dick Wettenhall, a resident of The Gurdies and author of a report on the dangers posed by chemicals used in sand processing, Gerard Drew, from Save Western Port Woodlands, and Meghan Lindsay, from the Cardinia Environment Coalition. There will also be a Q&A.
More than 3500 people recently signed petitions to the Victorian Parliament calling for a moratorium on sand mining in the forest. The Labor MLC for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing, tabled the e-petition in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, and a paper petition will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly this month.
Bass Coast Shire Council has also written to the Planning Minister Richard Wynne expressing concerns about the expansion of sand mining operations.
The council is also investigating permanent protection of the Holden Proving Ground forest, including rezoning it from farming to conservation.
Meanwhile, Save Western Port Woodlands spokesman Tim O’Brien called for the council to press for the purchase of the HPG under the State Government’s $156 million Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund.
“While our views of the forest ecology and its value are known, we argue that the Proving Ground, with the building infrastructure it offers on the highway, provides an unparalleled opportunity for a 'Gateway to Bass Coast' Tourism Centre of benefit to the whole of the region.”
The VNPA report Western Port Woodlands: Wildlife corridor or sand pit? will be launched via Zoom webinar on Wednesday, September 15, at 6.45pm.
Speakers are Matt Ruchel, the chief executive of VNPA, Professor Dick Wettenhall, a resident of The Gurdies and author of a report on the dangers posed by chemicals used in sand processing, Gerard Drew, from Save Western Port Woodlands, and Meghan Lindsay, from the Cardinia Environment Coalition. There will also be a Q&A.
Grass tree forest in the Grantville Nature Conservation Reserve, 2019. Photo: Hartley Tobin