THE KOALA PROJECT
Within a decade, koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to now being endangered on Australia’s east coast. Surely the survival of this international icon is worthy of a global effort.
As our summer temperatures rise, koalas are moving from the western plains of NSW into higher areas that are cooler.
Koalas appear to be sedentary because we only see them during the day when they are sleeping, but they usually only occupy a tree for a few days and then move on.
Koalas have been tracked moving up to 15 kilometres over a period of a few days.
Studies of climate change impacts on wildlife have often focused on how changes in average temperature or rainfall will affect species, but our research highlights the importance of thinking about the extreme conditions that will be most stressful for the animals – such as hot, dry periods – and how these may change in the future.”
In February 2022, the Koala (combined populations of ACT, NSW and QLD) was up-listed from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘endangered’ under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) due to various impacts including loss of habitat, disease and the impact of bushfires.
In April 2022, the Australian Government also released the first National Recovery Plan for the Koala (combined populations of QLD, NSW and ACT), setting a clear pathway for investment and action to support the recovery of the listed koala. [Learn more here.]
WHAT IS SAVE OUR WOODLANDS DOING TO HELP KOALAS?
The volunteer members of Save Our Woodlands work tirelessly to preserve and enhance our woodland areas to improve habitat for the endangered Koala population.
Save Our Woodlands currently has four properties — a total of 760 hectares (1820 acres) — involved in the koala project.
With your help, we can protect even more.
Not only are these areas fenced to protect them from continuous grazing, but they are also kept as free as possible from weeds and feral animals.
We work to keep tracks and access points clear so that fire-fighting equipment can be brought in if necessary and protection work can be carried out.
We want our woodlands to be beautiful places with high biodiversity that are safe for koalas, and many other endangered species.
4 properties protected for koalas by Save Our Woodlands.
JOIN US IN WORKING TO MITIGATE & REMOVE THREATS TO WOODLANDS
There are a lot of activities that negatively impact the woodland areas of NSW.
The most devastating is land clearing for agriculture, urban development and now windfarm and solar farm development.
We are not against renewable energy in fact we support the need for the removal of coal-fired power stations, but we must also consider the environment when we develop these installations. [Learn more about our stance on wind farms here.]
Land clearing for development | Photo credit field-of-vision
At Save Our Woodlands, we believe that landowners should be paid to preserve areas of woodland, in perpetuity so they are not cleared for development but remain as a sanctuary for woodland species.
With your help, we can preserve and maintain even more land.
RECENT DROUGHTS EMPHASIZES THE NEED TO PROTECT
The Gywdir River – completely dry because of drought.
Photo credit Margaret King.
With one of the most variable rainfall climates in the world, severe drought affects some parts of Australia about once every 18 years.
Intervals between severe droughts have varied from four to 38 years and the impacts of climate change will mean more prolonged dry periods, particularly in inland areas of NSW. [Learn more here.]
2018 and 2019 were severely dry and drought killed many trees.
They will regrow but not overnight, and the devastation caused by drought is all the more reason we need to preserve as much of our valuable woodlands as possible.
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TOO MUCH WATER!
2020, 2021 & 2022 have been extremely wet. Many mature trees on the land protected by Save Our Woodlands are falling over because the ground is saturated, and their roots will not hold on.
Nevertheless, the lands protected by Save Our Woodlands are high on the escarpment, so we do not experience floods like in coastal and inland areas of NSW and for that we are grateful.
This Blakely’s Red Gum fell over because of excessive water in the ground.
FIRE
Photo credit bennymarty
Fire is a perpetual problem in woodland areas of Australia.
All eucalyptus trees shed leaves and bark continually and when there is a drought, they can shed limbs as well to reduce transpiration, so there is a continual build-up of litter on the ground.
This leads to wildfires in the summer months and the subsequent loss of many woodland birds, and animals.
Save Our Woodlands works hard keeping clear access for management and firefighting in our protected areas, it is a critical part of preserving our woodland.
CULTURAL BURNING
When Aboriginal people managed the land, they would undertake cultural burning during the winter months.
This type of burning off is called a “cool burn”.
The flames creep along the ground at a slow rate reducing the litter load but moving slowly so animals and reptiles can hide under a rock or move out of the way.
The flames do not leap up trees and they do in a wildfire, so birds and tree-dwelling species such as possums and koalas are safe.
Cultural burning is carried out in such a way that only part of the woodland is burnt in any one year.
This is called mosaic burning and it ensures that there are safe places for wildlife, but the litter load does not build up.
Cultural burning has almost ceased since the coming of European settlers who did not understand the way this land needs to be managed.
Video below ABC Australia: Indigenous fire methods protect land before and after the Tathra fires.
STRATEGIC GRAZING
Strategic Grazing requires that woodland areas are fenced off and grazed, with large numbers of animals, for a short time with long intervals of rest between grazing episodes.
This type of grazing is also called “crash grazing”.
Ideally, the woodland would be grazed for about one week every 8 weeks, six times a year.
Strategic grazing is used now in place of cultural burning and if it is carried out well can keep litter levels at a low level.
Strategic grazing requires good fencing and watering points.
FERAL PEST CONTROL
Australia has unique flora and fauna which has been isolated from the rest of the world for a very long time.
When European settlers arrived, they brought with them many European plants and animals which very rapidly became weeds and feral pests.
Foxes and rabbits were brought for hunting sport. They quickly reproduced and decimated native animals and plants.
Rabbits were in plague proportions until the advent of myxomatosis in the 1950’s which managed to bring them under control, but still they have not been eliminated.
Cats were brought in to control mice and rats, which also arrived with the First Fleet. Wild and domestic cats are now one of the major predators on native birds and animals.
Photo credit ornitology82
Domestic animals have escaped and become damaging pests in the fragile woodland environment.
The most important of these are pigs which are quite dangerous to humans, destroy native ground cover, fences and infrastructure and attack domestic and native animals.
Pigs reproduce rapidly and are a haven for diseases which threatens the biosecurity of our domestic and native animals.
Wild (feral) dogs, goats, deer, horses, camels, buffalo, and donkeys are all threats to the environment. When they exist in large numbers, they do extensive damage.
Feral animals are controlled by shooting, trapping, and poisoning. We would rather not see animals poisoned as this adds to the number of threats to the environment but sometimes there is no other alternative.
WEED CONTROL
Unfortunately, there are many introduced weed species in Australia. On this page we will only discuss those in our local area.
Many weeds were introduced as garden plants and escaped, some were brought in as pasture or orchard plants, others to help stabilize road verges.
Europeans did not understand the food value of native species and many of these were lost before they could be utilized.
To use introduced and now weed species to stabilise the edges of roadways seems to be an act of madness when we have many native tussocky, tough, and long-lived species which would be more suitable.
Many graziers are moving back to using native species in their pastures as temperatures increase and the climate becomes more erratic.
Native species overall may be less productive, but they can withstand the vagaries of our climate and are not expensive to establish or maintain. Lower production but lower inputs can lead to higher profitability.
In our area there are two very difficult grasses which were brought in to stabilise road verges.
They are Coolatai Grass and African Love Grass.
Coolatai grass does provide some low-quality fodder, but it grows tall quickly and will shade out native species.
Fortunately, the seeds only last 3 years so a concerted reduction of seeding will control this grass.
African love Grass has a very low value as feed, it is coarse and tough and will out-compete native species.
Growing and protecting native trees and shrubs will reduce light and help to manage both species.
You can compare a Coolatai grass monoculture with native grass biodiversity of species.
Invasive blackberries below.
Blackberries escaped from gardens and now have taken over the bush. They are spread by birds and are very difficult to control.
Goats are quite good at eating blackberries but they are hard to keep in and can escape and become feral pests.
Spraying is the traditional way of controlling blackberries, but the poisons used are highly toxic and quite often unsuccessful.
Burning or cutting back weeds and then applying small amounts of herbicide can be effective but often small infestations of weeds are best controlled by digging or ripping.
PROVIDING ACCESS TO VULNERABLE AREAS
Access to woodland habitat areas for the purpose of management or protection can be a difficult problem.
In this gully, we used 32 tons of rock, two drain pipes and 16 tons of broken tiles so that woodland areas can be accessed for management or in case of fire.
The area was boggy but it is now stabilised, allowing access to the woodland areas.
With your help, we’ll continue to improve access to vulnerable areas so they can be protected.
THE NEED IS GREAT AND WITH YOUR HELP OUR WORK CONTINUES
Maintaining our woodland is not something that you can “set and forget.”
We must continually monitor the situation, remove weeds, reduce the number of feral pests, and use grazing to keep the fire hazard low, whilst allowing our native species to thrive.
We need to work together to preserve our woodlands so that our children, and our children’s children can appreciate and benefit from the wonderful biodiversity on our doorstep that for so many years we have ignored.
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People tend to think that woodlands are “just bush,” consequently, over 85% of the native woodlands in New South Wales, Australia have been replaced by agriculture.
Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate of any country in the world.
Any & all sized donations are appreciated & immediately put to use including donations from our $10 per month program.
Please help us continue to protect critical habitats. By doing so YOU will prevent further species from extinction.
We are entirely volunteer-driven.
Our work is only possible with your support.
