Friends of the Earth is alarmed that a key koala corridor located between the northernmost part of Mullungdung State Forest and Holey Plains State Park is threatened by a proposed road widening of Stradbroke-Gormandale Road in Central Gippsland. SKAT was informed of the road widening by local residents at a recent forum in Yarram.

A section of this particular roadside is a vital bio-link between large patches of remnant vegetation on private property to the Stradbroke Flora and Fauna Reserve.  One site is protected by a Trust for Nature Conservation Covenant, which has been a Birds Australia study site for the past 17 years.  

The roadside vegetation and bio-link providing habitat for these, and many other species, is now under threat.  VicGrid, Department of Transport and the Wellington Shire intend to upgrade this road.  Sealing and removing roadside vegetation for the purposes of widening will have massive implications for biodiversity, particularly Lace Monitor and Strzelecki Koala.  Concern has been raised that biodiversity assessments have not been thoroughly undertaken outside of the VicGrid project sites, such as roadsides, nor in the correct seasons to date.  

FoE has also recently raised concerns with VicGrid regarding a proposed powerline easement that will be cut through a north east portion of Mullungdung State Forest in another key koala corridor.

Recent siting of a Strzelecki koala on Stradbroke-Gormandale Road in a location planned to be cleared.

Key areas of road widening along the Stradbroke-Gormandale Road are highlighted by the pink line on the above map. The Planned VicGrid Transmission line is in yellow. The Planned clearing area by VicGrid in Mullungduung State Forest is marked within the red box and recent koala locations are marked with pink pins.

The road widening is linked to the Planning for the proposed Gippsland Offshore Wind Transmission Project.   

The impacts of this proposed energy transmission project will affect areas well outside of the proposed easements, such as the road network.  One such road is the Stradbroke-Gormandale Road which will be used to transport heavy equipment and machinery to the construction sites.  This road is largely an unsealed country road which has limited use by locals and periodically from log trucks from nearby pine plantations. 

Stradbroke-Gormandale Road

The roadside vegetation on this particular road provides habitat for the endangered Lace Monitor (Varanus varius), Strzelecki Koala, Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) and Golden Grevillea (Grevillea chrysophaea).  Grey-headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) and Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua,) both listed as Vulnerable in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, have also been recorded.  The endangered Coast Grey Box (Eucalptus bosistoana) has also been recorded across the district.

Koala habitat includes: E. globoidea (White Stringybark), E. bridgesiana (But But) and E. radiata (Narrow-leafed Peppermint) canopy trees.  There are also stands of E. melliodora (Yellow Box) and the odd E. bosistoana (Coast Grey Box) throughout.Merrimans Creek adjacent to the site also provides habitat for koalas including E. pryoriana and E. viminalis) (Coast Manna and Manna Gum).  

The Department of Transport is yet to release their road network upgrade plan but given the size of the equipment to be transported on site, the road will need to be widened, sealed and the canopy from the roadside trees over the road removed as it impacts heavy machinery, such as the cable drums on trucks.   Given there is a forestry track running parallel with the Stradbroke-Gormandale Road bio-link,  the concern is that the Government could remove all of the vegetation to widen the road out to the forestry track, as well as a strip of trees on the opposite side to prevent canopy obstruction.

Wellington Shire appear to not know of the ecological values of the road.  Given the road has to be graded and maintained by Wellington Shire regularly, they probably would welcome the road to be sealed to take pressure of their roading budget.

Recent observations of the Delburn Project (above) also in Gippsland, have shown some (but not all) key biodiversity areas set aside from clearing and clearly marked with tape to exclude machinery entering these sites. Some roadside lopping has also been proposed for Delburn in some key road areas with many trees supposedly spared from being cut down. A similar strategy along Stradbroke-Gormandale Road, could perhaps spare many trees from the chainsaw.

VicGrid also has this section of the Stradbroke-Gormandale Road earmarked for clearing.

How can you help? 

VicGrid has an interactive map https://caportal.com.au/vicgrid/offshore-wind-energy-transmission which can be used to voice your concerns.  Habitat loss and fragmentation is an ongoing concern in many country areas.  It is imperative that our endangered species and other wildlife are protected at all costs.  If left unchecked and unaccountable, these big build projects now destined for our country areas right across the State, will see the demise of our precious biodiversity.

Also contact Wellington Shire and express your concerns regarding the proposed widening of Stradbroke-Gormandale Road: [email protected]