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The Conservation Council ACT and Friends of Ainslie Volcanic Grasslands have today condemned the decision to approve the construction of a communications tower on the site of the Ainslie Volcanics on the corner of Quick Street and Limestone Avenue in Ainslie. 

Executive Director of the Conservation Council, Simon Copland, said the proposed communications tower would significantly impact endangered temperate grasslands. 

“The Ainslie Volcanics site contains Natural Temperate Grassland, a critically endangered ecological community,” Copland said. “Natural Temperate Grassland is one of the most threatened ecosystems in Australia, with only 0.5% remaining in good condition.

“These ecological communities are important for providing habitat for threatened and rare species, storing carbon, increasing soil, air, and water quality; supporting pollination, controlling diseases, and increasing the liveability of the city.”

Copland said we need to do everything to protect such grasslands. 

“We cannot afford to lose any more of these ecosystems,” Copland said. “Construction and development of the telecommunications tower infrastructure will introduce invasive species, light and noise pollution, roads and vehicles. As a result the ecosystem will no longer perform a habitat function for species dependent on the ecosystem. This will further threaten endangered ACT species – including the Golden Sun Moth, Striped Legless Lizard, The Button Wrinklewort and Gang-Gang Cockatoo.” 

Amy Blain from the Friends of Ainslie Volcanic Grasslands and ACF Community Canberra  expressed extreme disappointment given the significant work of the Ainslie Volcanic Weeders to regenerate the area. 

“The Ainslie Volcanic Weeders are an incredibly dedicated group of volunteers that have lovingly cared for the site since 2022”, Blain said. “In June 2023 we launched a community petition to the Legislative Assembly, which received 581 signatures. We called for the site to be protected as part of the Mount Ainslie Reserve. Volunteer work has been protecting the grasslands, preserving and maintaining them against threats from invasive species. 

“Protecting these areas aligns with the 2017 ACT Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and the ACT Nature Conservation Act 2014. The Natural Temperate Grasslands require restoration, which we’re actively focused on. The Ainslie Volcanic Weeders should be supported in restoring the grasslands. We cannot keep compromising the environment that local and Federal governments have promised to protect. We cannot keep giving up precious pockets of biodiversity when there are alternative sites not in an endangered ecosystem – put the tower on one of those locations.” Blain concluded.

Copland concluded by saying “The Ainslie Volcanics should be incorporated into the reserve system, not constructed on. Restoration of the grasslands will be negatively impacted by further fragmenting and disrupting the connectivity.”