The Conservation Council ACT Region has condemned the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council’s (QPRC) decision to pursue Option 5 for stage two of Dunns Creek Road, a route that would cut through the Wandiyali-Environa Wildlife Sanctuary.
Conservation Council ACT Region Executive Director Dr Simon Copland said the QPRC’s decision showed absolute disregard for the local environment.
“Wildlife sanctuaries like Wandiyali are meant to be permanent safe havens for nature. Wandiyali protects hundreds of hectares of critically endangered box gum grassy woodland, and is home to iconic local species like the Gang-gang Cockatoo and the Pink-tailed Worm Lizard.”
“A koala was recorded at Wandiyali earlier this year, an endangered species that is extremely rare in the ACT region. It’s hard to believe the QPRC would put a major road through the habitat where they’ve only just been seen.”
In its submission to QPRC, the Conservation Council, together with Friends of Grasslands, strongly opposed four of the options (1B, 5 and 8) which proposed routing the major arterial road directly through land protected by conservation covenants under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
“It beggars belief that QPRC would choose an option that cuts through land protected by NSW Government biodiversity stewardship agreements. QPRC’s own consultants, Stantec, advised that these options are very likely unable to lawfully proceed and recommended against pursuing them.”
The Sanctuary represents more than 25 years of publicly and privately funded conservation work. It is a Commonwealth “Safe Haven” for threatened species and is project partners with more than 30 government and non-government organisations, including the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
“This decision disregards the hard work of landowners, volunteers and community groups over many years. QPRC paid taxpayer dollars to secure the protection of Wandiyali, and yet within a decade, they are prepared to contemplate its destruction. It sends a terrible message to everyone who has protected land in good faith.”
Independent ecological analysis prepared for Friends of Grasslands found the biodiversity impacts of the Dunns Creek Road options have been understated. Stantec’s assessment relies on outdated 2009 survey data and omits several threatened species now known to occur in the area, including the Perunga Grasshopper, Varied Sittella and Scarlet Robin.
“We are now in the absurd situation where QPRC would effectively need to secure an offset for an offset if this road goes ahead, a process that has never been done in NSW and that the consultants describe as costly, complex and legally untested.”
“The Conservation Council stands with Wandiyali, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and all Canberrans who care about our local bush and wildlife. We call on QPRC to reverse this decision and formally rule out every option through covenanted conservation land.”