Biodiversity Strategy - Gosford City Council - NSW Government

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Other studies have considered the diet of domestic and feral cats. Results indicate that diet will be impacted by the habitat in which the animal is predating. Coman and Brunner (1972) as quoted by Robertson reported that 44% of the diet of feral cats in forest in Victoria was of native mammals. However, a study in Canberra found that 63% of all prey was the introduced house mouse and black rat whilst native species comprised only 0.7% of the diet (Barratt 1997 as quoted by Robertson). For areas adjoining native bushland predation may therefore be significant where native species are already in decline and many species are considered to be at risk of extinction. The impact of domestic dogs in bushland areas is also a consideration for biodiversity. Dog faeces cause pollution of waterways and add nutrients to the soil that may favour weed species. Dog barking and scent can also scare away native species. Dogs also attack and kill native species such as wallabies and can cause them to spontaneously abort young. Dog barking and scent can also deter native animals and have been known to cause spontaneous abortions in wallabies. Dogs may also frighten native species and result in them leaving their young unprotected. A press release for NPWS (14/10/05) states that domestic dogs let off leashes outside of designated tracks at reserves in Hornsby have killed wallabies, bandicoots, possums, reptiles and possibly lyrebirds. "Wallaby deaths have been reported at Mt. Colah, Westleigh, Berowra and Hornsby Heights and other fauna are getting mauled regularly across the park ," she said. "These incidences have been reported by rangers as well as by bushwalkers and concerned park neighbours. http://www3.environment.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/dec_media_051014_01 Dogs are considered a significant threat to koalas, it is estimated that between1,000 to 2,000 koalas are killed across Australia each year by dogs. (Australian Koala Foundation webpage http://www.savethekoala.com/index.html). Koalas may be killed by even a quick bite or from trauma or infection. As Koalas come down to the ground and move around at night-time keeping dogs indoors and not allowing them to roam would protect Koalas where they are known to occur such as at Pearl Beach and Umina Beach near reserve areas. A - 7.7 Human Interactions with Native Species Many people reported via the wildlife survey that they liked to feed the birds and possums that visit their gardens. Whilst this practice encourages the wildlife to be "friendlier" it can make them too dependent on a regular food source from humans. This can lead to an inadequate diet, and the added sugar to the bird’s diet may cause beaks to rot. Feeding birds can also cause overbreeding, resulting in nests becoming disease carriers. Over-breeding also has implications when a particular species dominates an area, for example in urban areas Currawong numbers have rapidly increased, severely impacting upon smaller native bird species such as wrens which are disappearing. Some native species (such as Currawongs, Magpies and Noisy Miners) are becoming more common in urban areas at the expense of other native species as a result of adapting more readily to the urban environment. Some birds such as Corellas may not have previously existed in urban areas (notes from pest conference). Other aggressive or nuisance native species (such as Magpies, Currawongs and Plovers in the nesting season) can cause issues for people, especially when the birds are nesting and can become a nuisance by swooping passerbys. It is thought that feeding may encourage some birds such as magpies to become more aggressive during nesting time. Council receives many complaints from residents during the nesting season and is requested to destroy nuisance birds. Cruelty to animals was also considered by many respondents to the wildlife survey to be an important issue for Council. Issues included destruction of bird eggs, deliberate hunting of native species, disturbance of nesting birds and ducklings, and it was noted that this was often done by children. Biodiversity - Technical Report Page 159
A - 7.8 Fire Management Fire management in Gosford City is an extremely important and high profile issue because there are large areas of ridge top open space under the care, control and management of Council and/or the Department of Environment and Conservation. Fires occurring in any of these areas can potentially threaten reserve visitors and private properties adjoining these reserves. Urban and rural areas surround the majority of the natural area reserves and COSS lands. The majority of fire activity, (approximately 80 percent), takes place in the more heavily populated coastal area of the City. Fires that occur in this area are predominately arson related and require prompt action given the proximity of dwellings to these bushland areas. In particular, Rumbalara Reserve has been the target of regular arson-related fire events. The frequency of fire in this reserve over the past decade has severely reduced the possibility for the regeneration of many plant species. Arson is also the major cause of bushfire in national parks, with less than 25% considered to have been caused by lightning and the remainder estimated to be caused by arson, legal and illegal burnoff and other human related activities (DEC 2005). Whilst bushfire can threaten life and property within and adjacent to Council’s natural area reserves and land within the Coastal Open Space System (COSS), inappropriate fire regimes can also threaten the ecological integrity of the bushland and is one of the major threats to the integrity of the COSS lands. Changes to the natural fire regime have initiated alterations in the floristic composition and structure of some of the vegetation communities in Council’s natural area reserves. These changes, if allowed to continue, will significantly reduce the natural integrity, conservation and recreation values of the reserves. It is important to recognise that bushfires are inevitable - they are an inherent part of living in Australia and cannot be prevented. Risks can be minimised and our efforts should focus on this approach, acknowledging that bushfire has a role in sustaining ecosystems (Ellis 2004). Although much more research is needed to gain a true understanding of the impacts of fire on biodiversity, it is recognized that fire frequency, intensity, season, size and type can have important consequences for biodiversity. Australian plants and animals have evolved to survive their fire prone environment and many species even rely on fire for their ongoing survival. The importance of fire frequency has been recognised in legislation, with High Frequency Fire being listed as a Key Threatening Process under Schedule 3 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Mosaic burning practices help to ensure that there are a range of burnt and unburnt areas available for species to recover. To give bushland communities improved protection from the threat of bushfire, the NSW government introduced a package of legislative reforms in August 2002. The reforms recognise modern challenges of bushfire management in areas such as the huge urban interface (Short 2004). These changes have placed increased pressure on public authorities, owners and occupiers to manage the occurrence of and minimise the danger of spread on or from their lands. Three years on, it is evident that these amendments have dramatically altered the way in which new and existing development are protected from bushfire impact. The reality of new development within bush fire prone areas is often the requirement for mass clearing and the use of non combustible materials such as metal fencing which inhibits the safe passage of native fauna between habitat areas. Existing properties are also able to seek to remove substantial areas of bushland to protect habitable dwellings, as well as major structures. Councils and other land managers are coming under greater pressure to provide firebreaks on their lands to protect adjoining land owners who cannot fit adequate Asset Protection Zones on their lands. Fuel management is a complex issue that is often not well understood by the general public. The fact that so many people are now choosing to live in or near the Australian bush creates many planning challenges. Broad-scale mapping of bush fire prone lands, coupled Biodiversity - Technical Report Page 160
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Gosford City Council BIODIVERSITY S
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CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION............
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A - 4.5 Climate ...................
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1 INTRODUCTION In accordance with C
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• Local interest groups such as B
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GOSFORD VISION 2025 INTERNATIONAL C
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Council is placing the information
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2 EXISTING SITUATION 2.1 Biodiversi
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ackdrop to areas of the City, conse
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Table 2: Statistics on Gosford's wa
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example, of the approximately 83 di
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• Biodiversity is best conserved
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6 Council to consider the developme
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Actions • Enhancing community edu
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5 Develop and implement strategies
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Appendix Gosford City Council BIODI
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CONTENTS APPENDIX GOSFORD CITY COUN
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A - 7.7 Human Interactions with Nat
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Genetic diversity is the variety of
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Biodiversity - Technical Report Pag
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A - 2.0 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT The dev
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Amendment Act 2004 Standard Instrum
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areas within the Greater Metropolit
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A - 2.3.2 Council Corporate Reporti
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Biodiversity Toolbox The Commonweal
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A - 2.4 Discussion of Comparable Pl
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A - 2.6 References Australian Local
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• Bushcare Program - ongoing •
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A - 3.2 Appraisal of biodiversity p
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Officer Table 3.2. Area of properti
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and sub-communities and to provide
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the Central Coast. The returned sur
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Council received funding for develo
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Council commissioned the Bush Stone
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education and training opportunitie
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of urban development applications w
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Unmanaged cattle grazing can impact
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Three public schools in the catchme
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Milestone 5 - Monitoring and Report
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A - 3.4 References Australian Museu
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(see Figure 4. 3) which accounts fo
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Newcastle and forms a major barrier
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Mooney Mooney and Mangrove Creeks.
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Aeolian Landscapes Beach Landscapes
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A - 4.5 Climate Generally the clima
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Kangaroo, possums, flying squirrels
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A - 4.9 Current Landuse Since the 1
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State government is also preparing
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A - 5.0 TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY Th
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Lily) was once relatively widesprea
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Figure 5.1 Native vegetation commun
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There have been few quantitative st
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• Rainforest • Wetlands • Dun
Page 111 and 112: Figure 5.5 Endangered ecological co
Page 113 and 114: of streams for water quality purpos
Page 115 and 116: Figures 5.5 - 5.7 Waratah (Telopea
Page 117 and 118: A - 5.4 A - 5.4.1 Terrestrial Fauna
Page 119 and 120: A - 5.4.3 Invertebrates There conti
Page 121 and 122: A draft Recovery Plan has been prep
Page 123 and 124: assumption that occupancy of a site
Page 125 and 126: Variables such as ‘proportion of
Page 127 and 128: Mount Kincumba to Bouddi NP and Cop
Page 129 and 130: A - 5.7 References Anon (1996) 'Sev
Page 131 and 132: Scotts D (1991) “Old-growth fores
Page 133 and 134: A - 6.2 Aquatic Habitats A - 6.2.1
Page 135 and 136: considered. This is true for all ri
Page 137 and 138: this zone are isolated Casuarina gl
Page 139 and 140: The Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury
Page 141 and 142: Gulls (Larus novaehollandiae); Pied
Page 143 and 144: Patonga Creek Little information is
Page 145 and 146: A particular objective of the above
Page 147 and 148: northeast lies the suburb of North
Page 149 and 150: Figure 6.11 Weedy Seadragon (Phyllo
Page 151 and 152: Lisarow Wetland Lisarow Wetland is
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Page 155 and 156: A - 6.3 References ANZECC (1992) Au
Page 157 and 158: Almost thirty key threatening proce
Page 159 and 160: Whilst these two species appear mor
Page 161: Low (1999) surmised that this fungu
Page 165 and 166: 1. Salinity mediated processes - Sa
Page 167 and 168: • Structural flood mitigation wor
Page 169 and 170: Increased needs for active recreati
Page 171 and 172: A - 7.14 References Anderson, C (20
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Biodiversity Strategy - Gosford City Council - NSW Government

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