I don't know if COG and/or Conservation Council have been across this
but do know that it is contentious. The following info is second hand
and from memory but it might strike a chord with some people, in
which case check facts first. Lindsay Northrop was attending
resident meetings with 'government' but these were cancelled
apparently with the govt saying that it was going ahead regardless. I
think Lindsay is still overseas. The case against the Lyneham
wetland was (two months ago) along the lines of:
- a large number of trees will be removed to provide the
wetspace. These trees are currently used by many birds and provide
an important part of the local tree/forest structure.
- the government is planning the wetlands with no data on waterflows
etc. Without this info it is argued that it is not possible to scale
the wetland accurately, and hence the extent of tree removal that
might be justified.
- there is no cost/benefit case established because neither the
community costs (such as resulting from the loss of trees) have been
established, nor the benefits. There are no quantitative figures on
any of the stated benefits, eg improved water quality in LBG is
probably miniscule. The current cost/benefit case is solely based
on the capital cost against the government's subjective impression of
'community good' or 'value of voter-friendly outcomes'.
If anyone is interested in this please do not take this as gospel but
may be useful as a point of departure. I'm not supporting either
side due lack of facts but it does seem there is a case against that
is worthy of better consideration than it has been given, and the
proposal might have a significant negative effect on some
birds. Obviously it might also have advantages for wetland-using birds.
Julian
At 11:16 PM 10/05/2010, Philip Veerman wrote:
Are any of you COGites interested to attend this? It came through my
work area and I sent it home to send to this list.
Kind regards
Philip Veerman
Community Development Co-ordinator
Executive Officer
Tuggeranong Link
Ph/fax: 62921604
Mob: 0416 432 561
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