Following from the previous message the site is of national conservation value
and is under threat of development of 300 residential lots and a tourist resort.
STATEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE
SOUTH MOONEE FOREST
The South Moonee Forest is the single most biodiverse and ecologically
significant private property along the Coffs Coast. It is recognised by Coffs
Harbour City Council as the number one "Coastal Icon" for biodiversity values
within the Local Government Area.
The South Moonee Forest is composed of extensive areas of 8 (eight) Endangered
Ecological Communities (EECs) as defined within the Threatened Species
Conservation Act, 1995 (TSC Act), namely:
1. Saltmarsh
2. Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on Coastal Floodplain
3. Swamp Oak Forest
4. Littoral Rainforest
5. Lowland Rainforest
6. Subtropical Coastal Floodplain Forest
7. Freshwater Wetlands on Coastal Floodplain and
8. Headland Grasslands.
No other single landholding on the Mid North Coast has this number of EECs
present.
These areas are of national conservation significance due to their size,
location, excellent condition, and the fact that they collectively provide
habitat for over 21 (twenty-one) species listed as Threatened under either the
TSC Act and/or the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act, 1999 (EPBC Act) (list appended). No other single landholding
on the Mid North Coast has such a high count of Threatened Species.
Any developments within the South Moonee Forest will lead to major impacts upon
those areas recognised by the NSW and Commonwealth Governments as high
conservation value habitats and national reservation and conservation
priorities. This is primarily attributable to:
1. The clearance and fragmentation of existing native vegetation, particularly
considering the entire site is covered in high conservation value native
vegetation
2. Increased sediment and nutrient loads as a result of construction activities
and subsequent urban development and human occupation
3. Massive increases in feral animal populations leading to predation of the 14
threatened species present within the South Moonee Forest, and
4. Massive increases in environmental weed invasion leading to ongoing and
irreversible degradation to the high conservation value native vegetation
contained within the South Moonee Forest.
The site has bioregionally significant coastal wildlife corridors and key
habitats recognised by both the NSW and Commonwealth Governments and the
Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (NRCMA) as essential for
maintenance of biodiversity. It is a critical component of the only intact
east-west corridor on the Northern Beaches of Coffs Harbour linking the Coffs
Coast escarpment with coastal habitats. Over 30 threatened species have been
documented using this corridor.
The entire property forms an essential component of the Moonee Creek catchment
of the Solitary Islands Marine Park, a reserve recognised as nationally
significant due to the presence of an incredibly diverse assemblage of tropical
and temperate marine and coastal species. The cumulative impacts of current
developments in the vicinity of Moonee Beach are leading to major degradation
of this significant estuarine system. Any development within the South Moonee
Forest will lead to major water quality declines, loss of biodiversity and
unacceptable pressures upon a catchment that is already recognised by Coffs
Harbour City Council, the NRCMA and the NSW Department of Environment and
Climate Change (DECC) as highly stressed.
Threatened Species Known to occur within the South Moonee Forest
Nationally Endangered Species (EPBC Act)
Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)
Regent Honeyeater (Xanthomyza phrygia)
Giant Barred Frog (Mixophyes iteratus) - occurs in riparian areas approximately
50m west of the SMF
Moonee Quassia (Quassia sp. Moonee)
Nationally Vulnerable Species (EPBC Act)
Spotted Tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus)
Grey-headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) including a camp of the species
in the mid-Northern sections of the parcel.
NSW Endangered Species (TSC Act)
Black Necked Stork (Epphipiorhynchus asiaticus)
NSW Vulnerable Species (TSC Act)
Yellow Bellied Glider (Petaurus australis)
Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) – approximately 500m west of SMF
Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Common Planigale (Planigale maculata)
Black Flying Fox (Pteropus alecto)
Eastern Blosson Bat (Syconycteris australis)
East Coast Freetail Bat (Mormopterus norfolkensis)
Yellow Bellied Sheathtail Bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris)
Little Bent Wing Bat (Miniopterus australis)
Large Footed Myotis (Myotis adversus)
Rose Crowned Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus regina) – approximately 400m northeast of
SMF
Square Tailed Kite (Lophoictinia isura)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Grass Owl (Tyto capensis)
Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami)
Green Thighed Frog (Litoria brevipalmata)
Rusty Plum (Amorphospermum whitei)
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