The transfer of 54 hectares of land at Wedderburn has got the ball rolling for the establishment of a Georges River Koala Reserve from Long Point to Appin.
NSW planning minister Anthony Roberts said the land along Lysaght Road has been transferred from the Office of Strategic Lands to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
All of the land transferred will be part for the new Georges River Koala Reserve.
“The Macarthur region is home to a growing koala population in NSW, and this transfer builds on that, helping boost their habitat while also facilitating an important movement corridor which extends through to the Southern Highlands,” Mr Roberts said.
The Reserve is part of the wider Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan – a once in a generation commitment to protect South Western Sydney’s rich environmental assets and koala population, while providing certainty for investment in a growing part of Sydney.
“Once completed, the reserve will give local communities access to nature based recreation,’’ the minister said.
“It will also offer potential opportunities for educational activities and koala based tourism.”
Environment minister James Griffin said the transfer of land to the national park estate is good news for koalas and other species that co-exist with them.
“This 54 hectares of land is the first instalment in creating the Georges River Koala Reserve, which will help protect a critical koala colony by providing corridors for koalas and other animals to move between Long Point and Appin,” Mr Griffin said.
“Once fully established, the Reserve will protect up to 1,830 hectares of koala habitat and wildlife corridors in perpetuity.”
For the first five years of the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan’s implementation, the NSW Government says it is committing at least $114 million for activities including restoring koala habitat in the Georges River Koala Reserve, installing exclusion fencing to keep koalas safe, and constructing two crossings to allow fauna movement across Appin Road.
This is excellent news for koalas and other wildlife that use these links.
To be honest, we need many more corridors like this all along the eastern sea board to inter-connect more koala corridor passages.
This is a great start ❤️🐨🙏
The koalas in Campbelltown should never have been put in danger in the first place.
And where is there safe crossing that should have been in the plan before any houses were put there.
Better still should never have been built. Plenty of others places to build the houses, not where our healthy koalas have lived for years.
This is great news. Finally there’s movement at the station. Just please make sure the correct exclusion fencing is installed and not the cheap rubbish like that along Picton Road, which emergency services do not approve. Thanks to Minister Roberts and Minister Griffin for initiating this vital first step to protect our precious koala colony as well as other cherished fauna.
The State Government has been acquiring bushland on the western side of the Georges River between Glenfield and Appin since the 1960s and have at least 2,300ha in government ownership. This land was acquired by Government for conservation and passive recreation purposes. Why the delay in transferring all of the land to the Koala Reserve? Seems like a case of smoke and mirrors.