Campbelltown Council says the approval of the grey-headed flying fox camp management plans for Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown has paved the way for work to start on measures that will protect both the bats and the long suffering residents.
The management plan, which has now been given the green light, acknowledges that grey-headed flying foxes are a protected species and play an important role in dispersing seeds and pollinating flowering plants including many eucalyptus species that other animals such as koalas rely on.
As part of the Macquarie Fields camp management plan, council says it will investigate options to establish a residential assistance program to help nearby residents better co-exist with flying foxes.
“Flying foxes are a vital part of our natural ecosystem so it’s important that we take these actions to ensure they are able to continue enhancing our precious local environment,” says Mayor George Brticevic.
“We understand that living near a flying fox colony comes with its challenges, which is why we will be investigating a variety of ways to ensure people and flying foxes can better co-exist,” Cr Brticevic said.
Actions included in the plans include community education, on ground works to restore riparian vegetation and investigations into measures to create a buffer between the Macquarie Fields flying fox colony and the adjoining houses.
The plan was approved at the August meeting of council.
- There’s approximately 20,000 flying foxes in the two colonies in Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown and it is estimated there 624,000 across the entire state of NSW.
