Fresh efforts are being made to breathe life into the City of Ballarat's koala management plan, which had largely fallen off the radar in recent years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A move to establish a committee to oversee the plan - which was approved by council back in 2006 - was discussed in town hall last month.
The plan was described as pioneering at the time of its introduction, but many observers believe Ballarat's koala numbers have continued to dwindle in recent years.
Bob Hartmann, the president of community group Friends of Canadian Corridor, updated councillors and council officers about a citizen science study of koala numbers in the area.
It seems more imperative that local councils should become more involved and be prepared to take a lead role in their conservation
- Bob Hartmann, Friends of Canadian Corridor
"I can inform you that yes, [koalas] do still exist. It's about 15, which is still a very sad situation," he said at the March ordinary council meeting.
"Unfortunately.. we have had three deaths, including a mother and joey."
Mr Hartmann said that in the wake of the summer bushfires, which wiped out large numbers of wildlife, the pressure was on to preserve native Australian species such as the koala.
"It seems more imperative that local councils should become more involved and be prepared to take a lead role in their conservation," he said.
"I would like in the future for our grandchildren to be able to see these iconic animals around Ballarat. "
He also reminded those present of one of the actions of the plan, which was to establish a committee to oversee the management of the koala plan. The committee, which would be chaired by a councillor, has never been formed.
Four councillors expressed an interest in being involved, including Crs Belinda Coates, Mark Harris, Des Hudson and Jim Rinaldi.
In response to Mr Hartmann's presentation, Angelique Lush, the City of Ballarat's director of development and planning, said she was "very aware and very sensitive" to the situation facing Australia's wildlife.
She cited the work of the new Living Corridors group, which has been set up to suggest measures that will protect wildlife ecosystems around Ballarat - and said a report from the group would be drafted later in the year.
"That's not to say that something shouldn't be happening now, so bearing that in mind... I expect you will see some movement coming very soon," she said.
Cr Hudson praised the Friends of Canadian Corridor group for "picking up the baton and reinvigorating the discussion around the protection of the koala protection overlay".
Cr Coates said it was "really heartening" to see work of the Living Corridors group starting, which she said would hopefully bring momentum to community campaigns to protect wildlife in the region.
The Courier understands formal steps are now being taken to establish a committee to oversee the management of the koala plan.
"I was actually overwhelmed by the favourable response from councillors - that most of them wanted to be actively involved in the process," Mr Hartmann said.
RELATED STORIES
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thankyou very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.
