I am deeply saddened by the recent decision to approve the Pacific Highway upgrade at Wardell through core koala habitat.
Koala ecologists have been telling the RMS for years that the highway will lead to the extinction of this koala population within the next two decades.
In the draft Byron Coast Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (CKPOM) there were five significant areas in the shire identified as koala ‘hotspots’ – West Byron being an area of high concern in my opinion.
We need to stop the further destruction of core koala habitat in the Byron shire. A peer review of the CKPOM instigated by the conservative councillors recently slowed this process by two years.
The review found that it was a sound plan. We must ensure this habitat is protected and immediately implement the Koala Plan of Management. We must prioritise our wild spaces and what is left of our eucalypt forests.
If a threatened and iconic species such as the koala isn’t able to stop a highway going through its habitat, what chance does any other wildlife species have on the north coast?
As a koala ecologist and a candidate in council’s election I will do all I can to preserve and restore the koala population in our shire.
Caitlin Weatherstone, ecologist and candidate for the Community Byron group
