A voice for koalas in the Redlands

www.koalagroup.asn.au email:admin@koalagroup.asn.au

DIARY DATES
7.30pm-9.00pm Friday March 2 KAG General Meeting
Redlands IndigiScapes Centre 17 Runnymede Rd Capalaba Guest speaker: DERMs Senior Conservation Officer, Koala Research, Deirdre deVilliers will discuss the Koala Population Report (see p.3) All welcome. Supper provided.

A koala overpass at last!

After many years of campaigning by KAG, a koala overpass is being built during the construction of road upgrades on Mount Cotton Road at Burbank and if its successful others will follow across Queensland. KAG welcomes this good news for koalas from the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Details of the project are outlined in the Departments brochure re-printed below with their approval. See KAG website for more details on the project.

8.00am-10.00am Sunday March 4

CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY ... at the new Bob and Delphine Douglas Reserve in Liriope Place, Victoria Point - off Bunker Rd into Estuary Ave then left into Whipbird Court right to Liriope Pl.

Closed in shoes (+ wellington boots if you have them), sunsmart clothing and gloves essential. Satchels available to recycle your old mobile phone.

APRIL 2012 KAG tree planting. Date & location to be advised on KAG website and in local newspaper.
KAG acknowledges the valuable assistance of the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife (FNPW) for their contribution to funding for the KAG tree plantings.

This newsletter is produced by The Koala Action Group Qld Inc Address: PO Box 660 Capalaba Qld 4157 ABN: 85 618 891 610 Phone/Fax: 3823 5575
email: admin@koalagroup.asn.au web address: www.koalagroup.asn.au

Environmentalist and KAG member a champion for the environment

Redland City Council has paid tribute to Bob Douglas and his late wife, Delphine by naming a conservation area in their honour in parkland adjacent to Bobs property in Bunker Road, Victoria Point. Family and friends were alongside him when Redland City Councils Mayor, Melva Hobson unveiled the signage for the Bob and Delphine Douglas Reserve in early January. The sign is a temporary one - a permanent timber sign will replace it in the near future. Two koala food trees, Eucalyptus Tereticornis were planted either side of the sign the same day. The Reserve is a tribute to Bob and Delphine who transformed their property over many years, planting trees and restoring and protecting their Land for Wildlife property which adjoins Eprapah Creek. Bob was also recognised for his work protecting parts of Eprapah Creek when he was presented with a Queensland Champions of Conservation award from the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) recently. QCC secretary Simon Baltais praised Bob for his work with a seed propagation group at Council's IndigiScapes Centre. "As a result of his work, local indigenous plants are now thriving in residential and public sites throughout the Redlands and beyond. Bob acquired skills in photography with a view to documenting the flora and fauna of the Redlands and providing his database of beautiful photographs to the conservation movement", Mr Baltais said. Bob is a treasured member of KAG, sharing his knowledge of Redlands wildlife not only with our members but also the wider community. He rarely missed a KAG tree planting, however the writer remembers him arriving late for one, sheepishly admitting that hed slept in! For over 20 years Bob Douglas has been a stalwart, vigorously campaigning against insensitive and environmentally damaging developments that were subsequently approved by a previous prodevelopment Council. He fought tirelessly for the protection of the environment in the Redlands losing out on some, but more importantly winning on others. The flora and fauna of the Redlands has been thoroughly enriched with Bob and Delphines dedication to the environment. Jenny Anthony

Patron Cr Helen Murray President Debbie Pointing V/President & Policy Advisor Lynn Roberts Secretary Judy Blaik Treasurer Ken Rawlins Newsletter Jenny Anthony Debbie Pointing Chris Bray Executive Members Bob Douglas Dawn Halliday Tree Planting Convenor Sue Whitelaw -POSITION VACANTDue to an unexpected relocation to WA, Melissa Steffens has had to relinquish her position as KAGs Treasurer so were looking for someone to fill her shoes. The Treasurers role involves maintaining KAG accounts by receipting and banking income; issuing invoices and paying accounts; processing BAS and reconciling bank statements. If youd care to help out with this rewarding voluntary role and would like further details, please phone Debbie Pointing on 3823 5575. Ken Rawlins, past Treasurer of KAG for several years, is kindly and temporarily taking care of business! Congratulations to KAG member
Jan Smith. Jan was the recipient of an environmental award in the Redland City Council Australia Day Awards for 2012. She has been a dedicated wildlife carer for many years and a mentor for numerous other carers as well as participating in other environmental activities.

Let us know if you would like to receive this newsletter electronically and help KAG save on paper and postage costs. email: admin@koalagroup.asn.au

Bob Douglas with Mayor Melva Hobson and KAG patron Cr Helen Murray at the naming of the Reserve in Liriope Place, Victoria Point on January 6th 2012.

KOALA COAST KOALA POPULATION by the current Redland City Council establishing strategies outlined in their Koala Management and REPORT 2010
The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has released the Koala Coast Koala Population Report 2010 and concludes that no significant change in the koala population was found between 2008 and 2010 suggesting that the decline may have stabilised. However, this is no time to be complacent. The Report highlighted the alarming fact that since 1996 the koala population in the Koala Coast has had an overall decline of 68% with more than a 50% decline between 2006 and 2008. The Report also noted that there had been minimal changes to urban and bushland habitat between 2008 and 2010 and that higher than average rainfalls may have contributed to an increase in canopy cover. KAG believes that part of the reason for the slowing in the koala decline numbers is due to the commitment

Strategy Policy. Some examples are the numerous incentive programs for landholders - Land for Wildlife, Rural Support, Backyard Garden and Koala Conservation Agreement programmes. Obviously there is still much more that needs to be done if our koala population is to make a recovery and the recently released Redlands Housing Strategy (see article below) would be a good starting point. The new Council to be elected in late April will be the pivotal point when the elected Mayor and Councillors will make decisions that will effect the future of the koala population living in an already fragile environment. Those crucial decisions will in turn have an effect on all of our lifestyles. The graph below clearly shows the alarming decline in koalas between 1996 and 2010.

The overall population trend from 1996-1999 to 2010 is downward and the population has declined at a significant rate. This has led to an estimated decline of 68% over the four survey periods.

DRAFT REDLANDS HOUSING STRATEGY KAG has sent a submission to Council expressing our concerns that the Draft Redlands Housing Strategy appears to have been weighted by the needs of developers and does not reflect the visions outlined in the Community and Corporate Plans. There was no balance in the choice of key stakeholders nor input from any group that has special knowledge about the impacts of the proposed housing on the natural environment. Furthermore, the Redlands community is inadequately represented on the proposed Redlands Housing Taskforce which will guide the strategy implementation. The Community Plan clearly articulated the Redland communitys concerns and visions. They included the importance of protecting Moreton Bay, bushland, green spaces and the flora and fauna of Redlands with a special mention for koalas. These issues appear to have been given no credence in the Draft Redlands Housing Strategy. Another concern raised in KAGs submission to the Housing Strategy is the idea of promoting the area around the Redlands Business Park as a place for workers to live which totally denies the fact that the land is Koala Conservation Area and is surrounded by Koala Conservation Area. That the proposal has made its way into the Housing Strategy shows the folly of taking the advice of self-interested developers instead of independent community members who care about the local area. The document was released just days before Christmas with submission deadlines at the end of January. Being a major holiday period, this gave scant regard for the community to have time to comment on the draft strategy. KAG suggests that both the document and the process is flawed and unjust and that the Council take another look at the Housing Strategy and renews the process based on evidence provided by the promised sustainable population study with meaningful reference to the Community Plan. All of the documents can be viewed at www.redland.qld.gov.au.
For sick or injured wildlife REDLANDS WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK - 3833 4031 or 1300 130 372

The Koalas chequered past

As I sat reading a book on the history of koalas one quiet evening recently I was interrupted by a male koala bellowing very loudly in a tree just metres from my deck. I had an odd feeling he was telling me were still here, so dont give up on us. The fact that koalas still exist in the wild after the way mankind has treated them over the past 100 years is just short of miraculous. Koala numbers were in the many millions in the early 1900s but by the 1930s they had been hunted so prolifically their numbers in Queensland were reduced to tens of thousands. We are so privileged to have koalas living in the Redlands today and must keep fighting for them.
Debbie Pointing

DID YOU KNOW? Trading in koala fur began in 1836 when European settlers became aware of the ease with which they could obtain koala fur. The koalas dense waterproof pelt made it a valuable commodity on the international fur market and demand increased accordingly. In 1906 a Native Animals Protection Act was enacted which gave absolute protection to species such as tree kangaroos, wombats, platypus, echidnas and gliding possums but allowed open season on koalas and other possums for a one to six month duration each year. It is estimated that during the fur trade period over four million koalas were killed for their skins with nearly 600,000 furs traded during the final open season in Queensland in 1927.
Source: Koalas, the little Australian wed all hate to lose by Bill Phillips; Koala, origins of an icon by Stephen Jackson.

A letter written in 1927 from the Redlands Branch of the Local Producers Association called for the destruction of native bears to be stopped. (A copy of the letter is on the KAG website: www.koalagroup.asn.au)

This now famous photograph shows a truckload of 3,600 koala skins collected by a hunting party in the Clermont District of Queensland in 30 days - circa 1927. Photo John Oxley Library, State Library of Qld

Report any koala sightings: www.koalacentral.com.au

KAG Membership Application/Renewal Form: Please post to: KAG,PO Box 660 Capalaba 4157 Name Address Phone/email ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annual membership rates: Single:$15; Family:$25; Pensioner:$10; Under 18:$10 (Donation:optional) Please specify membership type. If youre interested in any of the following, please indicate. Tree planting { } Tree propagation { } Help with displays { } Letterbox drops { Wildlife Rescue { } I apply for membership of the Koala Action Group Qld Inc and enclose my membership fee. Signature: Date:

Is your membership overdue? See renewal date on envelopes address label.