MEDIA RELEASE Friday 9th March 2018
NATIONALLY ENDANGERED GREATER GLIDERS TO BE BURNT BY DELWP PLANNED BURN IN EAST GIPPSLAND
Gippsland Environment Group has called on the Minister for Environment Lily D’Ambrosio to intervene and halt a planned burn in Mt Alfred State Forest north-west of Bairnsdale that will destroy a number of nationally endangered Greater Gliders and their habitat if it goes ahead as scheduled this autumn.
In the past decade the Greater Glider population of south eastern Australia has declined dramatically. As a consequence the Greater Glider was listed as nationally endangered in 2016 and was listed as threatened with extinction in Victoria in 2017.
“Gippsland Environment Group’s Citizen Science team has spent hundreds of hours surveying in the Watts Creek catchment in Mt Alfred State Forest in the past year and recorded many Greater Gliders and other significant flora and fauna and submitted the information to Bairnsdale DELWP however this information has been virtually ignored,” said John Hermans, President of Gippsland Environment Group. “Bairnsdale DELWP plan to burn the area regardless.”
“The Minister for Environment and the Chief Fire Officer have both stated that DELWP would implement mitigation measures to protect the Greater Glider from planned burns, including avoiding burning during the breeding season, between February and June,” declared Mr Hermans. “Scheduled planned burning in areas where Greater Gliders have been recorded must be halted immediately.”
“It is alarming that local and regional DELWP/FFMV have failed to implement any measures to protect the Greater Glider more than two years after it was listed as nationally endangered.” said Mr Hermans. “It’s time for the Minister to act. Whilst DELWP continues with business as usual the Greater Glider is sliding closer to extinction.”
Media Contact:
Louise Crisp
Secretary Gippsland Environment Group
lcrisp@bigpond.com
See also:
PDF: GEG to Min Environment re Flaggy Ck-Watts Ck Tk planned burn 8.3.18
PDF: GEG Media Release DELWP to burn endangered Greater Gliders 9.3.18