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Management approved
Hawkesbury City councillors unanimously approved $ 240,000 for Koala Habitat Mapping and an additional $ 70,000 for the development of a Koala Corridor Assessment and Koala Plan of Management at its meeting at the end of last year .
The decision was made as part of the Council ’ s Quarterly Budget Review , with the additional $ 70,000 to come from an allocation reduction to Council ’ s property reserve .
The Koala Corridor Assessment and Plan of Management approvals are in addition to the $ 120,000 project to undertake Fine Scale Vegetation Mapping in the Hawkesbury , which is currently underway .
The complete project includes identification of the local area ’ s koala feed trees , the development of a Highly Suitable Koala Habitat Map , a Koala Occupancy Survey and analysis of the data to produce a Core Habitat Map .
This work will identify the distribution and potential density of koalas in the region and the range of vegetation that is currently home to koalas , as well as their movement across and between habitats . The information will be compiled into a management strategy to conserve and protect koalas in the Hawkesbury .
Morgan Philpott , a volunteer koala coordinator from WIRES , who addressed the meeting , said the Hawkesbury ’ s koala population is expanding and growing despite some loss of habitat .
He told the meeting that the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains koalas contain distinct genes but also have genes from both Queensland koalas and Victorian and southern Australian koalas .
“ That should be a focus of conservation here , because , in essence , they hold the genes of the entire species – which is quite remarkable . This makes them more adaptable to change and resistant to diseases ,” he said .
NEW
PHONE
NUMBERS
Hawkesbury District Hospital and other services within its building have updated their contact information , including phone and fax numbers which were effective as of December 5 , 2024 .
We encourage the community to update any stored phone numbers they may have for Hawkesbury District Hospital and its services . For the next 12 months , anyone who calls an old number for Hawkesbury District Hospital and Community Health services will have their call forwarded to the Hospital ’ s reception .
The update continues Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District ’ s ongoing commitment to improving the Hospital ’ s infrastructure and ensuring the Hawkesbury community continues to have access to high-quality local health care services .
26 ISSUE 176 // JANUARY 2025 HAPPY NEW YEAR ! theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT