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Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management
for Eastern Portion of Kempsey Shire LGA

Download

• Volume I – The CKPoM (Working Provisions), April 2011 (PDF - 1.3 MB)
• Volume II – Resource Study, July 2009 (PDF - 808 KB)
• Figure 3.5: Core koala habitat boundaries for the Kempsey East study area (JPG - 2.6 MB)
• Figure 3.6: Core koala habitat boundaries and koala sightings for the Kempsey East study area (JPG - 2.6 MB)
• Map 1: Preferred Koala Habitat & Koala Management Areas (JPG - 2.3 MB)
• Illustration 1:The Development and Rezoning Assessment Pathway Flowchart (JPG - 231 KB)

What is a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management?

The ultimate purpose of a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (CKPoM) is to provide a strategic and consistent approach to koala management and planning throughout the eastern portion of the Kempsey Shire at a landscape scale. The CKPoM for the eastern portion of the Kempsey Shire seeks to manage the threats operating on koalas and conserve their natural habitat by incorporating koala conservation and management into local government planning processes.

Why did Council prepare a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management?

The Kempsey Shire provides areas of important koala habitat. The Shire has been identified in the NSW State Recovery Plan for the koala (recently approved by the NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment) as a priority area for the development of a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (CKPoM) under the provisions of State Environmental Planning policy 44 - Koala Habitat protection (SEPP 44). Development of a CKPoM was also listed as a high priority action of the Kempsey Shire Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) Strategy (June 2007).

A comprehensive plan, focusing on landscape scale management, is favoured by both the NSW Department of Planning and Department of Environment and Climate Change, as opposed to individual plans prepared on an ad hoc basis, as it provides a greater degree of reliability in terms of koala habitat assessment. It also removes some of the burden on individual developers to undertake costly and detailed koala studies and prepare individual Koala Plans of Management.

What areas of land does the Plan relate to?

The CKPoM area is the Eastern Portion of the Kempsey Shire Local Government Area (KSLGA), covering an area of 1,109km² (110,914ha) and equating to approximately one third of the total land area under governance of Kempsey Shire Council (KSC). While funding limited the extent of the study area to the eastern portion of the KSLGA, this is also the area under most pressure from development. The area includes much of the Macleay River floodplain, extending along the coastline from south of Point Plomer to Grassy Head—Yarrahapinni in the north and to Dondingalong, Kempsey, Collombatti and all the rural residential area to the west of Kempsey. The boundary in this latter area is one that was arbitrarily defined to again capture those areas facing pressure from development, but using natural boundaries such as the Macleay River, roads and existing land use zonings.

When does the plan take effect?

Council will be applying the CKPoM as of 24 May 2011. Any persons submitting a Development Application which requires removal of native vegetation as a part of the development (and if the development is situated within the mapped area), will need to consult the CKPoM to determine which provisions of the plan are applicable to the proposed development..