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2014-11-20 Mayoral Minute - Noosa River Environmental Projects
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MAYORAL MINUTE
I hereby give notice of my intention to move the following motion at the Ordinary Meeting on
Thursday, 20 November, 2014:
1. NOOSA RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS
That Council note the presentation to a Council workshop on 14 November 2014 from The
Nature Conservancy and the Thomas Foundation in relation to proposed projects to
improve the environmental outcomes for the Noosa River, and
A. Authorise the Chief Executive Officer to write to The Nature Conservancy and the
Thomas Foundation advising that the Council will provide support for the two initial
proposed projects with a Council financial contribution of up to $25,000 and with
Council also providing support for any required interface to government agencies;
and
B. Request the Chief Executive Officer to continue liaison with both The Nature
Conservancy and the Thomas Foundation regarding possible future projects for
consideration and to provide Council with updates as required.
BACKGROUND
As Council would be aware, one of our strategic priorities is improving the environmental
outcomes for the Noosa River. Other organisations are also interested in that outcome and have
approached the Council to outline their proposed approach and to seek the support of the
Council for a series of potential projects in relation to the Noosa River.
A workshop was held at Council on 14 November 2014 involving:
• The Nature Conservancy – an internationally recognised conservation group which works
across 35 countries internationally including Australia. Basing projects on strong scientific
research, The Nature Conservancy works with partners to deliver environmental outcomes.
• The Thomas Foundation - a Noosa based philanthropic organisation that provides
financial support to projects associated with the preservation of biodiversity in Australia.
• Noosa Parks Association – facilitating the support of the Thomas Foundation and the
Nature Conservancy on this issue.
• Noosa Council – the workshop was attended by all Councillors and a number of senior
staff.
• Other Local Environmental Groups – Noosa and District Landcare Inc and Noosa
Integrated Catchment Association Inc were in attendance at the workshop and were
generally supportive of this initiative.
At the workshop, a number of potential projects were considered with a focus on projects that
have a scientific outcome. Two specific projects have been developed further by The Nature
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Conservancy and the Thomas Foundation since the workshop. They have provided further
details and proposed costs of the intended projects as follows:
1. A study of the river and lakes historic fish and prawn productivity including an assessment
of present stocks and recovery targets, including species achievable with regeneration.
This would entail estimates of past abundance and catch rates for key species in the
Noosa Estuary using historical reports, publications and photos. This research could be
undertaken by an honours or masters student, and supervised jointly between a University
and The Nature Conservancy. Project costs are estimated at $17,500; and
2. A scoping study of the river and lakes systems oyster reef history together with a scientific
analysis of the prospects for the re-establishment of oyster reefs and oyster ‘stepping
stones’ including the identification of recovery targets. This would entail determining
current oyster abundance in order to evaluate needs and approach for restoring oyster
reefs. This will be approached both by visual surveys and by putting “settlement tiles” in the
Noosa River to look at oyster settlement rates in different locations and depths, and at
species composition. This project would ideally commence in December this year to
coincide with likely oyster spawning. Cost includes equipment, deploying tiles, retrieving
tiles, and analysis of those tiles. This work will be done through a contract supervised and
managed by The Nature Conservancy with involvement of The Nature Conservancy
science staff. An addition to this work would be liaison with the local indigenous community
about shell prevalence in middens, and collecting historical evidence of oysters in the
system. Project costs are estimated at $23,000.
There was general consensus at the workshop that these were the types of projects that should
be undertaken and that the involvement of The Nature Conservancy and the Thomas Foundation
would be highly desirable.
To advance these issues, it is proposed that the CEO be authorised to advise both The Nature
Conservancy and the Thomas Foundation of Council’s agreement to work together on these
potential projects with Council’s role to focus on:
• Providing one half of the costs of these two projects. (The total estimated cost of both of
these projects is approximately $40,000 so allowing for any contingency, the Council’s
contribution would be up to $25,000. This cost can be accommodated from within existing
budgets); and
• Providing an interface to government agencies to enable these projects to proceed
(including facilitating any necessary government approvals or other government agency
requirements).
What next?
We should continue to liaise with both The Nature Conservancy and the Thomas Foundation to
assist in advancing these two projects for the Noosa River. As these projects develop, it is
possible that further projects may emerge which will assist in improving the environmental
outcomes for the Noosa River and the CEO should continue to liaise with The Nature
Conservancy and the Thomas Foundation in that regard.
20/11/2014
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Cr Noel Playford Date
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