Appendix F - Koala Assessment · REC15/0011

                                                                                       Koala Habitat Assessment
                                                                                          1 George St, Tewantin




2.0      Methodology
2.1      Desktop Assessment

A desktop assessment was undertaken to gather information on previous Koala sightings and Koala habitat
in the area. The following databases, documents and maps were reviewed:
 EPBC Act Protected Matters Search Tool (DoE, 2014a) (Appendix 1);
 Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP) Wildlife Online records (DEHP, 2014a)
  (Appendix 2);
 DEHP Koala Records, 1997-2013 (DEHP, 2013);
 DEHP South East Queensland Koala Conservation State Planning Policy and State Planning Regulatory
  Provision mapping (DEHP, 2014b) (Appendix 3);
 Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) Regulated Vegetation Management and
  Supporting Map (DNRM, 2014) (Appendix 4); and
 Aerial photography.

2.2      Field Survey

The field survey was undertaken by an RPS ecologist on 19 August 2014. The site assessment involved a
habitat assessment and Koala survey within the assessment area, as described below.

2.2.1    Habitat Assessment

A habitat assessment was undertaken to record the following:
 Floristic structure, composition and extent of vegetation;
 Canopy tree composition;
 Percentage of canopy cover for each of the above species;
 Percentage of vegetative cover, leaf litter and bare ground;
 Distance to surface water; and
 Evidence of dogs in the area.

2.2.2    Koala Survey

A Koala survey was undertaken to identify evidence for Koalas using the site. This involved searching the
majority of Koala habitat trees in the assessment area (approximately 25 trees surveyed in total) for the
presence of a Koala or evidence for Koala occurrence (i.e. Koala scratch marks or scats). Each tree was
systematically searched for approximately two minutes.

All Koala scats were collected and sent to Barbara Triggs (hair and scat specialist) for confirmation.




PR122205-2; Rev A / August 2014                                                                          Page 3