2021-06-08 P&E Agenda - Item 6 - Attachment 1 - Noosa Bushland Reserve Strategic Management Plan 2021-2026

7.2    Reserve Prioritisation Method
For its small size and ratepayer base, Noosa Council has a large area of reserve land to manage.
This area is being constantly increased from Environment levy land acquisitions and developer
contributions. The level of resourcing required to manage this land to the highest ecological
standard is very high, and it is necessary to prioritise where the resources are best allocated to
achieve the objectives indicated in Section 2.

The philosophy behind prioritising reserves to achieve the best biodiversity outcomes recognises
that the best shire-wide biodiversity outcomes can be achieved by allocating resources to manage
the more ecologically resilient reserves first. Implicit in this philosophy is the reality that some of the
smaller, highly-degraded reserves, while still possessing biodiversity, waterway and social values,
may never be able to be restored to an ecologically resilient condition without significant further
resources.

Much study has occurred regarding the best method of prioritisation of individual assets for natural
resources management purposes. Prior reserve prioritisation methods undertaken by Council
have primarily utilised criterion focussed on value and threats. This approach however does not
evaluate the technical feasibility of addressing known threats and nor does it attempt to understand
the amount of resources required to effectively manage them.

A new Prioritisation Matrix and Decision Support Tool has been developed for this Plan. The tool
contains elements of a method initially developed by Marsh et al (2007) that has been used
recently in threatened species management optimisation in applications in Queensland and New
Zealand. An outline and explanation of the justification and source of the assessment criterion of
the Bushland Rating Matrix and Decision Support Tool is contained within Appendix 3.

The prioritisation system needs to be as simple and repeatable as possible and only include
criterion which helps differentiate one reserve from another in regards to resource allocation. It
principally utilises GIS data, including data layers recently produced for the Noosa Biodiversity
Plan Background Report. Where existing data or GIS data was unavailable, data was determined
by seeking the views of the Council officers who manage the entire bushland reserve network and
have in-depth knowledge of the majority of reserves.

A variety of criterion were developed to provide scores for the following values:
    Biodiversity Value
    Waterway Value
    Carbon Sink Value
    Social Value
    Cultural Value

Data was collated to assist in the scoring of the potential for successful management outcomes,
namely:
    Ecological Potential for Recovery
    Ongoing Management – Financial and other Costs of Management.

Weightings for each category of values was determined through a survey of an internal stakeholder
group consisting of 16 people from Environmental Services, Strategic Planning, Development
Assessment, Park & Gardens and Civil Operations staff for the Plan development within Council.




Noosa Bushland Reserves Strategic Management Plan 2021 – 2026                                     Page 29