2023-03-07 - P&E Agenda - Item 4 - Attachment 1 - Environmental Services - Threatened Fauna Recovery Road Map

5.2      Exclusions
5.2.1     Migratory, few verified records or least concern fauna with Noosa Shire

The primary focus of Strategy 1.3 of the NES is to, ‘Improve long-term survival for threatened species and
ecological communities’. Species that fell under the following categories were excluded from Table 5 (not
shortlisted), with the following justifications;

    o   Migratory species with no regionally confirmed breeding activity
        Migratory Species including several shorebirds (Eastern curlew), some marine animals (Leatherback
        turtle, Dugong and whales), which may seasonally occur but do not breed within the Noosa Region, are
        not suitable indicator species for ecosystem health changes. This is because their presence within the
        Noosa LGA may be a result of impacts occurring outside the LGA.

    o   Species with very few, or no recent verified recordings with the Noosa LGA
        Species which have limited, or no recent recordings within the Noosa LGA such as the Australian fritillary,
        Spotted-tail quoll and the Sand yabby (Cherax robustus) are not suitable for the development of useful
        baseline population monitoring data. Therefore, it is not possible to undertake indicative longitudinal
        population studies. Both of which are required to measure species and habitat recovery under the
        objectives of the NES and this Road Map.

    o   Least Concern Wildlife under the NCA Act
        Fauna Species listed as special / least concern under the NCA were not short-listed (excluded from the
        twenty-nine conservation significant species) for management priority under this Road Map, given their
        decreased risk of extinction. Council does however acknowledge some of these species may be of
        conservation significance within the Shire, and our approach to managing such species is provided below
        in Section 5.3.


5.3      Management of least concern and non-listed species
Council does also acknowledge that there are a number of species found within the LGA that are not listed under
either the NCA or EPBC Act, however, are still of conservation importance, these include species which;
    • are regionally significant in SEQ (Green-thighed frog)
    • are regionally significant in the Noosa Shire (Blue-winged kookaburra)
    • have restricted distribution (Cooloola propator, Cherax robustus and the Great Sandy blind skink)
    • occur at their southern or northern distribution limits within Noosa Shire (Frilled (neck) lizard)
    • are iconic species (such as the platypus), however are not listed as near threatened / conservation
         dependent to critically endangered.

Recognising the importance of conserving species that fall into the above categories, Noosa Council is currently
exploring additional research and conservation opportunities to ensure a holistic approach in threatened species
conservation across the LGA. Furthermore, the design of existing and future conservation strategies for the
prioritised species will also consider opportunities to target beneficiary species utilising the same habitat (for
example: Mary River cod - Mary River turtle - Platypus).