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

6.        Methods - Nominating the Noosa Nine
6.1       The Noosa Nine
In response to Council’s development of the NES, nine (9) key and iconic threatened fauna species (known as the
Noosa Nine) were drafted in 2018/2019. Expanding upon these works, this Road Map formalises the decision
process, scientifically justifies, and prioritises (through a comprehensive stakeholder consultation process) a list of
key threatened fauna species for management priority to 2029 and beyond.

Given Council’s prior investment in marketing the Noosa Nine, the program will be revamped to maximise
threatened species conservation outcomes. Hence, a total of nine (9) key threatened fauna species for
management priorities will be nominated under the pathway presented in this Road Map.


6.2       Threatening processes as core selection criteria
Eleven (11) criteria will be used to score and rank the shortlisted species for management priorities to determine
the Noosa Nine species list. The two items / criteria critical to the delivery of Strategy 1.3 of the NES
(‘conservation advice’ and ‘suitability for longitudinal population trend monitoring’) will form 18% of the total
weighting in the decision process. The remaining nine criteria (identified threating processes) will be evenly
weighted (9% each of the total score). Table 5 groups the selection criteria and presents their combined weighting
used in nominating the Noosa Nine from the twenty-nine shortlisted species.

Table 5: Selection criteria and weighting
                                              Criteria                                                Weighting
                                Items Critical to the Delivery of Strategy 1.3 of the NES
 Conservation advice                                                                                     9%
 Suitability for longitudinal population trend monitoring                                                9%
                                                                                    Sub-total            18%
                              Identified Threatening Processes across the Noosa LGA
 Climate change impacts (temperature, sea level, fire, weather events etc.)                               9%
 Development, and clearing and habitat fragmentation                                                      9%
 Inappropriate fire regimes (prescribed burning)                                                          9%
 Riparian health, water quantity and quality management                                                   9%
 Invasive flora / fauna and domestic animals                                                              9%
 Disease (species susceptibility)                                                                         9%
 Negative human / wildlife interactions (vehicle strike, conflicts etc.)                                  9%
 Marine impacts (commercial fishing, litter, boat strike etc.)                                            9%
 Recreational impacts (four-wheel driving, bikes, recreational fishing, foreshore use etc.)               9%
                                                                                    Sub-total            82%
                                                                                        Total            100%


6.3       Representation of key habitats (BVGs) across the Noosa Nine
To deliver an integrated approach, the spread of the Noosa Nine (where justifiable) should proportionally
represent each of the Shire’s seven key habitat types.