Logan City is home to a significant koala population and has one of the world’s largest koala conservation centres located at Daisy Hill Conservation Park. This facility is a Queensland state government conservation park. The social and economic value of koalas to our city and nation is difficult to quantify however, it is undoubtedly significant. This Koala Conservation Strategic Plan aims to ensure the long-term viability of koalas in Logan City and demonstrates Council’s commitment to koala conservation over the long term. How well does Logan do it now and will koalas in Logan and surrounding areas be protected by implementing this 10 year strategic plan 2013-2023?

                                     Have your say on the Koala Conservation Strategic Plan by completing the online survey before Friday 16 May 2014.

The link to this survey is  http://lcc-consult.objective.com/portal/environment__sustainability/lkcsp?tab=info

For more information you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 3412 44 91

Although there is no direct invitation - you can also email your submission to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Online process will probably close at 5pm. Please send any late submissions also. Remember to include name/s and address/es of submitter/s and signing is preferred. You can also email cThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You will need to read this document  http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/287691/2014-Logans-Koala-Conservation-Strategy.pdf to be able to comment on the 4 strategic outcomes - 28 page document with captivating images of koalas.

 In summary, the plan is based on achieving the following key strategic outcomes:

• SO 1 – Improved science of koala ecology and habitat requirements in Logan;

In Logan, koalas are most frequently sighted in the eastern suburbs of the city including Daisy Hill, Shailer Park, Carbrook, Priestdale and Cornubia. Residents of Greenbank, Logan Village, Browns Plains especially Berrinba Sanctuary, Jimboomba, Munruben, Mundoolan and others will not agree.

To achieve a net increase in koala habitat in the city and South East Queensland it is essential that a regional approach is undertaken and areas of koala habitat are connected through ecological corridors.

• SO 3 – Improved koala safety and health;

Logan City is expected to grow by more than 200,000 residents over the next 20 years and beyond. Logan City will continue to be one of the fastest growing areas in Queensland with dramatically increasing urban development and increasing pressure on the natural environment and koala habitat.

• SO 4 – Increased positive community engagement and awareness of koala conservation actions.

To achieve the strategic outcomes of this Plan it is essential that it is supported by an active, engaged and supportive community including residents, land owners, businesses and the Development industry  

 The online survey basically asks you to answer same 4 questions about each outcomes

1.       Are these actions the right actions to ....                                

2.       Are there any actions that need to be changed to .....

3.       Are there any additional actions you think we should be doing?

4.       What ideas do you have to support the delivery of these actions?

and finally any extra comments. Please consider a submission regarding any point / points you are concerned about.

These could include - 

Importance of using best possible and latest mapping. ie SEQCatchments Koala Habitat Map for  Logan - with Regrowth map and Observations, Genome Barrier and  Pinch Point Maps as has been done for Brisbane City Council.

Koala policies, programs, zones, map layers  and legislation  should be included in town plan  not merely as offsets opportunities

Undertake and publish Natural Areas Management Plans 

Invest in Koala Research 

Use citizen scientist programs like Great Koala Count to track sightings and include results in mapping

Develop stronger land stewardship programs with community to reward incentivise residents to retain and extend bushland habitat.

Place higher value on existing habitat with existing koala populations being retained in perpetuity for wildlife ie such areas are not suitable for industry and housing developments. Rezoning of such land at Browns Plains for conservation is critical if Logan wants to consider itself - and be considered by others as a "proactive koala-friendly" community

Educating community on living with wildlife - especially koalas has to be a high priority to remove any misconceptions that exist 

PLEASE MAKE A SUBMISSION IF YOU CARE ABOUT KOALAS WHEREVER THEY MAY BE. MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE IF WE DO NOT WANT TO SEE THE LOCAL EXTINCTION OF KOALAS IN LOGAN AND SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND.

Koalas in SEQ are not protected and there in no connectivity not in Logan's new planning. The new Queensland Government SPP is a disaster for koalas and wildlife.

DECLARATION as ENDANGERED is needed. It won't happen unless community makes it happen!!

Please send your submission asap 

Your choice to complete online - or write your signed submission and send to

Chief Executive Officer
Logan City Council
PO Box 3226
Logan City DC Qld 4114

or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

While both Logan and state government support an OFFSET scheme to "pay for" koala habitat to be cleared, neither Logan and Albert Conservation Association LACA nor Australian Koala Foundation AKF supports a general offset policy,

LACA's document http://www.laca.org.au/images/Planning_Scheme_Environmental_Submission_writing_kit.5points_docx.pdf also has some points relevant to Koala Conservation Strategy

The Australian Koala Foundation has recently requested a change to Australia’s environmental offset system, which poses serious issues for the conservation of koalas. The current system allows the government to approve environmentally damaging building projects if the business pledges to make up for destruction of native habitat by providing similar habitat elsewhere. Deforestation has led to the decline in the genetic diversity of koalas, but has also increased disturbance, injury, stress, and competition for food or territory due to overcrowding. It also creates barriers that prevent koalas from roaming for mating purposes, and the addition of another habitat does not even ensure that koalas will migrate there.

The koala is considered a threatened species in three parts of Australia, but their habitat is being destroyed by removing irreplaceable foliage that they depend on. The destruction of native habitat creates major gaps or breaks across the koalas’ landscape. A recent study from the University of Queensland revealed the importance of maintaining at least 30% of forest land to ensure the koalas' survival. Results point to the importance of the species access to wide landscapes, because habitat isolation can threaten genetic diversity which is necessary to conservation. Researchers found that genetic diversity “dropped rapidly” once the country’s amount of forest land fell under 30%. It is important that the Australian government take measures to increase the amount of forest land to a level suitable for conserving the rapidly declining species koalas.

 Many thanks to all the wildlife carers who rescue rehabilitate and release - from turtles to owls to koalas and kangaroos. They are always confronted with issue - where to they release and they are required to relocate to home territories of each animal. Will this endanger the wildlife - koala or other again. Lets reduce the risk by having a good conservation strategy - with teeth - in our town planning. Up to us to ask. Council does not have all the answers.

Recently some 30 Logan residents spent a day expanding their knowledge about our wetlands. The day began at 8am with several powerpoint presentations relating to wetland vegetation, water quality, fish habitat and bird habitat, and also included a Berrinba Wetlands Walkabout.

 During the presentations we learnt what elements of a wetland are beneficial to  Australian native wildlife and what we can be doing on our property to help convert our  dam into a nature refuge during times of drought.

 It was offered as part of the Logan and Albert Rivers Catchment Association's, "Wetland  Management on Private Property in Logan" Project. The invitation was extended to all  who registered interest at one of the display stalls at the Logan Environmental Action  Festivals (LEAF).

 A bus tour was included and we visited several public wetlands within Logan City Council, including:

Eagleby Wetlands

JJ Smith Recreation Corridor

Springfield Mountain Wetlands.

Next will be a site visit to a private property to showcase a property which has had no revegetation effort and is just starting out, so this landholder would like to receive advice for further action which would improve habitat for wildlife. 

Last visit will be to a private property to inspect established revegetation efforts and offer advice for further action which would improve habitat for wildlife.

Logan and Albert Conservation Association aka LACA's water and wetlands management person Barry Fitzpatrick shared his extensive knowledge about vegetation and processes for revegetation for wetland areas. He has been observing and recording Cornubia Wetlands processes for several years. 

Image and diagram aside are provided by Barry. Detailed information about plants is available in our essential plant reference tool Mangroves to Mountains with local botanist Glenn Leiper being a contributing author.

Suggested planting guide includes plants generally occurring across Logan - Albert Catchment. Selection is influenced by on soil types, steepness of slope down to water, general typography, climate etc.

Article to be completed

Logan media release published 19 July 2013 

Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Koalas This October

Any sighting can be reported to Logan Council either on

 3820 1103 

 or at logan.qld.gov.au/wildlifesightings

Logan residents are being encouraged to keep an eye out for koalas during an annual community koala survey.

Over the weekend of 19-20 October residents will be asked to send in details of any koalas they come across in the bush, either in urban locations or rural areas.

Health, Environment and Sustainability Committee Chair Cr Trevina Schwarz said the weekend was about raising awareness of the region's most iconic residents and the importance of maintaining koala habitat corridors across the city.

"We know that koalas inhabit many areas within Logan City and it is essential that we continue to build our knowledge of their distribution and numbers," she said.

"During the sighting period, residents are asked to note down the locations and times of sightings and then report them to Council by phone or through Council's website.

"We urge residents to report as much information as they can – from size, location, health, behaviour, sex and species of tree; a photograph is also useful.

"While koalas do tend to spend most of their days asleep in trees or grazing, spring time is also mating season and they can be expected to be a little more active than usual – keep an ear our for their distinctive grunts at all hours of the day."

Cr Schwarz said the survey, now in its third year in Logan, was a good way to gather information on koala distribution not just in Logan but across the region.

"It's important that we make sure we regularly build a snapshot of koala distribution across the city to understand movement patterns and try to help manage urban growth across the city," she said.

"We are also partnering with Redland City Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council and the Koala Action Group to conduct surveys on the same day in an effort to build some regional information on koala movements between cities.

"This information is added to Council records and will assist with refining future whole of city koala population.

"Conservation isn't just for zoos, it's something we can all play a part in, even by just looking up during your morning bush walk or keeping an eye out when working on your property.

"I strongly encourage all residents to mark the weekend in their calendars and start to keep an eye out for koalas in their communities."

Any sighting/s can be reported to Council either on 38201103

or online at logan.qld.gov.au/wildlifesightings.

 Koala hotspot in Logan is Berrinba Sanctuary at Browns Plains. See regular posting on their Facebook page 

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Berrinba-Sanctuary/326254244157209?hc_location=timeline    Click to see some of the latest photos.

Santa has been a regular visitor to the privately owned Berrinba Sanctuary over the years but this year he is celebrating with the owners opening its gates to the wider community.

Visitors on the day will be treated to a range of activities and children will receive a free gift from Santa. Read about the festivities on WEEKEND NOTES. Read article here.

This an open day but not official opening day - that is yet to be planned and will be a very very special day for wildlife caring community.

Lots of fun, buy your lunch, listen to the singers, enjoy the natural bushland setting and maybe see a koala snoozing in nearby tree.

You will an Australian carnivorous marsupial even rarer than our vulnerable koala - a captive bred Dasyurus maculatus - the Australian native cat - or spotted-tailed QUOLL, Tiger quoll, tiger cat, yarri (in Herbert River District), burrumbil (Mulgrave River and Atherton Tablelands, north Queensland). Wildlife Queensland provide information about the quoll here.

Animal tracks and scats provide information about wildlife around as do the unique sounds produced by animals and birds. Listen to the sound made by a quoll on this page where you can also see its tracks and scats. 

You will meet many people  who care about Australia's unique wildlife and the essential habitat needed for them to survive. Berrinba Sanctuary - on the edge of Logan not far from Karawatha Forest which is part the recently gazetted wildlife corridor Flinders Karawatha Corridor - is home to many such flora and fauna.  

Meet Alex Harris at Berrinba Sanctuary open day 15 December 2012.

If you are new to becoming engaged in helping to save Australia's iconic koala you may not yet know the name. She is responsible for developing an amazing online website and tool to allow citizen scientists all over Australia to record their sightings. Come along to Berrinba Sanctuary open day 15 December 2012 and meet her and hear first hand about Koalatracker which is Australia's first national crowdsourced koala map.     

 This amazing tool has been provided for us all to use. So lets all become  KoalaTrackers so we can report koala sightings, view the koala map, view member photo galleries, use resources and search the database to learn more about koalas in our area and more.

CLICK HERE OR ON IMAGE ABOVE TO GO TO THE WEBSITE. Also provided there are phone numbers for sick or injured koalas.

Logan's Berrimba Sanctuary - 90 hectares of pristine koala habitat - makes it's

official opening

Saturday 15 December from 1.00 pm to 4.00pm

You and your friends and family are invited to come along and join the celebrations.

Free entry. Free parking. Santa's free gifts for every child.

Opportunity to join FRIENDS OF BERRINBA SANCTUARY, the KOALA ARMY with AKF Australian Koala Foundation and hopefully - yet to be confirmed - register for training as volunteer for Logan's new WILDLIFE AMBULANCE administered through RSPCA.

See flyer here.  Berrinba_Sanctuary_Open_Day_Flyer.pdf

FUN, FOOD, WILDLIFE Display, including captive bred QUOLL, singing featuring Lauren Lee Innis-Youren, speakers, raffles and opportunity to win family pass to Movieworld.

And the best ever Xmas present would be to see a resident koala taking

his or her daytime nap high up in a nearby tree.

While this is not guaranteed it is possible as current family members and sanctuary stewards see koalas on a regugular basis. 6 were seen and reported during  the recent weekend koala survey.

Displays / information  /speakers  from Berrimba Sanctuary, registered with HSI Human Society International, Logan and Albert Conservation Association LACA, Brisbane Region Environment Council, BREC, B.I.R.O, education and care group for all birds injured rehabitated and orphaned based in Logan, Save Bahrs Scrub Alliance SBSA, and others to be confirmed.

Six koalas were spotted at Berrinba Sanctuary during the koala count day and reported as far away as South Australia where their GREAT KOALA COUNT is planned for Novenber 28. Also check  their FACEBOOK page for more information. The koalas in South Australia are larger than Queensland koalas and have different genetics.

The image aside was taken outside the survey days.

A mother and its young and 2 males were identified indicating a healthy breeding koala colony.

90 hectares of pristine koala habitat with a healthy population is an environmentally significant biodiversity asset for Logan City and indeed the world.

This property is adjacent to Berrinba Wetlands which, according to Logan City Council is being preserved by design with 80 of 120 hectares being protected and rehabilitated. While Council's intentions here may be commendable it is disconcerting that future planning for the  adjacent 90 hectares of natural bushland - having the same or more environmental values is not so fortunate. 

It is of great concern to our conservation group Logan and Albert Conservation Association LACA that most planning is done without adequate knowledge of the biodiversity and ecosystem services present across the landscape. It is also disconcerting that landscapes without human habitat - greenfield areas, are regarded as available for development. To have a major freight motorway dissect koala habitat is untenable.

Such is the case for Berrinba Sanctuary.  The HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL (HSI) / Wildlife Land Trust (WLT) recently added the Browns plains property to those other properties  being managed as WILDIFE SANCTUARIES - 47 in Queensland covering19,947 hectares. 

Some of the values and biodiversity present at Berrinba Sanctuary are available at this page. The longterm survival of this group of koalas is vital to the survival of koalas in Logan and Southest Queensland.

What are your / our values and vision for Logan? Do they include natural landscape areas - connected across the lanscape for safe animal movement - or are we letting someone else decide for us? If we are not mindful then we are in danger of having our paradise paved.

Did you see FOUR CORNERS KOALA KRUNCH TIME?

What a dismal future is "planned" for our koala populations in SEQ!

LACA members would agree with Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke's statement that "the states on their own have allowed numbers to continue to go into freefall." While this rapid decline in numbers may be attributed to development, cars, dogs, disease and climate change the real picture must also include the lack of political will to make decisions and legislation that will be loudly opposed by the development industry. The decades of work done by the Australian Koala Foundation - funded by community was instrumental in the EPBC protection coming about.

The image above shows community protest outside property DTMR wants to acquire to build a road freight motorway - called Park Ridge Connector Corridor. This property is currently shared with resident koalas and other species. It also shares many species and values of Berrinba Wetlands and Karawatha Forest.

Why would government want to pave any of this?

We - ie all governing bodies and communities of people who share koala land - need to preserve all koala habitat currently used - and take preventative action to retain the ecosytem containing the food trees. The mantra NO TREE NO ME is absolutely true.

It is a shameful indictment on the Gold Coast city that the Coomera development has occurred. The so called scientific research re translocation is a furphy to obtain funding. It does not  justify clearing koala habitat to build houses and infrastructure for people! To make matters worse Gold Coast council has recently decided to place a protection order on two camphor laurel trees - an environmental weed species. What persuaded them? Someone chained to a tree for two days.

The Logan and Albert Conservation Association (LACA) does not support the use of critical ecosystems and habitat, wetland areas or areas of biodiversity for transport infrastructure corridors.

LACA does not support the degradation or loss of habitat, wetlands, biodiversity, or ecological corridors. For these reasons, LACA does not support any road corridor or any other infrastructure corridor that would degrade and remove the biodiversity, habitat or ecosystem functions and services for the area between the Logan Motorway and the Logan River.

LACA recognizes the value of protecting critical habitats, ecosystems, wetlands, riparian areas and biodiversity assets such as those at Karawatha Forest, Berrinba, 'Rosicrucian' land, Scrubby Creek, habitat that remains south of the Logan Motorway, Jerry's Downfall Reserve, Chambers Creek and the Logan River and its tributaries.

Calculation of the potential future carbon footrprint and offset now and in the future and providing this information to the community for accountability is essential to evaluate viability.

Investment in developing a SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT PLAN which will reduce need to construct any further roads for motor vehicles including public transport options, comprehensive bicycle / motorized scooters/wheelchair lanes and independent mobility devices for disabled should be considered as a viable alternative to new motorways.

Globally many countries are applying The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity [TEEB] PRINCIPLES to account for real cost of exploitation of natural environment for built infrastructure. These reports are available at www.teebweb.org. Our local and state governments would find these useful tools for evaluating loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

As a member of the CSRG LACA submitted OUR ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES. See them here. environmental_values_LACA_PARK_RIDGE_CONNECTOR_ROAD.pdf 142.99 Kb 05/11/2011, 12:54