Logan and Albert Conservation Association
KOALAS FACE LOCAL EXTINCTION IN LOGAN!
Yarrabilba and Flagstone housing estates high on koala black spot list reports Sarah Orr, from Quest Newspapers January 2, 2017
Australian Koala Foundation chief executive Deborah Tabart says that new housing estates such as Yarrabilba and Flagstone were high on the koala black spot list. These fears echo and re-inforce the worst fears of the Logan and Albert Conservation Association and local group Logan Community Environment Watch.
Ms Tabart was pushing for a freeze on habitat clearing. She said koalas in Logan were “functionally extinct” meaning the population may never recover.
“I’ve seen committee after committee and the core problems don’t go away because we keep cutting habitat down,” she said.
“The Queensland Government will never impose constraints on the developer because that’s where they get their money.” She said she was not surprised rescue groups reported their “worst season ever” for deaths and injuries.
Habitat loss seems to be increasing daily with the planned $750 million southeast Queensland resort complex to be built by a Chinese property developer in a koala habitat area seeks permission to increase its approved 500-unit project on the site to 1500 units.
The areas of proposed clearing for human settlement continues with the most recent application by MIRVAC at Greenbank East
Why is it so difficult to live in harmony with our wildlife?
It happens in Logan on a small scale if 200 acres /90 hectares is small. Here a family property was established in 1930s and some generations later the same family continues to live in harmony with nature and all its species. The property has recently registered with a voluntary conservation covenant to become part of Humane Society International (HSI) / Wildlife Land Trust (WLT). It is also part of Logan City's Land for Wildlife.
Deborah Tabart OAM, CEO of the Australian Koala Foundation spoke to the group who came together to celebrate Save the Koala month and pledge ongoing support to actions to gain changes in legislation to protect the koala and its habitat.
It is unconsionable that both DTMR and Logan City believe that a future road though this properties - and others - is in the best interests of the community.
Deborah Tabart OAM, CEO of Australian Koala Foundation will spend the morning of Save the Koala Day, this Friday 28 September visiting Ms Barbara Robinson, a local Berrinba resident concerned about the potential loss of Koala habitat around her property - as a result of a new road.
Ms Robinson will be presented with a Koala Habitat Atlas Map of her surrounding area. Deborah believes the map will justify Ms Robinson's argument in her bid to not only protect her personal property from fragmentation but to protect the immense amount of Koala habitat in surrounding areas which are under considerable threat from powerlines and urban expansion. Ms. Tabart – The Koala Woman – says this is a classic example of where Government maps are wrong and the developers are just allowed to bulldoze their way though sensitive habitats.
"Government maps say the land is not worth protecting, but I challenge Minister for the Environment; Andrew Powell, to show me why this road should go ahead" said Ms. Tabart.
Read AKF media release here. 
save_the_koala_day_deborahs_footsteps26-09-2012.pdf
Read more about Deborah Tabart – The Koala Woman
Sign on tree above indicates that this particular tree is favoured by resident koalas and is marked by scats and tracks ie koala poo under and many scratch marks on tree trunk. Book Tracks, Scats and Other Traces is an indispensable tool for bushwalkers, naturalists, students, zoologists, and anyone wanting a better understanding of Australia's unique mammal fauna. Details here.
Protecting and preserving our habitats and ecosystems is essential to the survival of all wildlife. Every acre left unexploited safeguards wildlife that desperately needs our help to survive. The role of private lands has now become an integral part of the solution, and private landholders with a concern for wildlife and habitat protection are in the unique and important position to make a very real contribution to conservation efforts across the country. Read more about donating your land here.
It is unfortunate that planning for Logan and South East Queensland has happened - and is still happening - before sufficient data is known about biodiversity values. What is worse is that an imaginary line drawn on a map such as in SEQ Reginal Plan 2009-2031 and Connecting SEQ 2031 could lead to such extreme fragmentation of the landscape sliced and diced by roads without provision for wildlife that local extinction of many species will be inevitable.
LACA is a member of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative a landscape-scale conservation corridor that stretches from the Grampians in Victoria to far north Queensland.