Check your site: Changes to koala, essential habitat, and wetland mapping MSES
Changes have been made to Regulated Vegetation Management Maps wetland, high-value growth, and essential habitat mapping that may affect your sites. These are changes to Matters of State Environmental Significance (MSES) regulated vegetation – MSES strategic environmental areas (SEA).
Members are encouraged to check if their sites are affected noting changes may have implications even if a development approval is in place.
The changes include:
- a 2.8% increase (113,311 ha) in area to wetland mapping
- Category C areas (high value regrowth) have increased in area by 1.3% (14,266 ha) largely due to alignment with the koala habitat mapping
- Essential habitat mapping updates have been made to incorporate newly listed protected species such as three Macadamia species
- MSES SEA – with the release of the North Queensland Regional Plan, the DSDMIP updated the SEA for the region including the “designated precinct”
- changes do not affect areas shown as Category X on existing Property Maps of Assessable Vegetation (PMAVs)
- PMAVs certified up until March 2020. The vegetation mapping will continue to be updated monthly to incorporate certified PMAVs
- no material changes to Category A or B (remnant) areas.
The changes came into effect on May 20. Further information is available on updates here.
If you have any questions, please contact Policy Manager, Martin Zaltron via mzaltron@udiaqld.com.au or (07) 3229 1589.