Koala Management Plan template

Contents

Introduction

Plantations

Section 1 – Responsibilities

Section 2 – Training and capability

Section 3 – Planning

Section 4 – Operations

Section 5 - Koala welfare

Section 6 - Evaluation and review

Appendices

Appendix 1 – Double Count Koala Survey Methodology

Appendix 2 – Minimum requirements for koala spotters

Appendix 3 - Acronyms, abbreviations and definitions

Update the table of contents prior to submitting to DELWP for review.

Introduction

Koalas (Phascolarctoscinereus) are protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975 (Wildlife Act). Koalas are widespread in the Blue-gum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantations in the Green Triangle Region of Victoria and authorisation from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is required to disturb them during plantation management operations in this region.

This Koala Management Plan supports the authorisation to disturb koalas and sets out the requirements for training and induction of staff, planning plantation management operations, undertaking plantation management operations, addressing the welfare of impacted koalas and review of this plan.

It is mandatory that the approved Koala Management Plan is implemented. Failure to comply with the approved Koala Management Plan or the conditions of the authorisation to disturb koalas may result in the authorisation being revoked and/or compliance action being taken by DELWP.

Plantations

This Koala Management Plan applies to operations undertaken in the following plantations:

<Insert list of plantations>

You can add any additional information to this section that is not covered by the sections 1-6.

Information provided could include:

  • background information about your company
  • information about your plantation estate and the situation regarding koalas in your plantations
  • information on related documents etc.

Section 1 – Responsibilities

Objective: All personnel involved in plantation management activities know their responsibilities for koala management and welfare and are able to perform the required tasks to minimise koala welfare risks.

1.1Nominated Person responsible for the Koala Management Plan

Following is the person who has been nominated as responsible for maintaining, implementing and reviewing the Koala Management Plan. This person will be the main contact for DELWP in relation to this plan. DELWP must be notified by email within 48hrs if a new person is appointed in this role.
Name:
Position title:
Telephone (office):
Telephone (mobile):
Email:

1.2Induction to the Koala Management Plan and responsibilities of personnel

All personnel must receive an induction to this Koala Management Plan and be made aware of their responsibilities under this Koala Management Plan and their legislative responsibilities under POCTA and the Wildlife Act. All personnel must sign a declaration stating that they have received an induction to the Koala Management Plan and been made aware of their responsibilities. Copies of the signed declarations must be kept and made available to a DELWP Authorised Officer on request.

In this section you must provide information that demonstrates how you will ensure that all personnel will receive an induction to the Koala Management Plan and be made aware of their responsibilities under the plan and relevant legislation.

Information provided could include:

  • timing of inductions for existing staff
  • timing of inductions for new staff
  • who will provide the induction
  • what topics the induction will cover
  • how participation in the induction will be recorded
  • how induction records will be kept etc.

A summary of relevant offences under POCTA and the Wildlife Act is available in Appendix 8 of the fact sheet.

1.3Responsibilities when there is a change of plantation owner or manager and koalas remain on site

If there is going to be a change of owner/manager of a plantation and koalas remain on site, any ongoing owner or manager of a plantation must be made aware of the following:
  1. the estimated number of koalas remaining on site
  2. their responsibilities under POCTA and the Wildlife Act, and
  3. that authorisation under the Wildlife Act may be required if management of retained trees/coppice is undertaken and koalas are present.
DELWP must be notified who the ongoing owner/manager will be and that they have been notified of items a-c above.

In this section you must provide information that demonstrates how you will make ongoing owners or managers aware of the above.

Information provided could include:

  • when you provide this information to the ongoing owner/manager
  • what information you will provide
  • who will provide the information to the ongoing owner/manager
  • how you will provide the information to the ongoing owner/manager
  • how you will notify DELWP who the ongoing owner/manager will be

A summary of relevant offences under POCTA and the Wildlife Act is available in Appendix 8 of the fact sheet.

Section 2 – Training and capability

Objective: There is an effective training regime that ensures all relevant personnel (staff and contractors) are capable of performing their duties such that koala welfare is protected and impacts on koalas are minimised.

2.1Development of training materials

Training materials must be developed in consultation with an animal welfare expert. If training materials are revised they must be provided to DELWP for review and approval prior to the training being implemented.

In this section you must provide information that demonstrates how you will consult with an animal welfare expert if your training materials are revised and how you will provide the materials to DELWP for review prior to implementing the revised training.

Information provided could include:

  • who will revise the training
  • why training may be revised
  • who will be consulted during the development of the revised training
  • the process for providing the materials to DELWP prior to implementation (eg. who is responsible, when it will be done, how it will be done)

2.2 Provision of training and training records

All personnel must receive appropriate training for their roles and responsibilities regarding koala management, including koala behaviour, detection, welfare assessments, euthanasia and handling of koalas. Records of training must be kept and provided to a DELWP Authorised Officer on request.

In this section you must provide information that demonstrates how you will ensure that all personnel receive appropriate training for their roles and responsibilities regarding koala management and how records will be kept.

Note: Not all personnel need to receive training in all aspects of koala management listed above. The training an individual staff member receives must be consistent with how their role relates to koala management and what they will be expected to do. For example, if a machinery operator is not expected to undertake welfare assessments then they would not need to receive training in this aspect of koala management.

Information provided could include:

  • the training requirements of each role
  • who will conduct the training
  • information on topics covered for each role
  • resources required for training
  • when the training will be undertaken
  • how you will determine an individual’s competence in relation to the training provided
  • how often training will be provided (e.g. refresher training)
  • how training records will be completed and kept etc.

Section 3 – Planning

Objective 1: Ensure that when planning plantation operations, the welfare of koalas during and post-operations is considered.

Objective 2: Koala density and distribution in plantations is known in order to improve the Owner/Manager’s management response and management of koalas in the landscape.

3.1Risk assessments

Risk assessments must be conducted that identify potential risks to koalas from plantation management operations, including stress, injury, exposure, death and orphaning of joeys, and options to mitigate these risks. Risk assessments must be included in plantation management operations plans.

In this section you must provide information that demonstrates how you will conduct risk assessments that identify potential risks to koalas from plantation management operations and options to mitigate these risks.

For each type of plantation management operation that may pose a risk to koalas (e.g. harvesting, roading, fire treatment, mechanical coppice management, etc.), you must consider each activity within that operation and whether it poses a risk to koalas. Use the outcome of your koala population assessments to determine if the risk is amplified due to higher densities of koalas and if the mitigation actions will be sufficient to address the risk. If it is identified that the activity may pose a risk to koalas then at least one mitigation option must be identified.

For example, for harvesting operations you might identify that koalas may be at risk due to the following activities:

  • being run over by machinery or trucks
  • being in a tree that is felled
  • being in a tree that is hit by a tree that is felled
  • entering felled timber on the ground

For each of these individual risks you would then identify how you will mitigate the risk, e.g. notifying truck drivers and machinery operators to watch for koalas on the ground or using spotters if truck drivers or machinery is moving through a plantation, using spotters to identify and mark trees with koalas as per the spotting procedure, using spotters to monitor identified koalas to ensure they do not move into felled timber etc.

Note: This Koala Management Plan can have one general risk assessment that covers all operations in all of your plantation. However, if there is a plantation which poses additional risks to koalas, for example due to the terrain requiring different methods of operations, or planned use of onsite chipping for a particular plantation etc. then an individual risk assessment must be conducted for the relevant operations in that individual plantation.

3.2Plantation management operation plans

Plantation management operation plans must consider the following information in order to minimise impacts to koalas:
  1. koala density based on the results of the koala population assessment
  2. harvest rate and harvest system used
  3. presence of appropriate neighbouring remnant native vegetation or Blue-gum plantation that the koalas may disperse to
  4. sequence of harvest to prevent isolating populations from neighbouring habitat, and
  5. plantation management operations in neighbouring plantations and their potential impacts on koalas.

In this section you must provide information that demonstrates how your plantation management operation plans will consider the above in order to minimise impacts to koalas.

Information provided could include:

  • how you will use the koala density to plan operations (e.g. specifying types of machinery used, number of spotters used at start of operations at different densities)
  • how you will consider what habitat surrounds the plantation (e.g. using maps etc.)
  • process for planning direction and sequence of harvest depending on surrounding habitat
  • how you will determine what operations may be happening in neighbouring plantations

3.3 Welfare of koalas remaining on site after operations

Plantation management operations must be planned to ensure the welfare of koalas remaining on site after operations have ceased. This must include facilitating the safe dispersal of koalas into surrounding habitat or survival of koalas in retained refuge within the plantation. If dispersal into surrounding habitat is not possible, the amount of plantation likely to be needed to be retained for koala refuge must be considered.

In this section you must provide information that demonstrates how you will plan plantation management operations to ensure the welfare of koalas remaining on site after operations.

Information provided should include:

  • how you will facilitate the safe dispersal of koala into surrounding habitat
  • how you will consider the amount of plantation likely to be needed to be retained for koala refuge if dispersal is not possible. An example of the type of information you could provide in relation to this second point is:

‘In plantations where dispersal into surrounding habitat is not possible due to a lack of connectivity with native forest or other plantations, XYZ Company is aware that as harvesting progresses the koala density is likely to increase significantly as the koalas move into a smaller area of plantation that has not yet been harvested. For these plantations, XYZ Company will use the results of the koala population assessments to consider the likely koala density towards the end of harvesting when a small amount of plantation remains.

Once the koala density reaches a point where harvesting cannot continue without the risk of incidents increasing to unacceptable levels, then harvesting will cease. In plantations found to have higher koala densities during the pre-harvest surveys, this is likely to be when a greater area of plantation has not yet been harvested, compared to plantations found to have lower koala densities.

XYZ Company will return to the plantation a month after harvesting ceases to determine if koalas have voluntarily moved to allow additional trees to be harvested from the groups of 9 retained trees surrounding individual koalas and the area of plantation left when harvesting ceased due to the increased risk to koalas.’

Section 4 – Operations

Objective: Ensure koala welfare and minimise the impacts on koalas during and post operations conducted in plantations.

4.1 Koala detection and retention of trees during operations

Systems must be in place during and post operations to maximise detection of koalas using an effective methodology. If spotters are to be used, the requirements in Appendix 2 must be used at a minimum. Approval must be sought from DELWP for methods that do not involve spotters.
The koala detection methodology must demonstrate that the following requirements will be met:
  1. Detection methods must be implemented within one hour prior to operations commencing.
  2. All koala detection checks and koalas located must be recorded.
  3. When a koala is detected prior to or during harvesting, a minimum of nine live trees must be retained per koala. The tree in which the koala is located should be in the centre of the retained trees. Retained trees must only be harvested once koalas are no longer present.
  4. When a koala is detected prior to or during coppice management operations, a minimum of nine live stumps must be retained per koala. The stump in which the koala is located should be in the centre of the retained stumps. Retained stumps must only be removed or treated once koalas are no longer present.
  5. Trees/stumps where koalas are located and the additional trees/stumps to be retained must be clearly marked using a standardised marking system that is clearly visible to machinery operators.
  6. Felling of trees likely to impact any tree in a retained clump must be directed away from the clump and the koala tree.
  7. Where koalas are detected they must be monitored by a spotter until the operation is complete to ensure they do not move into the path of the machinery.
  8. Where felled timber with retained foliage remains on site and there is an interruption in harvesting, or the timber will be left on the ground for three hours or more prior to processing, checks of the felled timber must be made prior to operations resuming to ensure that koalas are not present in the felled timber.
  9. The amount of remaining refuge left for koalas in a plantation when an operation is completed must be recorded and provided to DELWP.

In this section you must provide your koala detection procedures that meet the requirements identified above. If spotters are to be used, the requirements in Appendix 2 must be used at a minimum. If a methodology other than spotters will be used, you must seek approval of the methodology from DELWP prior to the methodology being implemented.

The methodology must clearly demonstrate that it will meet or exceed the requirements in the minimum spotting procedure in Appendix 2 and will maximise the detection of koalas prior to and during harvesting or coppice management.

4.2 Spraying herbicides or pesticides

When spraying trees or coppice with pesticides or herbicides, spraying must be conducted in such a way that spray drift onto koalas and retained trees/stumps is minimised.

In this section you must demonstrate how you will conduct spraying of trees or coppice with pesticides or herbicides in a way that minimises spray drift onto koalas and retained trees/stumps.

Information provided could include:

  • Types of pesticides or herbicides used
  • Spraying procedure (equipment used, method of spraying when koalas are present etc.)

Section 5 - Koala welfare

Objective: That injured or orphaned koalas are managed in a humane manner.

5.1Koala welfare assessment process

A koala welfare assessment process must be in place which includes checking koalas in trees and on the ground for injuries and unusual behaviour. Koalas in trees must be observed using binoculars. The welfare assessment process must include undertaking assessments at the operational site:
  1. at the end of each day during plantation management operations
  2. one day post-completion of all operations at the site
  3. three days post-completion of all operations at the site, and
  4. between 5 and 7 days post-completion of all operations at the site.
The welfare assessment records must be kept and send to DELWP as soon as practicable after the assessment, preferably within 24hrs, using the DELWP welfare assessment reporting template.

In this section you must provide your koala welfare assessment process which meets the requirements identified above.

Your welfare assessment must also include record keeping and a process to send the results to DELWP as soon as practicable after the assessment, preferably within 24hrs, using the DELWP welfare assessment reporting template.

It is recommended that you consult with a wildlife rehabilitator experienced in the rehabilitation of koalas, or an experienced vet regarding indications of injuries in koalas when developing your assessment process.