Conservationists have warned the endangered greater glider faces “death by a thousand cuts” and is “the flagship species for the failures of all levels of government”, amid concerns over major development of homes on the Gold Coast.
About 30 percent of the glider’s largest habitat burned in the Black Summer wildfires of 2019, and the federal government listed the species as endangered in June of this year.
Now conservationists have raised concerns that the $1.5 billion SkyRidge housing development on the Gold Coast could put almost half of the region’s largest glider population at risk of extinction.
“It’s basically a death by a thousand cuts,” Wildlife Queensland project manager Paul Revie said.
“It may not seem like much when you take it as a single thing, but when you look at the cumulative impact of all these developments removing small populations of larger gliders here and there, you’re talking about a really substantial decline.”
But a Skyridge spokesman said the project met “stringent” state and federal approval conditions “based on nearly 10 years of ecological studies and analysis” with efforts to mitigate habitat loss ongoing.
A larger glider found in burnt bush after the fires in Ulladulla. (Provided by George Lemann)
Surveys of developers
Jessica Lovegrove-Walsh has led conservation efforts in Nerang National Park, one of the two main population pockets for the Gold Coast’s Greater Glider, according to council mapping.
The second population is within an area of almost 350 hectares in Worongary that is being cleared for the SkyRidge development.
“These larger gliders that exist in the western section of SkyRidge will be pushed, moved, into the surrounding bushland which consists of some council reserves that are protected,” Lovegrove-Walsh said.
This Greater Glider was seen in Nerang National Park. (Downunder Photographers)
“But these reserves are not large enough to support a viable population of greater gliders, and because they are small, it means they also have a lot of urban pressures around them.”
However, a spokesman for SkyRidge, which aims to build 3,500 homes in the area over 15 years, said surveys carried out by the developer “have identified and are helping to map the largest glider within the site”.
“The project’s ecologists identified this species as being of concern long before the state or Commonwealth government listed the species as threatened in 2021,” the spokesman said.
Much of the SkyRidge development area had been scrub that was also used for cattle grazing. (ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale)
“In fact, the data from this survey has fed into government records and understanding of the species at the local level.”
The spokesman said the land clearing took place “under strict management protocols and under the direction of Queensland Government licensed wildlife trappers who carry out pre-clearance surveys, assist during the clearing work and participate in the post-construction results for all native fauna.”
More mitigation is needed, conservationists say
To compensate for the loss of habitat, the SkyRidge spokesman said a “26.6ha green column conservation corridor with a minimum width of 100m” would run through the estate.
“This conservation area is situated in the center of a waterway where the site’s mature trees retain the most intact features and create gaps for the larger glider,” they said.
The 342-acre SkyRidge development includes a 26-acre conservation corridor. (Provided by: SkyRidge)
But Paul Revie said that while this corridor was “good for a lot of wildlife”, it would not provide a large enough habitat for greater gliders, even with nearby reserves.
“They need an area of about 160 hectares is what the research tells us at this stage,” he said.
“Individual animals within a fairly small range of 2 or 3 hectares can use up to 18 or 20 hollows – they need different hollows for different temperatures at different times of the year.
“While this population might persist for five, 10, maybe even 15 or 20 years, they are unfortunately doomed to die a slow extinction.”
The SkyRidge spokesman said 77 nest boxes would also be installed to mitigate the loss of mature hollow trees, which make up most of the glider’s largest habitat.
An artificial hollow, or nest box, installed in Nerang National Park. (Provided: Friends of Nerang National Park)
But Lovegrove-Walsh, who founded Friends of Nerang National Park, said she had been installing similar artificial hollows or nests in the park about 5km north of SkyRidge with mixed results.
“Larger gliders are notoriously picky when it comes to artificial voids. They need a purer environment,” he said.
“Larger gliders need these large tree hollows, which take more than 250 years to form.”
Wider concerns about the “teddy bear”
The latest State of the Environment report describes the country’s environment as being in a “poor and deteriorating state”, and the federal government adopted a new target to protect 30% of Australia’s land by to 2030.
Ms Lovegrove-Walsh said this should promote a rethinking of land clearance.
“They are [greater gliders] making us a flagship species for the failures of all levels of government to protect our threatened species habitat,” he said.
Jessica Lovegrove-Walsh started Friends of Nerang National Park to manage invasive species and promote conservation. (ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale)
“If an animal such as the greater glider is listed as vulnerable or endangered after the development application is approved, there is no retrospective application that needs to happen.”
Although “they’re like teddy bears in the treetops,” Mr. Revie said the larger glider played a bigger conservation role.
“They’re basically an indicator that the health of our ecosystems, those eucalypt ecosystems that make up a large swath of eastern Australia, is slowly declining and deteriorating,” he said.
“This has impacts not just on greater gliders, but on all the animals that depend on these forests.”
Bushland at the western end of the SkyRidge estate needs to be cleared. (ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale)
A spokesman for the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning said it was “highly likely” that existing environmental conditions at Skyridge would mitigate impacts on the larger glider.
The greater glider has been listed in the Gold Coast City’s priority species conservation program, along with 29 other animals, including the koala.
A spokesman for the City of Gold Coast said the state government’s general environmental conditions apply to SkyRidge rather than the local city plan.