Council directive for Burrawang Reserve

Gosford Council has directed its staff not to carry out any further work in the Burrawang Bushland Reserve without prior consultation with the Burrawang Reserve committee.

The council resolution follows the identification of an endangered community of plants in the reserve.

It also follows the second incident in three months in which Council work in the reserve has drawn criticism from the committee for its insensitivity.

An ecological consultant engaged by Gosford Council has found that part of the Burrawang Bushland Reserve contains an endangered community of plants.

"The advice from the ecological consultant was that an area of vegetation in the Hillview St reserve opposite Florida Ave, Woy Woy, is consistent with the Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland ecological community," the council was told in a staff report.

The reserve, owned by the Department of Land and Water Conservation but controlled by Council, will now be assessed for reclassification as a "reserve for environmental protection" from recreation land which "does not necessarily protect the site from other uses by the Crown".

The department's Maitland office recommended that a formal land assessment be undertaken according to guidelines for "rapid assessment of environmental significance of leasehold land".

The assessment is due to start next month.

Identification of the endangered ecological community within the reserve also meant that the National Parks and Wildlife Service was required under the Threatened Species Conservation Act to prepare a "recovery plan".

"Recovery plans outline the actions that government departments and other organisations have agreed upon to help the recovery of the species, population or ecological community," the council was told.

"Recovery plans are designed to return the threatened species, population or ecological community to a point where their survival is viable in nature."

Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland is a low woodland dominated by trees of Eucalyptus botryoides (Southern Mahogany) and Angophora floribunda (Roughbarked Apple) with a diverse understorey of sclerophyllous shrubs species including Banksia serrata (Saw Banksia), Banksia integrifolia (Coast Banksia) Macrozamia communis (Burrawang), and Acacia ulicifolia (Prickly Moses).

The woodland was included as an endangered ecological community under the Threatened Species Conservation Act in December.

"While only five occurrences of the Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland (totalling less than two hectares) have been identified in the determination of the Scientific Committee, it is possible that other remnants of the ecological community exist," the council was told.

"Remnants are very small and threatened by mowing and slashing, weed invasion, sand extraction and modified fire regimes."

At the same meeting, the council's Tree Preservation Committee added trees in the reserve to the Council's tree register.

Council agenda EP.004, February 4