New drone footage obtained by Lock the Gate Alliance confirms a colony of koalas in the path of Yancoal’s planned Moolarben coal mine expansion near Mudgee is a breeding population of the endangered and iconic Australian marsupial.
Late last year, Lock the Gate conducted specialised thermal drone surveys of bushland within and adjacent to the Moolarben expansion. Four koalas were observed, including a mother and joey.
The footage is available here, and a map identifying where the koalas were observed in relation to the mine expansion lease application area is available here. The full report on the drone survey is available on request.
Yancoal has already come under fire for its plans to bulldoze koala habitat for its expansion, and the company’s own environment report noted the population is likely to be “critical to the survival of the species” in NSW as fossil-fuel driven global heating worsens.
Despite this, Yancoal has so far refused to significantly modify its expansion, and still plans to clear 113 hectares of koala habitat, and 80 hectares of critically endangered Regent Honeyeater habitat (See page 126 of Yancoal’s Updated Biodiversity Development Assessment Report).
Mudgee-region citizen scientist Mick Boller, who has an interest in koalas and has documented local colonies, said, “I’m shocked that mining is allowed to continue in an area where an endangered species is located. Unfortunately it’s not the first occasion where this has happened in NSW.
“It's critical that koala habitat is protected. The NSW Government should make this area inaccessible to further mining.”
Lock the Gate Alliance National Coordinator Carmel Flint said, “Our drone footage shows several koalas, including a mother and joey, within and right next to the Moolarben coal mine expansion area.
“This demonstrates the heartbreaking reality of Yancoal’s plans - if the NSW Minns Government approves this coal project, it will be giving Yancoal permission to bulldoze habitat that is home to a breeding colony of koalas.
“Yancoal’s own research shows this colony is critical to the survival of koalas in NSW and it has been noted that the population has already survived drought and bushfire, highlighting just how important it is to the conservation of the species in NSW.
“Koala populations across NSW are declining at a shocking rate, due to direct clearing of habitat and extreme weather fuelled by climate change.
“Our koalas need all the help they can get and the Minns Government can start by protecting this very important population from being destroyed to make way for a coal project that would fuel yet more extreme weather and drive them further towards extinction.”
ENDS