The koala procreation season and car crashes

Speeding combustion engines are one of the major threats to unarmoured koalas. No road is ever wide enough for vehicles in the Bellingen/Gleniffer area. Road signage is regularly knocked down and speeding is the 24/7 norm.

Koalas like to meet up between June and December. This is the time when the marsupials are forced to negotiate a fragmented habitat of roads, settlements and degraded logging sites.

Switch on your 'car brain' and consider others.
>>
https://friendsofthekoala.org/koalas-and-cars/
#cars #roads #motorists #NSW #biodiversity #koalas #RoadTrauma #Bellingen #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #BellingenShire #SignageKnockedDown #enforcement #MobilityDesign

Pet owners allow their dogs to roam and attack wildlife

"A plea for dog owners who visit or live in the bush to do the right thing and keep their pets under supervision...A veteran animal rescuer is being inundated with injured and orphaned animals that have been attacked by pet dogs."
https://au.news.yahoo.com/sad-find-in-dam-sparks-warning-about-daily-problem-in-aussie-bush-073743963.html
#pets #dogs #wildlife #Biodiversity #BellingenShire #Bellingen #IntroducedAnimals

"We're a biodiversity hotspot, but we won't be if we cover the whole of it in suburbia."

"If you're putting roads through koala habitat, you see more car strikes.

If you're building houses in there, you get more dog attacks,

and ultimately also the more koalas are compressed, you see higher stress in the population, and that results in less resilience and greater disease."

"The science is clear. We need to [be building] up, not out. The most important thing councils can do is protect the habitat that's there and be involved in restoring areas."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-12/drone-survey-researching-koala-populations-endangered-animals/105279284
#biodiversity #koalas #EndangeredSpecies #RemnantVegetation #NativeForests #sprawl #roads #cars #dogs #BellingenShire #suburbia #SettlerSociety

Remember the Urunga wetlands waste tailings rich in antimony, arsenic, lead and cyanide?

"For five years in the 1960s and 1970s, antimony and other heavy metals leached from an ore processing plant into the melaleuca wetlands. The wetlands used to open up into a moonscape of light grey sand with not a single bit of vegetation."
>>
https://www.crownland.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/Urunga-Wetlands-fact-sheet.pdf
https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-5357%2120190227T035916.488%20GMT

Now they want to go for Wild Cattle Creek 'high-grade and high-tonnage' antimony-gold mining >>
https://www.listcorp.com/asx/tmg/trigg-minerals-limited/news/acquisition-of-globally-significant-antimony-project-3091939.html

A Clarence Catchment Alliance community meeting

is being hosted by the Bellingen Environment Centre,
with Blicks River Guardians and Lock the Gate Nambucca,
from 2pm on Friday May 31 at 16 Cudgery St, Dorrigo.
>>
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/clarence-catchment-alliance-community-meeting/
#NSW #Dorrigo #Urunga #remediation #CoffsHarbour #mining #antimony #gold #extractivism #harm #WildCattleCreek #WCC #water #contamination #wetlands #rivers #waterways #freshwater #MarineWater #platypus #biodiversity #BellingenShire

Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution

"The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling...Between 2005 and 2024, levels of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter — two of the most harmful pollutants to human health — have been slashed by 50% and 55%, respectively.”

"City leaders including Mayor Anne Hidalgo have been making a concerted effort to pedestrianize parts of the city, improve bike infrastructure, and promote active transportation in the French capital."
>>
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2025/04/134769-paris-bike-boom-leads-steep-drop-air-pollution
#cars #pollution #harm #air #cycling #pedestrians #BellingenShire #Australia #ActiveTransport #climate

Careless drivers knocking down signage II

Cnr of #RosesRoad, John Locke Pl. Ever since the #GlenifferRoad 'upgrade'. No road is ever wide enough.
#Cars #speeding #roads #motorists #Bellingen #speeding #BellingenShire #inaction #gleniffer #koalas #RecklessDriving

Many pet owners move to the country just so their dogs can roam in wildlife habitat

"We moved to the country to give our rescued working dogs a better life."
74% of Australians own introduced species as pets.
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/14/we-moved-to-the-country-to-give-our-rescued-working-dogs-a-better-life
#dogs #pets #biodiversity #canines #IntroducedSpecies #wildlife #conservation #OffLeash #BellingenShire

Roaming extinction makers: cats

"The Threatened Species Recovery Hub estimates cats kill 1.9m reptiles, 1.2m birds, 3.2m mammals, 3m invertebrates and at least 250,000 frogs every day, with pet and urban roaming cats responsible for about 32% of the wildlife death toll. Cats have contributed to the extinction of more than two-thirds of the 34 Australian mammal species lost since colonisation, and have been complicit in the decline of local populations of birds in many cities. In 2023, the Nature Conservation Council, Invasive Species Council, Birdlife Australia, Wires and the Australian Wildlife Society called for local councils to enforce anti-roaming laws for pet cats."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/feb/23/you-cant-ban-compassion-helping-stray-cats-is-in-much-of-australia-but-for-some-its-worth-the-risk
#cats #pets #extinction #biodiversity #wildlife #BellingenShire

Road and dog density contribute to the extinction of koalas

Road and highway density (road length per square kilometer) and an aggregation of domestic dogs leads to the demise of the marsupial through vehicle crashes and mauling by pets.

Dissanayake, R.B., Stevenson, M., Astudillo, V.G. et al. Anthropogenic and environmental factors associated with koala deaths due to dog attacks and vehicle collisions in South-East Queensland, Australia, 2009–2013. Sci Rep 13, 14275 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40827-w
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40827-w

Koalas and Dogs Don’t Mix
https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/pa-fact-koalasdogsdontmix.pdf
Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Managing dog and koala/wildlife co-habitation. Why does leashing matter? Bellingen Council
https://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/Development/Public-health-and-safety-services-and-approvals/Ranger-Services/Animal-care-and-control

Major Roads. Australian Openstreetmap
https://eatlas.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/df464abf-59be-41cc-a271-d17035582c4c
#koalas #wildlife #Biodiversity #habitat #sprawl #cars #roads #vehicles #crashes #Roadkill #dogs #roaming #pets #DogOwnership #extinction #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #Bellingen #BellingenShire

The roaming cats of Bellingen are one of the biggest threats to wildlife

"The average pet cat kills 110 native animals each year, roughly 320 million across Australia, and that doesn’t even include frogs or insects. The species is directly responsible for the third highest number of extinctions in Australia, after humans and chytrid fungus."

Victoria has " effective legislation that’s empowering local government to take action on the issue of roaming pet cats."
>>
https://au.news.yahoo.com/calls-for-major-rule-change-as-big-threat-roams-free-in-aussie-state-054425641.html

Local councils are tightening cat ownership laws to help protect wildlife and keep your pet safe
https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/news/cat-ownership-laws-ABC-Radio-Interview

#cats #pets #ownership #NuisanceCats #containment #IntroducedSpecies #sprawl #disease #wildlife #birds #Bellingen #Gleniffer #council #regulation #NSW #CompanionAnimalsAct #ExtinctionCrisis #council #BellingenShire

Koala Zone paint on the roads and hope everyone will slow down on the roads

Five Koalas have been hit on Broken Head Road this year, and many more in other Koala hot spots across the Byron Shire.

The Koala Zone "signs were funded by a grant from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy and Environment, under the NSW Koala Strategy. Koala road strikes and driver speed will be monitored at the sites over the next four years to help us to understand the impacts of vehicle-activated signs on driver speeds and koalas."

Is Bellingen Shire 'asleep on the wheel' while industrial logging is driving koalas out of their habitat?
>>
https://www.byron.nsw.gov.au/Council/News/Media-releases/New-Koala-Zones-to-help-our-furry-friends
#koalas #roads #roadkill #BellingenShire #BellingenLogging #GlenifferRoad #cars #speed #extinction makers #BiodiversityCrisis #NSW

Noise camera trial to be launched on roads as part of a multi-agency effort with the EPA, Transport for NSW and NSW Police
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-30/noise-camera-pilot-law-enforcement-police-nsw/104401024
#noise #pollution #Bellingen #Gleniffer #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #BellingenShire #roads #impacts #noise #motorcycles #HooningMotorists #FossilFuel #AntiSocialBehaviour #NoisyVehicles #NSW #enforcement #climate

Barking dog on the outskirts of Bellingen is chasing a koala mother and her joey up the tree (video available) These 'incidents' are common in this dog-loving shire.

While this wildlife harassment is tolerated, the NSW government logging department is razing most of the koala/ wildlife habitat.
#BellingenShire #Bellingen #roaming #dogs #pets #SettlerSociety #wildlife #WildlifeHarassment #koalas #EndangeredSpecies #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #BiodiversityCrisis

Acting on off leash dogs and dog attacks

Queensland "On-the-spot fines have more than doubled from $322 to $806 for owners who fail to control their dogs in a public place."

"There were 382 attacks reported in the 2023-24 financial year, of which 166 were dogs attacking humans and 216 cases of dogs attacking dogs or other animals...In fatal attacks, owners face fines up to $108,000 and even possible jail time."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-31/fines-double-for-dog-attacks-in-queensland/104158666
#BellingenShire #safety #roaming #dogs #pets #attacks #wildlife #NSW

Still logging Tuckers Nob, also known as the proposed Great Koala National Park

Dr. Tim Cadman is documenting how rainforest trees are cleared and original forest remnant are damaged by the state-owned Forestry Corporation of NSW. Week 11 of industrial logging within Tuckers Nob compartments 26-27 turning remnant vegetation into timber and electricity.
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2djTDFsYjY

Surviving arboreal animals flee across busy roads and birds have gone silent. Industrial machinery leave huge puddles behind that supply the whole of Bellingen with Japanese encephalitis virus, Murray Valley encephalitis and Ross River virus. Gain for some, harm for others.

Mosquito borne diseases move in behind the loggers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/30/environment.climatechange
Deforestation and vector-borne disease: Forest conversion favors important mosquito vectors of human pathogens
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8290921/

#SaveTuckersNob #BreachWatch #TuckersNob26 #LoggingIndustry #FCNSW #LoggingImpacts #ForestConversion #NSWForestry #BellingenLogging #RemnantVegetation #rainforest #MosquitoBorneDiseases #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #electricity #koalas #VectorBorneDiseases #BellingenShire

Tourism without public toilets?
Little Blue Lake 'littered' with human faeces, sparking calls for toilets.

"The Little Blue Lake is a beautiful swimming hole that attracts thousands of people, but locals say human waste is piling up on its perimeter and the nearby car park."

Looks like the popular Never Never river is not the only place without a toilet.
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/109781401767955929

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-16/little-blue-lake-mount-gambier-sinkhole-human-faeces/103729160
#tourism #faeces #water #pollution #Gleniffer #PromisedLand #NeverNever #BellingenShire

Dealing with climate-induced trauma

"Forest bathing therapy offers path forward in times of stress and climate trauma, nature guides say forest therapy can be used at corporate events, for rehabilitation, at nursing homes, and as an eco-tourism attraction."
>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-03/could-forest-therapy-pose-a-solution-to-rising-climate-trauma/103644804
#NativeForests #NSWLogging #NSWForestry #BiodiversityCrisis #ClimateCrisis #BellingenShire

Electric trucks and buses - or polluting diesel?

"Last year a report by The Australia Institute found that because of state government failures, just 0.2% of Australia’s bus fleet is electric, forcing millions of Australian commuters to choke on disgusting diesel exhaust pollution every day at thousands of bus stops around the country."

"...Diesel pollution can dull the human brain in hours... Vehicle pollution in Australia causes 11,000 premature deaths and is responsible for over 12,000 cardiovascular hospitalisations, 66,000 active asthma cases, and almost 7,000 respiratory hospitalisations per year."

"And it’s not just air pollution. New research has shown devastating health impacts from petrol and diesel traffic noise...Increased levels of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in people who are exposed to high levels of traffic noise. Noise that will be significantly reduced with the transition to electric buses."

https://thedriven.io/2024/03/20/electric-trucks-and-buses-show-staggering-sales-growth-in-europe/
#EMobility #cars #FossilFuels #diesel #pollution #OneHealth #climate #noise #BellingenShire #MobilityDesign

Ant geopolitics
https://aeon.co/essays/the-strange-and-turbulent-global-world-of-ant-geopolitics

Report red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta)
Information about fire ants and stopping their spread in NSW
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/dpi/bfs/insect-pests/rifa

‘Wildly toxic’ poison used on fire ants is killing native Australian animals, experts warn Senate inquiry. Fipronil is banned for use on crops in the EU, China, Vietnam and California
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/16/fipronil-fire-ant-poison-toxic-senate-inquiry-bans

Human-mediated dispersal of ants
How ants are breaking down biogeographic boundaries and homogenizing biodiversity
"Our impact on biodiversity is overriding the biogeographical patterns resulting from millions of years of evolution, and disproportionately affecting the tropics and the islands."
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ants-biogeographic-boundaries-homogenizing-biodiversity.html

#ants #SolenopsisInvicta #FireAnts #pests #InvasiveSpecies #biosecurity #trade #NSW #wildlife #BellingenShire #Fipronil #pesticide

Bellingen without the forests?
https://bellingenarea.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-master-plan-for-bellingen-placemaking.html
#BellingenShire #Bellingen #MasterPlan #BellingenLogging #Biodiversity #Logging #LoggingIndustry #destruction #LoggingImpacts #koalas #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #Gleniffer #GumbaynggirrCountry #SettlerSociety #CarDependency