ENVIRONMENTALLY Concerned Citizens of Orange [ECCO] has responded to a number of phone calls from members of the Orange community who were concerned that 38 mature, large native eucalyptus trees were marked for removal along Forest Road between Huntley Road and the main entrance to the Orange hospital.
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Tree removal commenced on Wednesday morning as part of a planned upgrade to Forest Road by Orange City Council.
At time of writing, most of the trees have been removed.
VIDEO: One of the trees being felled on Thursday ..
On Monday, the Central Western Daily printed a story about the upgrade of Forest Road. The article stated that 38 of 300 trees were to be removed. Among those destined for removal were most of the remaining native trees along the above mentioned road corridor.
It is possible that council may not have followed due process in assessing the impacts of eucalypt tree removal on Superb Parrots and other threatened species in this tree corridor. This site is also well known for the presence of sugar gliders and squirrel gliders.
In authorising the removal of so many mature eucalypts, council appears to have overlooked existing evidence of the usage of the trees by Superb Parrots.
Such evidence is included on several readily accessible databases containing data on the existence of threatened species in Orange’s south.
The Superb Parrot is a national-listed threatened species, and is classified in NSW as vulnerable, meaning that their numbers, feeding areas and breeding habitats are in serious decline, and they may become threatened with extinction if every effort to protect them is not taken.
Feeding trees and breeding sites are critical, and council has previously taken steps elsewhere to assist the species, and are aware of the significance of their habitat in Orange, but appear to have overlooked this in their recent planning processes.
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This includes overlooking existing evidence of the usage of the trees along Forest Road each summer by flocks of Superb Parrots for feeding, rearing offspring and possibly nesting.
Residents who have been blessed with the opportunity to see Superb Parrots each year, migrating to our district between September and November might find them just that much harder to find.
Superb Parrots are a high priority species for conservation in NSW, and life has just become a little harder for them.