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

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

Careless drivers knocking down signage I

#RosesRoad, Roses Bridge, Unnamed Creek, #Bellingen
#Cars #GlenifferRoad #upgrade #speeding

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

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

Koalas

"After European colonization in 1788, more species have become extinct in Australia than in any other country on Earth (Australian Government Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment, 2022)."

In 2020, the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Koalas found that koalas will become extinct before 2050. Why?

Habitat grab, cars and dogs
"Koalas who had been attacked by a dog, fallen from a tree, and/or been hit by a motor vehicle were more likely to be euthanized or found deceased than released."
>>
Charalambous, R., Descovich, K. A., & Narayan, E. J. (2024). Identifying Trends in Admission and Release of Wild Koalas in Veterinary Clinics Throughout Queensland, Australia. Society & Animals (published online ahead of print 2024).
https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-bja10220
#koalas #Bellingen #Gleniffer #roads #dogs #pets #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #loggingIndustry #LoggingImpacts #SettlerSociety #BiodiversityCrisis #Ecocide #ExtinctionCrisis #EPBCAct

The koala is an icon for Australia

Images of politicians and tourists seen cuddling the threatened marsupial are ubiquitous. The mascot, usually placed on a stump, has to pose and represent the 'brand' Australia.

Due to habitat destruction the animals are deprived of a living habitat and have to flee. The fragmented habitat they have to negotiate is crisscrossed with roads and dangerous canines.

The verge of the roads and the gutter is the koala's new designated home. The slow arboreal animal has to face speedy cars, trucks and pet dogs. The industrial destruction of biodiversity, native forest logging, has the largest kill-score. In one case the “koala massacre” killed 40 in one 'harvesting' operation.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/03/koala-massacre-animals-reported-starving-or-dead-after-plantation-logging

In Victoria three rotting koalas were found recently beside a country road within a week.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/sad-reason-koalas-were-found-dumped-inside-cardboard-boxes-beside-country-road-061958594.html

Here in Bellingen, where Tuckers Nob public forest is being industrially logged, all images cropping up are of disoriented koalas on daytime roads. There will be nothing left to cuddle soon.

Friends of Tuckers Nob have pictures of Roadside Koalas of the area near the logging sites.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/250189120465227/

Desperate koala looking for a tree
https://www.tiktok.com/@candyandcalvin/video/7322989951233150216

#koalas #FCNSW #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #NativeForests #NSWLogging #LoggingImpacts #BellingenLogging #WildlifeCrimes #wildlife #cars #crashes #roads #RosesRoad #roadkill #biodiversity #KillingCorridor #Sydney #AppinRoad #SaveTuckersNob

#EndNativeForestLogging / #SaveTuckersNob

Fossil fuel machinery has started 'treading lightly' in Tuckers Nob public forest today in Bellingen.

Logging trucks were speeding along Roses community road today at 8.30, delivering giant fossil fuel machinery to start the industrial destruction of Tuckers Nob (compartments 26 and 27) public forest.

A vigil is being held by Friends of Tucker Nob on Gleniffer Rd.

Friends of Tucker Nob
https://www.facebook.com/groups/250189120465227/
Bellingen/ Gleniffer Community group protecting and surveying native forests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLa7XENA3YI
Tim Cadman showing "the incredible beauty and diversity of Tuckers Nob rainforests and remnant forest. #NSWForestry is trying really hard to hide the wonders of this special Koala habitat."

'The Koala lives here'
Stop logging native forests
Stop forest destruction in a climate and biodiversity crisis

#SaveTuckersNob #Bellingen #NSWForestry #NSWLogging #FCNSW #RosesRoad #Gleniffer #wildlife #koalas #biodiversity #ClimateExtremes #GumbaynggirrCountry #BellingenShire #roads #ClimateExtremes #FireRisks #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark

Tuckers Nob Forest future still uncertain

"Two months after the Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty, ordered Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) to temporarily suspend logging in Tuckers Nob, there is still no clear indication of what the future holds for the ecologically sensitive area."
"The Department of Primary Industry is presently undertaking a further assessment of the proposed logging of Tuckers Nob compartments 26 and 27 in respect of how the Unique and Special Wildlife Values within the forest may be impacted."
>>
https://bellingenshirenews.com/2023/12/20/forest-future-still-uncertain/
#NSWForestry #NSWLogging #FCNSW #RosesRoad #Gleniffer #SaveTuckersNob #wildlife #koalas #biodiversity #ClimateExtremes #GumbaynggirrCountry

The impacts of the road 'renewal' projects in the Bellingen/ Gleniffer area

The stated rationale given for the $5.3 Million 'Road Renewal Program' was to boost tourism and businesses of the Promised Land and the Never Never River. The clearing of vegetation and lining the soil with bitumen and cement incidentally also eased access for the government's logging corporation (Tuckers Nob State Forests).

The year long road construction alone caused air pollution, noise, erosion, habitat loss, and greenhouse gas emissions.

The long term effects for wildlife and residents have been the loss of a livable habitat: Intensification of traffic on Gleniffer Road and Roses Road. Speeding, night time noise from traffic. More garbage in the 'gutter'.

Many fossil fuel enthusiasts are going for their ritualistic 'Sunday drive' on The Loop Drive to the Promised Land. Hoards of wanna be 'bikies' are now attracted to cruise the loop with their souped up machines. No, 'bikie gangs' are the others, here we have the fat grey nomads that finally can afford the 'Easy Rider' Harley-thingy-toy.

The area is also a niche for many local motorbike riders that are exceeding the 94 decibels limit in the age of electric motorcycles. People actually move to the countryside to enjoy the freedom of lawlessness in under-policed areas.

Bellingen Road Renewal Program $5.3 Million
https://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/Services/RoadsBridgesMajor-Projects/RoadsBridgesMajor-Projects/Roads/Gleniffer-Road

Noisy vehicle report: EPA action
https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/noise/vehicle-noise/reporting-noisy-vehicle-exhaust
#Bellingen #Gleniffer #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #BellingenShire #LiminalLandscapes #RuralPolicing #lawlessness #roads #impacts #noise #motorcycles #cars #freedom #ClimateEmergency #MobilityDesign

Bellingen's Tuckers Nob Forest remnant vegetation to be logged

Inside Tuckers Nob State Forest (26/27) Dr. Tim Cadman documented threatened species (again). Many rainforest trees, such as threatened Ringwoods were identified. Syzygium anisatum/Anetholea anisata is endemic to the subtropical Bellinger Valley.

The background acoustics (in the video) is the fossil fuel machinery bashing their way through the native forest. (Hillier Trail) It is making the home of diverse and threatened wildlife and plants machine-ready for the clear-felling machines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JPiYD0W9M

"Peer-reviewed scientific research here and overseas suggests clear-felling has serious, long-term and negative ecological effects. Such concerns have led to clear-felling being reviewed, modified, and in some cases, abandoned in developed countries such as the United States and Canada."
https://www.theage.com.au/national/clear-felling-a-big-burning-issue-20020513-gdu78r.html

#DevelopedCountries #Australia #ClearFelling #BellingenLogging #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #FossilFuel #SoundEcology #NSWForestry #SaveTuckersNob #StopLogging #RemnantVegetation #ThreatenedSpecies #flora #ringwoods #NativeForests #biodiversity #destruction

Cars, dogs and disease are the biggest killers of koalas

More and wider logging roads through Bellingen's koala hub will not help the survival of the endangered species.

"A database tracking hospital admissions and deaths reveals the devastating impact cars, disease and dogs are having on the South East Queensland koala population."

“In the five years between 2009 and 2014, 52 per cent of reported wild koala deaths were caused by car strike, 34 per cent were from a chlamydia-related disease and 14 per cent were because of a dog attack.

“This equates to 1,431 koala deaths from a car strike, 943 chlamydia-related deaths, and 395 dog attack deaths in just five years."
https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/cars-chlamydia-and-canines-are-biggest-koala-killers

Anthropogenic and environmental factors associated with koala deaths due to dog attacks and vehicle collisions in South-East Queensland, Australia, 2009–2013
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40827-w
#BellingenLogging #sprawl #roads #roadkill #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #cars #dogs #pets #vehicle #crashes #logging #NSWlogging #DogAttacks #SaveTuckersNob #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #koalas #habitat #biodiversity #extinction makers

Stop logging native forests in a climate and biodiversity emergency Pt 1
Logging NSW native forests - How is the air pollution and greenhouse pollution monitored?

Logging operations by NSW State Forestry involve road enlargements lasting months before the actual extraction takes place. The forests paths are trailblazed to push the huge and heavy machinery into biodiversity habitats. All this is done with fossil fuel-powered heavy-duty vehicles and machinery. These actions contribute to the emission and/or creation of health-harming air pollutants and greenhouse gases.

“Heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) disproportionately contribute to the creation of air pollutants and emission of greenhouse gases—with marginalized populations unequally burdened by the impacts of each.”

Traffic-related pollution leads to premature deaths through direct air pollution.
“Traffic-related pollution can trigger a variety of health problems, including asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, heart disease and ultimately premature death. Air pollution from heavy-duty vehicles is higher in urban settings, in areas close to interstate highways and along truck routes.”

Climate disruption leads to weather extremes and disasters (bushfires, floods, drought and heatwaves) All involves human suffering, and impoverishing the web of biodiversity.

These 'extras' or externalities are not on any balance sheet. The robbing of habitat and the associated impacts on residents and wildlife deminish the web of life.

There seems to be no monitoring of the pollution cause inside wildlife habitats, the human habitat (Bellingen/ Gleniffer homes) and the global atmosphere. (Climate Change Detection and Attribution)

Pt.2 and links:
Stop logging native forests in a climate and biodiversity emergency Pt 2
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/111015823447627475

#FossiFuel #machinery #HDVs #trucks #pollution #exposure #Air #externalities #OneHealth #NSWLogging #logging #BellingLogging #Bellingen #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #Climate #GHG #SaveTuckersNob

Stop logging native forests in a climate and biodiversity emergency Pt 2

Logging NSW native forests - How is the air pollution and greenhouse pollution monitored?

It is not ok to do industrial logging in a biodiversity crisis.
It is not ok to kill our atmosphere
It is not ok to kill the diversity of life on the planet.

>> Pt 1 -Stop logging native forests in a climate and biodiversity emergency
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/111015825441949480

Links:
Electrifying heavy-duty vehicles could reduce environmental inequalities
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-electrifying-heavy-duty-vehicles-environmental-inequalities.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01219-0
Camilleri, S.F., et al, Air quality, health and equity implications of electrifying heavy-duty vehicles, Nature Sustainability (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01219-0.

SF Harvest and haul contracts
https://www.forestrycorporation.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/596557/North-Coast-Haulage-Contract.pdf

Australia is party to the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement came into force in 2016. It was a major step forward in international efforts to address climate change
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/international-commitments

Climate Change Detection and Attribution?
https://archive.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch9s9-1-2.html

Air pollution is a silent threat that robs people of their health and lives
https://www.cleanairblueskies.org/

#FossiFuel #machinery #HDVs #trucks #pollution #exposure #AirQuality #externalities #OneHealth #NSWLogging #logging #BellingLogging #Bellingen #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #Climate #GHG #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #biodiversity #SaveTuckersNob

Monopolising and overusing residential roads for the purpose of industrial extraction.

For over half a year they made a highway out of the scenic Gleniffer Road so that the forest ' stuff' can be extracted and monetised before all that 'bush' is possibly declared a Koala National Park.

When Gleniffer Road was closed and traffic went along Roses Rd., the steep and bendy road was smashed into bits by overuse in the last seven month.

Almost on a daily basis various fossil fuel trucks and machinery patch the damage with small fossil fuel 'bandages' and widen the shoulders so that they can accommodate the machinery of (forest) destruction.

Stop logging native forests
Stop logging the homes of biodiversity

#GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #BellingenLogging #forests #NativeForests #LoggingImpacts #roads #Bellingen #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #climate #FossilFuel

Killer roads prevent fossil fuel free mobility

"...Most transport funding goes towards building wider and longer roads “embedding car dependency” – which leads to more driving and ultimately more congestion."

"Thirty-five cyclists were killed on Australia’s roads last year, slightly down on the 10-year average of 38.5. About half of those were aged 40 to 64, and most were men, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare statistics show 14,796 bike riders were hospitalised in 2021-22."

No roads without cycle paths and footpaths!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/sep/01/covid-cycling-boom-has-ended-with-just-one-third-of-australians-riding-in-2023
#Bellingen #NSW #roads #speed #CarDependency #infrastructure #GlenifferRoad #NorthBankRoad #RosesRoad #cycling #walkability #climate #PublicHealth #mobility #MobilityDesign

Bellingen - Roads to nowhere, Pt.1/2

Scenic Bellingen has been in a road widening frenzy to accommodate industrial logging and clear felling operations to 'get the stuff out of here'. For nearly a year heavy fossil fuel machinery has been making the roads (Roses Road, Gleniffer Road, North Bank Road) fit for an extractivist industry, ignoring residents and biodiverse habitats along the cemented arteries.

In town gigantic haulage trucks (2 B-double trucks) shoot through the bottleneck of the main cafe and shopping district ruining the ambience.

The government, road building and timber extraction nexus robs residents of their homes, eradicates biodiversity habitats and pumps up emissions for all.

Wildlife, residents and tourists are now confronted with a dangerous network of roads where they risk their lives and endure permanent pollution.

To prioritise damaging industries and provide pathways only for them is putting the community at risk.

People want a sustainable environment, they would like to move about in safety without carbon emissions.

Where is the infrastructure for the future?

"Two-thirds of people want more transport funding to go into walking, cycling and public transport....

Bellingen - roads to nowhere pt.2/2
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/110986658766673505
#Walking #cycling #walkability #FootTraffic #Bellingen #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #NorthBankRoad #roads #sprawl #infrastructure #CarDependency #FossilFuel #traffic #congestion #speed #pollution #LoggingIndustry #extractivism #BellingenLogging #climate #biodiversity

Bellingen - Roads to nowhere pt.2

"Two-thirds of people want more transport funding to go into walking, cycling and public transport.

Most of our transport funding goes into building wider and longer roads, embedding car dependency. However, making it easier to drive leads to more driving and ultimately more congestion, an effect known as induced demand.

For people to walk and cycle, we need to provide so-called healthy streets: not too noisy, easy to cross, with clean air and where people feel safe.

Default 30km/h speed limits in built-up areas are an immediate low-cost way to increase road safety.

By prioritising walking and cycling for short trips, Australia can reduce the national combined cost of $67 billion a year of traffic injuries and deaths, traffic congestion, air pollution and physical inactivity. "

https://theconversation.com/fewer-of-us-are-cycling-heres-how-we-can-reverse-the-decline-212260

https://www.betterstreets.org.au/
Better Streets, a community-led coalition, People-friendly streets and Climate-friendly streets.

Bellingen - roads to nowhere, Pt.1
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/110986666356192102
#Walking #cycling #walkability #FootTraffic #LowFootprint #transit #Bellingen #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #NorthBankRoad #roads #sprawl #CarDependency #FossilFuel #traffic #congestion #speed #pollution #LoggingIndustry #BellingenLogging

@environment @Bellingen

Dr. Tim Cadman about clear felling Tuckers Nob forest, compartments 26/27, also know as the proposed Great Koala National Park.
on Coffs Coast Breakfast (start 38 min - 49 min)

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/coffscoast-breakfast/coffs-coast-breakfast/102768584

Some points mentioned:

The impacts of clear felling on koalas and wildlife.
Koalas and other wildlife are 'blind' to so called 'plantation' labels or old growth forests.
The proposed logging period also overlaps with the 'vulnerable to extinction' marsupials' breeding season. ( September and February)
The noise, trucks, dust, fires, smoke and pesticides of industrial logging operations making the area unlivable for all living beings.
Possibly an uninhabitable scenic Gleniffer for approx. 2 - 5 years due to being tuned into an industrial site.
The short notice to (some) residents.
The undemocratic nature of non-consultation.
The fobbing off to a (FCNSW) website.

At approx. 47 min FCNSW had their statement read out.

#audio #Gleniffer #residents #Bellingen #pesticides #fires #smoke #trucks #noise #pollution #FCNSW #logging #ClearFelling #GKNP #GreatKoalaNationalPark #wildlife #biodiversity #climate #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #StopLogging #TN26/27 #SaveTuckersNob

#SaveTuckersNob meeting, Bellingen

Residents and friends of biodiversity (more-than-human systems) around Roses Road and Gleniffer Road, are invited to a picnic.

Saturday 2nd September
603 Roses Road
12.00- 2.00 pm

#logging #BellingenLogging #deforestation #ClearFelling #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #Bellingen #traffic #trucks #dust #FossilFuel #machinery #livability #water #catchment #consultation #RemnantVegetation #koalas #GKNP #biodiversity #conservation #ClimateEmergency #governance #SaveTuckersNob