The opposite is true! The Kuranda Tree Frog habitat is entirely in the northern development area.
In the Cairns Post article dated 13 July 2016 – Craig Crawford had been misinformed.
State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the independent Co-ordinator-General would work closely with the proponent and government agencies to ensure that all potential project impacts were considered and assessed and effective mitigation measures identified.
Member for Barron River Craig Crawford said there were strong views in the community about the project which will develop 230ha of the 626ha property.
“The site contains habitat of the protected Kuranda tree frog, but most of the development is proposed in the northern area of the site which has been cleared,” he said.
Dr Conrad Hoskins JCU completed, at the proponent’s request, the document ‘Surveys for endangered frogs and other wildlife on Barnwell Road Holdings’ that forms a required ATTACHMENT in the EPBC submission.
The report document date is 30 April 2016 and clearly demonstrates the water-body habitats for the following endangered species in the ‘Northern zone’:
- Kuranda Tree Frog Litoria myola
- Australian Lacelid Frog Litoria dayi
- Myola Palm Archontophoenix myolensis
The uncleared forested ‘Southern zone’ of the site area is habitat for the endangered cassowary and northern quoll, amongst others. A total of 22 endangered and 13 threatened species on the project area.
Excerpts from Dr Conrad Hoskin’s report:
Myola Palm Archontophoenix myolensis
Kuranda Tree Frog Litoria myola
Australian Lacelid frog Litoria dayi
Dr Conrad Hoskin:
“The red shaded area is a creek that probably had Litoria myola but is now filled with sediment from the dam.” – see map bottom left.
A ‘stop work’ was called on the RURAL DAM in December 2015 by Mareeba Shire Council after reports from adjoining residents. A retrospective application for the dam -seemingly built ‘by eye’ without an engineer’s design or Soil and Erosion plan – was lodged to MSC on 22 February 2016.
Dr Conrad Hoskin noted in his report the damage the unpermitted dam had caused downstream in frog habitat – in fact the ‘seasonal gully’ that was dammed was ephemeral frog breeding grounds for Critically Endangered Kuranda Tree Frog.
The Rural Dam was retrospectively approved by Mareeba Shire Council on 20 July 2016.
Myola palm habitat is also found in the creek behind the illegally built dam wall.