4 September 2016

compliance@environment.gov.au
To whom it may concern

This is to report an offense under section 18 and 18A. Vegetation clearing that has occurred and may still occur of Cassowary habitat and Cassowary corridors. The vegetation clearing occurred on the Barnwell property in Myola near Kuranda sometime between 11 Sep 2014 and 12 Feb 2016. Please see google earth screen shots attached.

The threatened species survey prepared by Reever and Ocean as seen in the referral of proposed action was conducted between June 2015 and Feb 2016. This found there may be Cassowaries but no evidence of Cassowaries was found.

However during that time vegetation clearing was well on its way and it can be expected that any Cassowaries frequenting the area and corridors in question would have been disturbed and scared away because of bulldozers clearing the land.

The land that has been cleared on the northern, north eastern, south eastern and southern section of the property was part of essential Cassowary habitat as per QLD 2012 regrowth vegetation map.

The clearing has led to fragmentation of Cassowary habitat and interruption of some Cassowary corridors.

Please find maps attached, outlining in red just some of the possible corridors on the eastern side of the property.

Also take note of the difference between images outlining the clearing of Cassowary habitat.

Yours

Nadine O’Brien
Friends of the Earth Far North Queensland