Vulnerable, threatened species lie on proposed transmission line route

Farmers near Tamworth say the bushland along the proposed route for transmission lines is home to not only a significant koala population, but other threatened species.

Angry locals facing the compulsory acquisition of their land to host kilometres of transmission lines connecting energy from wind and solar farms in the state’s north have warned vulnerable and threatened species lie in the proposed route.

Local farmers near the north west town of Tamworth say bushland along the proposed routes hosts not only a significant koala population but also spotted quolls, which are listed as a vulnerable species in NSW.

This comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed two separate reports, one commissioned by land holder group Valley Alliance found the NSW government’s proposed route for the new transmission lines contained a significant koala population.

The bushland near the proposed route is home to a significant koala population. Pics Adam Head

One report by Stringybark Ecological found that land clearing for the new lines could result in direct loss of habitat and a potential risk to increase the spread of chlamydia due to habitat stress.

Locals say that the koalas are not the only threatened species that lie in the path of the transmission lines, with families of spotted quolls, squirrel gliders and other threatened birds calling that area home.

Ecologist Phil Spark who has studied koalas in the Tamworth area since 2015 said the area was a good breeding ground for spotted quolls.

“The area is connected to the Great Dividing Range – and on the top there’s the national park so they’re all connected by that big ridge,” he said.

“It’s that connectivity that allows the animals to persist.”

Local farmer Mark Ether, whose property will host the transmission lines said quolls were so common in the area that farmers often had to apply to the government to get special quoll-proof chicken coops.

Spotted tail quolls are common in the area, but are deemed to be threatened. Picture: David Caird

“I lost my chooks to quolls, they slaughter the chooks for fun, they don’t eat them, they just knock their heads off,” he said.

“It looked like an abattoirs.”

Mr Ether said that although the quolls have been known to eat his chickens he wanted to make sure they were protected.

“Slaughtering a few chickens isn’t the end of the world, but there are families of quolls that live here and they need to be looked after,” he said.

State-owned EnergyCo is currently undertaking a biodiversity assessment of the area as part of the project’s environmental impact statement.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the current transmission corridor was chosen because it minimised the impact on the environment and private landholders compared to other routes.

Originally published as Vulnerable, threatened species lie on proposed transmission line route