Projects we have been working on recently @ litoria consulting:

Churches of Christ in Queensland – Bushfire Management Plan

Environmental scientists at Litoria Consulting have prepared a detailed Bushfire Management Plan for a multi-unit care facility adjacent to 1000 ha of bushland on Bribie Island, Queensland. The purpose of the Bushfire Management Plan was to implement safety and operational procedures in accordance with an approved Bushfire Hazard Assessment Report also prepared by Litoria Consulting. 

The Bushfire Management Plan is being prepared in consultation with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and the client, Churches of Christ Care. The objectives of the Bushfire Management Plan are:

  1. To protect life and property from fire;
  2. To ensure culturally significant values are protected;
  3. To limit the fire risk for adjoining land/property;
  4. To improve community awareness, involvement and liaison;
  5. To improve coordination with adjoining landowners; and,
  6. To maintain an ecologically appropriate fire-frequency depending on vegetation type.

The Bushfire Management Plan will be administered by Churches of Christ Care and the Plan defines the actions and responsibilities required for the ongoing management of bushfire hazards.

Powerlink Queensland – Koala Habitat and EPBC MNES Assessment

Powerlink Queensland recently commissioned Litoria Consulting to provide a Koala Habitat and EPBC Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) Assessment for further development of an existing power substation in the suburb of Swanbank, Queensland. The scope of work completed by Litoria Consulting has included a mix of desktop and site based assessments to determine:

  • The number of non-juvenile koala habitat trees likely to be removed by the proposed works; and,
  • Whether any proposed impact of the substation development could be considered a significant impact for the purposes of the EPBC Act.

This project involved:

  • Undertaking a koala survey of the site;
  • Characterising koala habitat features of the site;
  • Assessing koala habitat values of the site according to relevant documents including the Commonwealth’s Interim koala referral advice for proponents (DSEWPC 2012) and the Matters of National Environmental Significance – Significant Impact Guidelines v1.1 (DEWHA 2009);
  • Assessing  the impact of the proposed works on koalas and koala habitat values in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Interim koala referral advice for proponents (DSEWPC 2012) and the Matters of National Environmental Significance – Significant Impact Guidelines v1.1 (DEWHA 2009);
  • Identifying relevant management actions which could be implemented to reduce or mitigate impacts on koalas or their habitats; and,
  • Determining whether the proposed works will likely have a significant impact on koalas under the EPBC Act 1999 (Cwlth).

Through this assessment process, Litoria environmental scientists were able to provide advice to Powerlink Queensland in determining whether the proposed action would result in a ‘significant impact’ on matters of national environmental significance, namely the koala and whether the proposed action requires referral to the DSEWPC as a controlled action under the EPBC Act 1999 (Cwlth).

Patent Produce – Koala Habitat Assessment and Management Plan

Litoria have been finalising work on a Koala Habitat Assessment and Management Plan (KHAMP) for a development site in Mount Mee that is located within a priority koala assessable development area (PKADA) under the Koala State Planning Regulatory Provisions.

The scope of work for this project has included:

  • Koala survey;
  • Koala Habitat Assessment
  • Spatial Analysis in GIS and CAD systems;
  • Impact assessment; and,
  • The development of management and compliance recommendations to avoid, minimise and mitigate impacts on koalas.

Optus Telecommunications – Property Vegetation Management Plans

Litoria Consulting has recently completed work on several Property Vegetation Management Plans (PVMP) commissioned by Optus as part development applications associated with the construction of telecommunications infrastructure at various sites across Queensland. The purpose of the plans was to rapidly assess the impact of the proposed developments on surrounding vegetation and make recommendations on compliance measures that would support the development application.

This PVMP included spatial analysis of development impacts on remnant vegetation and regional ecosystems including assessment of the proposed development against DNRM’s Vegetation Management codes.