Koala Detection Report – 483-504-0015 'Lazarev'
VicForests' active logging coupe 483-504-0015 was investigated to assess the presence of threatened species within State Forest which is currently in the process of being clear-felled. Surveyors at WOTCH undertook a spotlighting survey on the night of 16/05/2017 within coupe 483-504-0015 ‘Lazarev’.
During the survey, a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) was detected inside the coupe, a rare sighting for the species in the area. There has only been one sighting of the Koala in the surrounding area (within 10km) within the last 25 years, which occurred approximately 9km to the west of this detection back in 1999 (Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, 2017). The koala is a species which is very susceptible to land clearing and fragmentation (Menkhorst, 2004). It is for this reason that we request the department to refrain VicForests from continuing logging operations in coupe 483-504-0015, as this is proven to be vital habitat for a rare (and perhaps isolated) population of Koala.