A native flower only found in the Charmhaven – Wyee area has been given emergency status as a critically endangered species.
The NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee says the flower is eligible to be listed as Critically Endangered as, in its opinion, it is subject to an immediate and significant threat of extinction.
The Committee is an independent committee of scientists appointed by the NSW Minister for the Environment.
The threats to the flower come largely from proposed development on privately owned land.
The flower is named the Patersonia rosea Branwhite and was only officially registered two years ago in the State’s botanic gardens journal.
Local man, the late Boris Branwhite was one of the people who discovered the plant.
All known populations occur in the Charmhaven – Wyee area while a single specimen was recorded more than a century ago 200kms further north at Laurieton.
“Further field work in the New South Wales north coast region is required to determine whether the species persists at Laurieton and whether it occurs between
there and the Charmhaven – Wyee area,” the committee stated.
It says none of the four populations currently known in the Charmhaven – Wyee area
occur within a conservation reserve.
Some populations are currently under imminent threat from development.
“There is an urgent need to undertake further searches in suitable habitat to gain a more comprehensive understanding of distribution, abundance and threats,” the committee stated in its September 26 announcement.
“The current level of knowledge of the species precludes a confident assessment of
conservation status and therefore it is best treated as data deficient.’
At one location Patersonia rosea occurs in a power line easement where the vegetation is periodically slashed.
These habitats are extensive on the coastal plains of the central coast between Lake Macquarie and Wyong but they are largely in private ownership with few dedicated conservation reserves.
The committee says the species may be present within the nearby Lake Macquarie
and Munmorah State Conservation Areas, and Colongra Swamp Nature Reserve but all known populations are small and the total number of plants of the species observed in the field to date is in the low hundreds.
The emergency status as a critically endangered species could affect two current proposals; a development application for homes and a school on a site at Charmhaven; and the details of a draft Central Coast Conservation Plan currently on public exhibition.
Central Coast Council has raised a number of concerns over the proposed $1.6B mixed-use development which is currently being considered by the State Government as a State Significant Development.
The plan would deliver more than 2,000 homes, a school catering for 1,500 students from K-12, and a new business park.
“The removal of over 21 hectares of native vegetation as a result of this proposal is inconsistent with Council’s strategic planning for the area which to date have supported managing the area for its biodiversity values,” Council said in July.
It said threatened species and vegetation integrity had not been adequately assessed, citing Diuris praecox, Cryptostylis hunteriana, the Large Forest Owl, the Squirrel Glider and the Swift Parrots as being of particular concern.
It can now add the Patersonia rosea to the list.
Also, this week Central Coast councillors were briefed by representatives from the State Planning Department on a draft Central Coast Conservation Plan which is meant to provide certainty to developers on what land is to be certified “urban capable”.
The presentation included information about free surveys the State Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure is offering developers this spring and summer.
“To protect four critically endangered flora species, surveys are required prior to development,” the presentation showed up on a slide.
It can now add the Patersonia rosea to the list.
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