Greenloaning was engaged in 2013 to prepare a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (CKPoM) for Cooma-Monaro Shire Council (now Snowy Monaro Regional Council), in southern NSW. A threatened species in NSW, and now also listed as threatened in NSW and South East Queensland under Commonwealth legislation, the Koala also has special status as one of Australia’s iconic wildlife species and it is important for the survival of the species that remaining Koala habitat is effectively managed. A number of local councils that have important populations of Koalas within the local government area are preparing, or have prepared CKPoMs to guide development into the future in conjunction with appropriate Koala management procedures. Preparation of a CKPoM negates the requirement for any Development Application to include an independent KPoM, provided the measures required under a CKPoM are incorporated into the proposed development.

Greenloaning prepared the Draft CKPoM in collaboration with Koala expert, Dr. Stephen Phillips from Biolink, drawing from a local Koala habitat study prepared by the Office of Environment and Heritage as part of the background information. Preparation of the CKPoM also involved an extensive community consultation process encompassing local seminars, website information and newsletters, mailouts, a community survey form, a school logo/drawing competition and a Facebook page. The CKPoM is designed to facilitate Council’s assessment of Development Applications within a practical and effective Koala habitat management framework, whilst also encouraging and informing landholders and the community in relation to practical measures to manage and enhance Koala habitat on private lands. As an incentive to landholders, a ‘Koala Credits Calculator’ was specifically developed by Greenloaning for the project, to allow credits towards compensatory habitat requirements to be generated by a range of positive management measures undertaken prior to any development proposal.

The Draft Cooma-Monaro CKPoM was on public exhibition in late 2015 and the final draft document is currently awaiting final approval