Dear Birders
Looks like another environmental disgrace is about to hit the Penrith Region. To think that Judas Springs or whatever its called (the old ADI site) was the last stop in the destruction machines steps was a mere illusion. This idea of rezoning more remaining bushland in the region that is home to endangered plant and animal species is just the icing on the cake. Ive received communication from Geoff Brown, the head of Western Sydney Conservation Alliance recently and wish to share the concerns with like-minded, environmentally conscious folks!
Please help ratchet up the pressure on Penrith Council to reverse its support for turning some of the best bush left in Western Sydney into farmland. Penrith Council is finalising its Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Council has given the Deerubbin Local Aboriginal Land Council a massive windfall through their LEP process. The DLALC own thousands of hectares of Priority Conservation Lands in the Penrith LGA and these lands are targeted by the NSW Government as potential offset lands. The success of the Cumberland Plain Recovery Plan depends on the protection of the Priority Conservation Lands
Penrith Council however dont give a toss about ensuring the recovery of the threatened species of Western Sydney and in total they plan to give allow an RU4 2 hectare farm zoning to over 620 hectares of the Priority Conservation Lands owned by the DLALC. The NSW Environment Office advice to Council was to zone these lands E2 Environmental Conservation. In anyone’s books such a massive zoning windfall for a single landowner would have to be considered seriously dodgy.
There is a story in the local Penrith Press about this matter. Please hit the link below and also leave a comment. You could urge the Penrith Councillors to reconsider their support for turning these conservation jewels into farmland and that they use the upcoming LEP process to rezone all the Priority Conservation Lands to E2 Environmental Conservation.
There is already one dumb-ass comment arguing people need to live somewhere and Australia has one large national park.
http://penrith-press.whereilive.com.au/news/story/cranebrook-and-castlereagh -land-to-be-subdivided-into-farms/
Also, if you havent already, sign and share the petition started by local Greens MP Suzie Wright below.
http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/stop-penrith-council-s-destruction-of- our-environment
Thank you and
Kind regards
Akos
PS. To give you an idea of what species I have personally seen out here, check out my Eremaea lists over the years. Ive been walking in these Crown Land areas for over six years now and they just astonish me with the biodiversity contained within them.
Nimmitta private property backing onto these lands, if you count the bushbirds and migratory species you get some idea
http://www.eremaea.com/SiteSpeciesList.aspx?Site=22941
Castlereagh Cell Most bush birds are from these very areas they want to chop into farmland. Just mostly exclude birds that associate with waterways and swamps
http://www.eremaea.com/SiteSpeciesList.aspx?Site=2051
Akos Lumnitzer
+61423144332
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