It's time to check your property mapping!
Queensland State Government has made annual changes to vegetation management, protected plants and koala habitat mapping - and AgForce is urging landowners to stay informed.
The new mapping, released on 8 September 2022 by the Department of Resources and Department of Environment and Science, covers the following:
- Vegetation Management Act 1999:
- Regulated Vegetation Management v6.0
- Regional Ecosystem v12.02
- Essential Habitat v110
- Wetlands v8.0
- Watercourse 100k v6.0
- Watercourse 25k SEQ v6.0
- Nature Conservation Act 1992:
- Protected Plants v9.0
- Koala Habitat Areas v3.0
- Locally Refined Koala Habitat Areas v3.0
Having analysed the new maps, AgForce can report the following changes:
- Very minor decrease of 100 to 400ha in Koala Habitat and Locally Refined Koala Habitat in the SEQ area only
- Regulated vegetation mapping, statewide:
- More detailed mapping of Category C high value regrowth, particularly in the Reef catchments.
- Minor decrease or increase in Category R (Reef high value regrowth) and Category X (non-remnant) vegetation areas on some properties.
- Increase in Essential Habitat areas to incorporate newly listed protected reptiles and plants, along with updated species modeleng.
- Protected Plants, statewide:
- A 0.6% (21,184ha) decrease in the amount of protected plants areas
- A 5.1% (174,228ha) increase in new protected plants area
The increase in protected plant area is mainly due to 10 native plant species reclassified from least concern to vulnerable and endangered . Property owners are urged to check this new mapping as there are some owners who had protected plants mapping under v8 but may now have zero protected plant areas under the new version.
Unfortunately, there are also examples of some property owners with increases of protected plants mapping under the new version 9.
It's important to note that changes to regulated vegetation management mapping do not affect property areas with a Property Map of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV).
To assist members in understanding these mapping changes, AgForce has created new GeoPDF maps for each member property. Updated AgForce fact sheets pertaining to vegetation, koala and protected plants mapping are available to help landowners understand the associated regulations.
Members can sign in to the AgForce website member portal to check their property map details. This will also ensure the new maps can be accessed when available.
Members can also request the new maps from the government's website, request a vegetation map or property report (which also includes a map for protected plants). The limitation with this service is it's one request per each Lot on Plan number defining a property.
You can also view new mapping using Queensland Globe.
If you cannot access (sign in) to the member portal or if you have reviewed your new maps and have any questions or issues regarding these changes please contact your AgForce Regional Manager.
