ILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY Vol. 2 - Wollongong City ...

6.3 THREATENED SPECIESThreatenedspeciesrecords forthe Illawarrawerecompiledusing ATLAS data(dated Feb2009),engagement with experts,andherbarium recordsfrom the NSW andJanet CoshHerbariums.There are66 threatenedfaunaspecies, and31 threatened floraspecieswhichhave been recordedwithin thestudy area.Appendices4,5and6providedetailedlists of those flora,faunaand aquaticspecies.Of the threatenedfauna, themajorityarebirds and mammals thatarethreatened. Ahighproportionof the locally occurring frogsare also threatened.Threatenedspecieshave beenprioritised basedon the levelof threat andtheir importanceto theIllawarraregion. These prioritiesare also shown inAppendix 4 and5. Theprioritisationwas initiallytakenfrom the ThreatenedSpeciesPrioritisationand ImplementationStrategy for the Priorities ActionsStatementfortheMetropolitanRegion(DECC2008b).However, asthis regionis amuch larger studyarea, it wasconsidered alocal review of these priorities was required to betterreflect prioritiesandthreats inthe Illawarra. The prioritisation rules devised by DECC (2008b) that were usedto guide thereview are showninTable14.Table 14:Prioritisationrules for revisedrankingsPRIORITY Level of endemism Levelof threat PopulationstatusHighest High to medium levelofendemism andabundance to IllawarraHighExtremely rare torareHighMedium to Low levelof endemism andabundance to IllawarraHigh tomedium Extremely rare torareMedium Mediumto Low levelof endemism andabundance to IllawarraMediumto Low rare to locallycommonLowMedium to Low levelof endemism andabundance to IllawarraMediumto Low UncommontocommonIt is noted thatseveral species have becomeextinct inthe region. Protectedmigratory birds arealsolistedinAppendix7, andcovered insection3.2.1.The IllawarraCouncils willsupport DECCW to prioritisekey actions from thePriority ActionsStatement, and RecoveryPlans sothat opportunities to invest inthreatened species recoverywill betargetedappropriately.6.4 CRITICAL HABITATPart3of the TSC Act1995allowsfor the listingofcriticalhabitat. There iscurrently no listedcriticalhabitat in the Illawarra.6.5 RARE FLORARegionallyrare florafor the Illawarrahave beenidentified inpreviouswork (NCC 1999, MillsandAssociates2000, andFairley 2004) andincorporatedinto thisStrategy in Appendix 8.94 species intotalhave beenflaggedasrarein the region.Someof these are listedas Rare or Threatened AustralianPlants(ROTAPS) underthe schedule preparedby BriggsandLeigh (1996).ILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITYSTRATEGYVol.2Background document 23