Protecting habitat in City of Swan
Protecting habitat in City of Swan
The Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise became aware of an Amendment (132) to be presented to the City of Swan late last year concerning Ellen Brook and Twin Swamps Nature Reserves.
Our Chairperson, Jan Bant, addressed the Councillors at an Agenda meeting on 10 November 2021, speaking on the impact likely if the buffer zones were changed. The situation became critical after 5th February 2021, when 90% of the Ellen Brook NR, habitat of the last truly self-sustaining population of the tortoises, was burned. Most areas were totally burnt out, including our restorative revegetation plantings, and only black ash remained.
Any potential development in the buffer zones (the Amendment proposed modifying the minimum lot size from 8ha to 2ha) would have had a detrimental impact on the area.
See how things turned out here