Total Earth Care was commissioned by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) to prepare an Ecological Assessment Report (EAR) and Review of Environmental Factors (REF) to assess and inform the impacts of fire trail upgrades for a range of trails on the West Head Peninsular within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

The surveys involved ground truthing vegetation mapping and threatened species locations, flora and fauna surveys. Review of asset locations and an assessment of the ecological impacts of trail widening and the allocation of turn around points and passing bays were included in this ecological assessment.

Our ecologists were able to calculate the total activity footprint, amount of vegetation to be impacted and suggest the re-allocation of fire trail assets to minimise the impact of these works on threatened species and Threatened Ecological Communities (TEC).

Multiple threatened species were identified on site during these surveys including Callistemon linearifolius (Netted Bottle Brush), Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), White-bellied Sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) and Square-tailed Kite (Lophoictinia isura). Multiple TECs were also observed on site.

Through Total Earth Care’s contribution to the project, habitat for threatened species and existing TECs were protected, and the minimum possible ecological impacts were guaranteed. Through work like this, Fire trails are upgraded to Fire Access and Fire Trail (FAFT) standards while maintaining as much of the ecological values of this stunning peninsula as possible.