Priorities Action Statement - Actions for the removal of large woody debris from NSW rivers and streams (KTP)

Snags in the Murrumbidgee were removed for navigationSnags in the Murrumbidgee were removed for navigation
© NSW DPI

Threat Abatement Actions

Advice to consent and determining authorities

  • Provide local councils, agencies and Local Land Services (LLSs) with resource material (impact assessment guidelines, mitigating prescriptions, offsets, and generic consent conditions) regarding large woody debris to support planning, determination, impact assessment and concurrence decision making processes (Medium priority).

Collate and review existing information

  • Review environmental impact assessment processes and procedures used by consent and determining authorities when considering developments or activities that have the potential to impact on large woody debris. Identify anomalies, inconsistencies or deficiencies and modify processes as required (High priority).
  • Review existing literature and integrate research and investigation results to develop best practice guidelines for re-snagging activities (High priority).
  • Review and amend threat abatement actions in response to monitoring results that indicate management actions are inappropriate or ineffective at achieving plan objectives (High priority).
  • Incorporate knowledge gathered from large woody debris research programs into recovery and threat abatement actions for threatened species, populations, and ecological communities (Medium priority).
  • Review existing statutory frameworks affecting large woody debris. Identify anomalies and deficiencies, and amend statutory frameworks where required to increase protection for large woody debris (Medium priority).
  • Prioritise threat abatement actions for implementation to ensure targeted and efficient use of resources (Medium priority).
  • Review information on the rates of large woody debris removal after 5 years to evaluate the effectiveness of threat abatement actions (Medium priority).
  • Review and report on the status and effectiveness of threat abatement actions in achieving the plans objectives against the performance criteria, and report this information in threat statements on a three yearly basis (Medium priority).
  • Review reports and investigations of illegal large woody debris removal, and consult with relevant public authorities and local councils to determine the extent, rates and reasons for large woody debris removal authorised by relevant NSW legislation (Low priority).
  • Establish and maintain a database of large woody debris management approvals in consultation with relevant public authorities (Low priority).

Community and stakeholder liaison, awareness and education

  • Promote the existence and implications of legislative mechanisms that protect large woody debris to consent, determining, and constructing authorities (High priority).
  • Develop and disseminate educational, technical and promotional materials regarding large woody debris through the media, NSW DPI website, community networks, extension officers, LLSs and local councils (Medium priority).
  • Publicly promote rehabilitation programs to raise awareness of the role and importance of large woody debris in the broader community, and levels of community interest (Medium priority).

Enhance, modify or implement NRM planning processes to minimize adverse impact on threatened species

  • Ensure the development, administration and implementation of legislative and policy frameworks to protect riparian vegetation and maintain future supply of large woody debris. This includes development consents, State Environmental Planning Policies, property vegetation plans, private native forestry codes of practice, native vegetation regulations, integrated forest operations approvals, and forest operating procedures (High priority).

Habitat protection

  • Identify options to utilise regulatory and voluntary incentive based mechanisms to protect large woody debris in priority areas known to support threatened species, populations or ecological communities and implement as appropriate (Medium priority).

Habitat rehabilitation

  • Develop and implement a large woody debris reinstatement program for NSW rivers involving the NSW DPI Aquatic Habitat Rehabilitation Program. Program to integrate with national and state initiatives where possible and to give consideration to priority areas identified through research and information actions, and have regard to threatened species, populations and ecological communities (High priority).
  • Actively seek funding for reinstatement programs in priority and degraded areas having regard to other recovery and threat abatement plans (High priority).
  • Investigate and report on sources of large woody debris for use in rehabilitation programs and record in the NSW DPI Aquatic Habitat Rehab. Program database (Medium priority).
  • Encourage and provide technical support to LLSs, community groups, relevant natural resource management agencies, local councils, landholders and other land managers to protect and rehabilitate riparian vegetation and in-stream habitats along key river stretches, particularly where threatened species, populations or ecological communities occur (Medium priority).

Research / monitoring

  • Develop and implement a targeted investigation program to quantify the historical and current abundance and distribution of large woody debris in NSW rivers, focusing on key knowledge gaps, endangered ecological communities and catchments containing habitat for listed threatened species/populations (High priority).
  • Develop and implement research programs to address key knowledge gaps of the ecological interactions between large woody debris and threatened species, populations and ecological communities (High priority).
  • Support and assist large woody debris research and investigation activities, and prepare guidelines for the reinstatement of large woody debris (Medium priority).
  • Monitor the response of aquatic ecological communities to large woody debris reinstatement programs (Medium priority).

Survey / mapping

  • Disseminate information and mapping products to stakeholders regarding the historical and current distribution of large woody debris including degraded areas to assist targeting habitat rehabilitation projects (High priority)

*(NB: the PAS actions for Removal of Large Woody Debris from NSW rivers and streams are taken from the approved NSW threat abatement plan for the key threatening process).