Letters to Editor 9 August 2017
The Ginninderra Falls Association is concerned about Ginninderry ("First homes for new suburb get green light", August 5) because the proposal threatens one of the last remaining pairs of Little Eagle nesting in the ACT. The previous zoning of this land for broadacre and buffer purposes supported the maintenance of native species to some extent but many species react negatively to urban proximity.
Tracking records show that these eagles tend to fly from the nesting tree northwards over the golf course estate, past West Macgregor and into neighbouring NSW.
Buildings and removal of mature eucalypts will almost inevitably discourage the Little Eagle from following this route to its northern foraging area and using the nesting tree in future. Stage eight is planned over the site of the Little Eagle nesting tree, suggesting the Little Eagle will leave.
The Little Eagle is a declared vulnerable species in the ACT, whose Threatened Species Action Plan 35 states that "Protecting nest trees, eg placing a buffer around them, is not necessarily sufficient for conservation".
The association believes a larger buffer zone is required between housing and the conservation zone proposed along the Murrumbidgee and Ginninderra gorges.
Robyn Coghlan, Ginninderra Falls Association president, Hawker
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