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Environmental Review - Great Sandy National Park
The Cooloola Great Walk ecotourism opportunity will feature multiple eco-accommodation nodes stemming from the main long-distance walking track. This eco-accommodation will complement existing (and continuing) State-owned walkers’ camps along the route.
As the Cooloola Great Walk is the first project to progress, the ecological assessment of the trail has been undertaken in stages.
An ecological desktop review of the Cooloola Great Walk was completed in April 2019 by Biodiversity Assessment and Management Pty Ltd (BAAM).
BAAM then conducted ground-truthing of six (6) sites chosen by the ecotourism proponents as potential sites for their eco-accommodation. This was to determine if any of the proposed sites should be excluded due to very high ecological value.
Follow up ecological surveys are now required, given the ground-truthing revealed some sites were not suitable for ecotourism, and proponents have refined their initial proposals as part of the RFDP process. An additional five (5) sites have now been identified as needing ground-truthing to inform the final decision of specific sites for eco-accommodation along the track.
Progress EPBC Act self-assessment - Projects (or proposed actions) that have the potential to impact on Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) require approval from the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment. The ecological assessments help to complete a referral process to determine whether the proposed action will need formal assessment and approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
