Howard Jones, Gerroa Environment Protection Society
Seven Mile Beach is a beautiful natural area on the NSW South Coast, located between Gerroa and Shoalhaven Heads. Adjoining the beach is an area of around 2,000 hectares of biologically diverse coastal vegetation. This vegetation is disconnected from the hinterland and is habitat for seven endangered ecological communities and supports at least 13 endangered or threatened species.
The drainage pattern between the hinterland and the beach has resulted in extensive coastal freshwater wetlands. Coomonderry Swamp is an intact freshwater wetland that covers approximate 670 hectares. It is the largest coastal freshwater wetland in the southern NSW, representing 40% of this wetland type within the State (DECCW NSW 2010). It is recognised as nationally important in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia, and listed on the register of the National Trust of Australia. It is habitat for many endangered wetland species and supports a large Green and Golden Bell Frog population, being the most extensive wetland where this species has been discovered in NSW (Daly, 1996). There is also evidence of the Australasian Bittern breeding in the wetland.
The 930-hectare Seven Mile Beach National Park occupies about half this coastal vegetation, however most of the wetlands, all the ground water dependent ecosystems and significant areas of Greater Glider habitat lie unprotected, outside the Park.
More than 80 hectares of Greater Glider habitat has been cleared for sand mining over the years, and consequent vegetation fragmentation has reduced the capacity of this species to utilise much of the available habitat.
There is almost no local memory of the koala, which disappeared from Seven Mile Beach before the 1950s and, unless we protect the remaining glider habitat and build on habitat corridors, Greater Gliders may also become a distant memory. A study by Mulley (2022) found that the Seven Mile Beach NP Greater Glider population has a poor viability and high extinction risk. Yet encouragingly, a recent study by Daly (2024) informs us that the Seven Mile Beach Glider population remains stable, while populations across the south coast are suffering severe declines in abundance and distribution.
In managing the survival of this iconic species, we need to ensure no more habitat is lost because we know that available glider habitat within the National Park alone is insufficient to support a viable population into the future (Daly 2024).
The Gerroa Environment Protection Society has made a submission to the NSW Environment Minister to promote these environmental values. They propose to expand the Seven Mile Beach National Park to protect all adjoining Greater Glider habitats, wetlands and ground water dependent ecosystems. This submission identifies four vegetation units, prioritised according to ecological value and perceived environmental threats. Details of this submission can be found on the GEPS website: http://geps.kiamaregion.blog
References
Mulley, B. P 2022. Viability of an Endangered Population of Greater Gliders. Honors thesis. University of Wollongong.
Daly, G. 1996. Some problems in the management of the Green and Golden Bell Frog, Litoria aurea at Coomonderry Swamp on the South Coast of NSW. Australian Zoologist 1996
Daly, G. 2024. Long-term monitoring of arboreal mammals in coastal reserves on the south coast of New South Wales – Australian Zoologist 2024