Wildlife & koala corridor to be protected

Wildlife & koala corridor to be protected in Salamander Bay’s Homestead area

In a win for the environment, Council plans to rezone land to support a koala and wildlife corridor as well as provide for limited housing. Is it as good as it could be?

A greenfields site adjacent to the Homestead Village in Salamander Bay, is destined to be protected as a wildlife and koala corridor, linking reserves to its north and south, and to be rehabilitated to provide a higher quality corridor.

Near Holberts Oyster Farm, the land bordered by Diemars Road to the north and Homestead Street to the east and containing a disused quarry, is the part of Stoney Ridge Reserve planned for protection.

The water-filled void of the disused quarry is currently fenced presenting a barrier to movement for most terrestrial fauna.

Reuniting these sections of Stoney Ridge Reserve, creates a koala and wildlife corridor, to be protected long term once Council rezones the land which was originally designated public recreation.

Council map depicts the corridor and nearby Reserves. Subsequent additional location labels added (Ed.).

Wildlife corridors, a conservation necessity

Wildlife corridors are essential as they link fragmented habitats caused by land clearing. They provide safe passage for native species to find food, water, and shelter. By connecting isolated populations, these corridors facilitate breeding, maintain genetic diversity, and help ecosystems adapt to extreme weather, fire and climate change. Read more.

The land to be protected here is a critical corridor connecting Stoney Ridge Reserve to the north, with undeveloped land to the south, that connects to Tilligerry Nature Reserve at Taylors Beach.

Koala

A leap forward changed direction mid stream

At Council’s 11 April 2023 meeting, championed by then Councillor Leah Anderson, Council resolved to protect all of the land and rezone from public recreation to environmental purposes. There was no mention of a residential component.

Excerpt from Council Minutes 11 April 2023

A win for the environment! However, that was not to be in its entirety

At Council’s 26^th May 2026 meeting, Council changed the 2023 determination. Most of the land (Parcel B below) was still to be rezoned and protected as environmental land, however a component (Parcel A below), was approved for residential zoning in an addendum to the Local Housing Strategy, thereby diminishing the original environmental package approved in 2023.

Excerpt from Council Minutes May 2026

Rezoning included…

Parcel A: seven percent of the land (1.29 ha) for residential development
This is part of the land at 22 Homestead Street
Parcel B; the remaining 93 percent (16.3 ha) is to be used for environmental purposes and koala conservation, ensuring no future development is possible. This includes
- all of 1 Diemars Road, which includes the disused quarry (estimated about 15% of the environmental land)
- all of 30 Homestead Street
- part of 22 Homestead Street where an established plantation of koala feed trees abuts and runs parallel to the Parcel A proposed residential zone.

Parcel B potential environmental land, will give permanent protection to the wildlife and habitat on this corridor, and when rehabilitated will provide a strengthened corridor connection between reserves north and south.

Impacts, plus and minus, of the proposed residential land:

Pros in selling Parcel A for residential development

Creates about 20 residential homes, using cleared and degraded land
Releases funds for a Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) for the entire area to facilitate long-term restoration and environmental management
Establishes funds for environmental projects across the LGA (the net revenue generated will be segregated in an internal cash reserve).

Cons in developing Parcel A

Creates an intrusion into the environmental land, thereby disrupting the environmental integrity of the surrounding land. Good environmental planning focuses on minimising edge effect with the smallest common boundary between urban and environmental areas, as large urban-bush interfaces have considerable degrading edge effects, whether that be from

dumped litter and discarded goods
dumped garden plants exacerbating the likelihood of weeds escaping to the bush, some of which are likely to be invasive
intrusive domestic animals ~ cats and dogs
residents actively ‘extending’ their domain into the bush
urban lights and noise

Creates direct urban impacts on koalas, as the immediate neighbouring koala-tree plantation not only artificially attracts koala in more concentration but Port Stephens Koala Hospital releases koalas here ~ Council has continued the lease of this land for the koala tree plantation
Necessitates a cleared Asset Protection Zone around the residential development ~ will that be part of the residential zoning or take away habitat from the environmental land or impact on the koala-tree plantation?
Permanently prevents rehabilitation of the current cleared area once it is built on

If Parcel A is not sold – the loss of a funding stream means rehabilitation planning and implementation is very much slower, dependent on grants and limited Council financial resources.

Some mitigation options

Koala-sensitive housing may mitigate some threats to koala / fauna safety and health from the residential development

KKEPS, Koala Koalition EcoNetwork Port Stephens, made a public access presentation to Council December 2025, stressing the need for Koala-sensitive design in both the proposed residential development at 22 Homestead Street and the surrounding areas.

See KKEPS presentation. Parts of the presentation are included below with additional notes.

Motor vehicle strikes: the site is near low traffic residential streets; this threat can be further mitigated by reducing speed limits on these roads to 40km, sign-posting the area as a koala corridor to explain the need for reduced speed, and traffic calming devices.
Predation or stress by dogs and cats: this threat can be mitigated if all pets are contained within their homes, by signposting (e.g. dogs to be on leashes, cats kept indoors) and community education. EcoNetwork have advocated for legislation enabling cat containment, as NSW is out of step with most State jurisdiction, see submission and article.
Sources of noise or light pollution: can be mitigated by ensuring future development has appropriate conditions in place to reduce the potential for future harm.

Several of these mitigation techniques require a high level of ongoing community cooperation, necessitating long-term funding and Council’s desire and will to maintain the community education and monitor compliance. Has that been a demonstrated strength?

Koala feed tree plantation abuts the proposed housing development

Immediately adjacent to the proposed housing development, the Port Stephens Koala Wildlife Preservation Society (PSKWPS), under Council licence, had created a koala feed-tree plantation, in part as habitat and for release of koalas, but also for feed stock for koalas in the hospital. The plantation will be contained within the proposed environmental land. PSKWPS have expressed concern regarding the adjacent housing development Examiner ~ subscriber access)

Ecological diversity and resilience

KKEPS commented that while supportive of the plantation remaining in place, “Restoring local tree species diversity and composition at the site should be a priority; this provides heterogeneity at multiple levels for koalas and other wildlife and supports ecosystem resilience. Planting only highly palatable koala food trees can substantially increase the risk of over browsing, introduce unintended adverse consequences at the site, and reduce long-term sustainability.” References

Is the short-term funding gain for so few houses worth the long-term and permanent impacts of the residential development?
Good environmental planning focuses on minimising edge effect, with the smallest common boundary between urban and environmental areas.

Should the residential zoning and subsequent development proceed?

Wildlife & koala corridor to be protected