The Board, with its majority of traditional owners, will be funding Aboriginal involvement in the survey as part of an employment and training initiative.

The koala survey being conducted between Gulaga and Mumbulla Mountains has been the most extensive survey of its kind ever undertaken in NSW.

Supported by a dedicated team of community volunteers DECC, Forests NSW and Local Aboriginal Land Council researchers have gathered a considerable amount of information during the course of the survey.

The survey was launched in October 2007 after two Aboriginal men discovered a female koala and a young male in Mumbulla State Forest. Since then, survey teams have visited more than 400 sites and searched for koala pellets under more than 12,000 trees. Koala evidence has been recorded at 49 of these sites.

DECC survey coordinator, Chris Allen, said today that the survey has made a significant contribution to knowledge about the ecology of the koala in the Biamanga-Mumbulla area, which is believed to be the stronghold of the species on the Far South Coast.

“From these surveys and associated data analyses we have a greater understanding of the distribution, abundance and habitat requirements of the koala in the region and an increased capacity to inform management decision-making processes.

“It’s been an enormous task that could never have been undertaken without the help of members of the community, including Aboriginal people.

“Whilst we are concerned about the decline in koala numbers in the Bermagui area the evidence gathered so far indicates a more encouraging outlook in the southern part of the study area, with Mumbulla State Forest clearly sustaining the most koala activity recorded to date.”

During this next phase of the survey a broader-scale assessment over approximately 15,000 ha of public, Aboriginal-owned and private lands will be undertaken, primarily to determine whether there are similar levels of koala activity as that located in Mumbulla and in any other forests in this part of the region.

“The additional funding contribution from the traditional owners has continued the fantastic support that the Aboriginal community has made to koala conservation in the region over the years, Mr Allen said.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer with the survey program can contact Chris Allen on 6495 5008. Further information about the survey can be obtained on the DECC website.