Legislation and Mapping You can’t escape the paperwork

Vegetation clearing is predominantly regulated under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (VMA) and the Planning Act 2016 (PA). Many routine vegetation management activities can be carried out as exempt clearing work listed in the Planning Regulation 2017, or through an self-assessable vegetation clearing code or an area management plan (AMP). It is important to confirm that no other requirements apply under other legislation, including: • Local laws in your local government area; • Other State legislation, such as Protected Plants under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA); • The Commonwealth Government's Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC).

Important aspects of VMA that pertain to native forest management You need to determine the vegetation status of your property. It is important to “lock in” the vegetation status of your category X (non-remnant; white) vegetation with a Property Map of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV) Silvicultural activities (harvesting, thinning, burning) in regulated vegetation are exempt under the VMA provided: - - you have submitted notification - you abide by the Code of Practice.

How to determine the Vegetation status? Take your rates notice (with your lot on plan details) into a DERM office. Download a vegetation status report using the DERM online service Use the Queensland Globe (DERM) Attend a third party (AgForce) mapping workshop.

RE Map – DERM’s online service Enter “RE Map request” into Google click on “ request a vegetation map or property report”

RE Map – DERM’s online service cont. Select the “vegetation management report” option enter your lot number (if multiple lots select the largest and most central one) Enter the plan number Enter your e-mail address Submit the request (this one took less than 10 min to arrive)

RE Map – DERM’s online service cont. 19 page report detailing: - Relevant legislation (including links) Property details Regulated vegetation Regional ecosystems (including a description of each and the approximate area within the property) Water courses (including stream order) Land suitability (not applicable to PNF management) Trigger maps

Vegetation management report cont.

Vegetation management report cont. Map showing areas (blue for remanent vegetation on freehold land) of the property in which the vegetation management act applies

Vegetation management report cont. Non-remnant vegetation - white RE’s by veg status - green; not of concern (>30% of pre-clear) - brown/tan; of concern (10–30% pre-clear) - pink/red; endangered (<10% of pre-clear) Water courses (including stream order) Essential habitat (no implication on NFM)

Vegetation management report cont. Land suitability map does not apply to a forest practice Applies for clearing for high value agricultural development

Vegetation management report cont. Trigger map showing areas of the property in which an endangered plant could be found Need to conduct a floristic survey if clearing for any new infrastructure (roads, fences, dams etc) Harvesting is exempt but thinning is not Fire breaks exempt Existing infrastructure (tracks, log dumps, fences etc) exempt

Queensland Globe – Google Earth application Enter “queensland globe” into Google click on “Queensland Globe download”

Queensland Globe cont. Follow the instructions Save the qldglobe.kml file to your hard drive Open Google Earth

Queensland Globe cont. Zoom in to the point of interest

Queensland Globe cont. Click on “file” and then “open”

Queensland Globe cont. Select the vegetation management kml file from where you saved it on the hard drive And open it

Queensland Globe cont. The pop up window explains how to use the globe; read and then close Expand the globe feature at the bottom of the menu bar by double clicking it

Queensland Globe cont. When you double click the “globe information” feature, Google earth will want to zoom out to the full extent; just click on the map to stop it doing so. Check the globe feature you want to look at; in this case water courses (showing stream order)

All the information described in the RE map report explained above can be viewed on Qld Globe This shot shows the RE mapping; by hovering the curser over the map label it expands; by clicking it a dialog box opens. This box contains a link to the RE description Queensland Globe cont.

Regrowth can become remnant in as little as 25 years Property Map of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV) Once you’ve determined the vegetation status for your property you have the option of “locking” that status in with a PMAV or changing the mapping. It is important to lock in areas of category X (non-remnant; mapped as white) vegetation. The VMA does not apply to these areas and there is no restriction on how you manage that vegetation. Regrowth can be mapped as remnant when it meets all of the following criteria :- 1. reaches 70% of the mature height for that vegetation type (eg. 22.5m for a spotted gum stand with a mean mature height of 30m); and 2. attains 50% of the mature canopy cover (a spotted gum stand may have a mature canopy cover of 50%; therefore it can be mapped as remnant with 25% canopy cover); and 3. Contains the species mix for that RE Regrowth can become remnant in as little as 25 years

Is the current mapping correct (correct enough for you to live with)? Property Map of Assessable Vegetation Is the current mapping correct (correct enough for you to live with)? Yes No Proceed with simple PMAV application Prepare a detailed PMAV application that changes the Veg status Prepare a submission for a map Modification

PMAV application form Download from the DERM web site or collect from an office Fill in property details and ownership details; all owners need to sign Select the PMAV type

Complex PMAV; requires supporting documentation Complex PMAV; requires supporting documentation. The closer the vegetation is to remnant status the more detailed the application needs to be. “lock in white” simple PMAV Map correction; requires supporting documentation $434 $434 free

OK, what next? Before you start silvicultural works (eg. harvesting, thinning) in remnant vegetation you need to :- Notify DERM via an Intention to Harvest notification Familiarise yourself with the Code of Practice (CoP) Ensure any contractors are aware of their obligations under the CoP

Notification form Download the form from DERM web site or collect from an office. No fee associated with the form Notification lasts for as long as you retain ownership of the land Change of ownership requires re-notification DERM recommend re- notifying if original notification pre-dated the 2014 changes to the CoP

Native Forest Code of Practice 35 page document that covers : - - notification and compliance - outline of silvicultural practices - forest protection (soils, water features) - habitat protection - roads and tracks - silvicultural operations