Kiama residents were in shock when they discovered 188 trees had been tagged on the Minnamurra riverside earlier this week.
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Minnamurra Boardwalk and Cycleway contractor Cardno has confirmed some, but not all of the trees tagged in the area will be cut down.
It is understood between 66 to 115 trees, many of them planted years ago by Landcare and conservation volunteers to protect and beautify the Minnamurra River estuary, are to be felled to make way for part of the boardwalk.
Native trees and associated understory vegetation along the boardwalk route, including mangroves fringing the estuary, will also be removed and lopped for the proposed works.
The tree felling plans have divided the community – some locals just want the project to go ahead despite environmental ramifications.
Friends of Minnamurra River released a statement condemning the plans.
“Once people find out about the mass destruction planned for this beautiful and natural area to make way for a path that council is promoting as a tourist attraction, we feel certain that they will demand at least an Environmental Impact Statement,” Friends of Minnamurra River Chair Will Chyra said.
“And if the statement shows that the proposal is going to be environmentally damaging in any way to one of the Kiama Municipality’s last remaining largely untouched natural assets, then the design and route of the boardwalk and cycleway will have to be modified.
“I also find it inconceivable that the state government, with its array of legislation to protect ecological treasures such as the Minnamurra River estuary and wetlands, will allow the boardwalk project to proceed as proposed, if the project will destroy or harm – as it is apparently going to - the estuary’s naturalness and vegetation, mangroves, seagrasses, saltmarshes and fish and wildlife habitats.”
In a statement to the Kiama Independent, Kiama Council said 188 trees tagged by Cardno are part of a comprehensive survey to identify which trees may be affected by stage one of the Minnamurra Boardwalk.
Stage one involves a 980m long and 2.5m wide shared path along Riverside Drive, linking the Minnamurra River Bridge in the north to a viewing platform in the south.
Cardno surveyed a 6.3ha area and identified 66 trees may need to be removed.
The list of trees is contained in the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for stage one – which is available on Council’s website.
Council said few of the trees are large, and none are listed as threatened species.
The three large Moreton Bay Figs, features of the boardwalk, will be protected.
Cardno’s study concluded the landscape of the study area was “highly modified” in stark opposition to the community group’s assessment of the area as “untouched”.
“The landscape and vegetation in the study area was highly modified, likely due to the construction of Riverside Drive which required substantial earthworks and vegetation removal,” Cardno said.
Cardno also described the landscape as “disturbed and modified” and having a “high prevalence of weed species”.
Revegetation works, which will form part of the detailed design of the boardwalk, would involve the removal of weed species and planting of local native species.
Council, the approval authority for the boardwalk for which the NSW government has committed $4.5 million in funding, wants the project approved by April 3, 2019.
Public submissions on the project closed on Monday.
