Pygmy possums on a slippery slope
The future of the last stable population of endangered mountain pygmy possums in Victoria hangs in the balance as developers plan a revamp and massive expansion of the Mt Hotham ski resort.
Mountain pygmy possum
© Linda Broome
The $500 million development at Mt Higginbotham is immediately adjacent to the boulder-scree habitat of the possum, the only native mammal restricted to Australia's alpine and sub-alpine zone above 1400m.
While developers are claiming that this tiny possum will not be impacted, the odds are stacked against them. At least four populations of mountain pygmy possum are located in ski resorts nationally, and direct and incremental impacts of the resorts, ski runs and the increased traffic have all but decimated the populations at two of them.
Over a period of 10 years, the Mt Buller population declined from 300 breeding females to only six, while Mt Blue Cow's population has dropped from 120 breeding females to around 25.
To avoid delays in construction, the developers have proposed an amendment to Victoria's Planning and Environment Act 1987 that would allow each development stage to be considered separately, and would exempt each from public notice or appeal. It would also exempt the development from an environmental effects statement which is essential to gauge the potential impact on the possums.
"Given the fate of the two other populations of mountain pygmy possum, it is absolutely imperative that a thorough and publicly reviewable environmental impact assessment is undertaken before any new development commences," says Dr Nicola Markus, WWF's Species Program Leader.
"Thirty per cent of Mt Hotham's possum habitat has already been lost, and protecting this population and its habitat from any further decline is paramount to the survival of this iconic species," she said.
"The protection of this population has formally been identified as critically important under Victoria's Mountain Pygmy Possum Action Statement".
WWF-Australia has called on the federal government to ensure that the development is referred for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.
