Koala road signage is up near Uralla Golf Club! Thanks Uralla Shire Council!!
Koalas are now officially listed as Endangered. Vehicle strike is a key threat and has played a big part of their decline. It is one of the most frequently reported causes of injury and death for koalas brought into care by wildlife rehabilitation groups.
Vehicle strike tends to be clustered at specific locations called ‘hotspots’ where a road intersects the habitat that provides a corridor for koala movement. Koala vehicle strikes are also more likely to occur at dawn and dusk when it’s more difficult for drivers to see and avoid collisions.
There has been a vehicle strike hotspot identified on the New England Highway south of Uralla where the 50km/hour speed zone changes to a 100km/hour speed zone. Eight koalas have been hit here in the past two years.
To mitigate vehicle strike in this area, Southern New England Landcare in partnership with Uralla Shire Council and the Uralla Golf Club will be:
- Installing two variable message signs. They will be placed at either end of the hotspot area to warn drivers that they are entering a koala zone.
- Clearing the roadside vegetation in the 2km hotspot area. Slashing and maintaining roadside road side grass in the hotspot area to improve driver visibility.
- Providing general koala vehicle strike updates and safe practise awareness raising information to the community through Council and social media.
You can find more information on the Southern New England Landcare website or by contacting a member of our Northern Tablelands Koala Partnership team on 02 6772 9123.
This initiative has been made possible through the Northern Tablelands Koala Partnership Project, hosted by Southern New England Landcare Ltd, and funded by the NSW Government.
