EXPOSING DEVELOPERS WHO FAIL TO APPRECIATE AND RESPECT COMMUNITY, ENVIRONMENT AND SPIRIT OF THE LAND
Watsons Creek/Kangaroo Ground - Widening of Eltham-Yarra Glen Road (Melways 272 B6) by Vicroads late 2004 - Responsible Minister Peter Batchelor.
VICROADS GO THE HACK!
Macquarie Perch facing extinction. Silt Kills Native Fish
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September 2004: Images
of very poor sediment control on Eltham Yarra Glen Road by Vicroads.
Each image reveals issues pertaining to high siltation inputs into
Watsons Creek by Vicroads.
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ROADSIDE DESTRUCTION of ELTHAM-YARRA GLEN ROAD OCCURRING THROUGH OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2003
Above: Recent destruction of roadside vegetation occurring. This destruction is occurring largely to facilitate the movement of more logs trucks from the Central Highlands to Geelong export woodchip mills.
Dec 03: More recent destruction of old box trees for this controversial road widening.
Dec 03: Woodchipped and left by the side of the road. Ex habitat trees aligning Eltham - Yarra Glen Road. These chips will be used as mulch in the replanting. Will the orchids be mulched too?
Vicroads work station located in very close proximity to Watsons Creek. Although the work station has hay bales surrounding the facility, in the event of an accident involving petroleum etc the hay bales may be ineffective.
Road fill stored very close to the Yarra Glen Road and Watsons Creek. In the event of heavy rainfall a great deal of sediment could be washed into Watsons Creek and possibly the Yarra River threatening the population of Macquarie Perch, Australian Grayling and other species that inhabit the Yarra.
More sediment piles with appropriate silt protection measures.
Ditto.
Silt trap knocked over by a piece of bark!
VicRoads plans to widen this road primarily to facillitate the movement of log trucks between the Central Highlands and the Midways woodchip export facility via the Western Ring road and the Princes Highway. The area where these photos were taken contains many rare species including endangered orchids.
The so-called road widening will destroy an incredibly diverse local ecosystem. The road side area to be destroyed has a total of 114 indigenous plant species - with 5 to 6 species of State Significance (including orchid species such as the Common Ruddyhood, Blue Caladenia, Trim Greenhood and Wallflower Orchid) and 24-25 species of regional significance. The road widening is most likely so that the road can accomodate more log trucks, as the trucks use Eltham-Yarra Glen Road as a short cut from Healesville to the Western Ring Road and then onto woodchip mills based in Geelong.
The area also has 57 native vertebrate fauna species (most likely including the Brush-tailed Phascogale).
The road widening is located near Watsons Creek - a tributary of the Yarra River. Very near where Watsons Creek meets the Yarra River, there is a significant population of of endangered Macquarie Perch. Any sediment entering the waterways from the road widening will most likely impact negatively on this rare and threatened species.
Nillumbik Council finally proposed to ban log trucks from the road in late November 2001 - but are still waiting approval from VicRoads. Log trucks using Eltham-Yarra Glen Road include trucks carrying native forest logs from the Healesville area and trucks transporting logs from Hancock Victorian Plantations plantations in the Acheron Valley. www.hancock.forests.org.au
More Vicroads Carnage Tambo River - Omeo Highway June 2008
