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Group Name: The Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association Inc

SCEC is the umbrella organisation of more than 50 community groups. In this issue of Eco, we look at a member group from the beleaguered Bribie Island.

Members of the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association

Rampant development can be a juggernaut that crushes eco-systems in its path, but on Bribie Island a community group is managing to apply the brakes.

The Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association Inc (BIEPA) has been fighting to keep the island’s natural assets safe forever, and has notched up some impressive wins in its 30 year history.

Bribie Island is the only island in Queensland connected by bridge to the mainland, and being close to Brisbane, it is well in the firing line of creeping urbanisation. Housing estates and canal developments have had a huge ecological impact. Much of the interior is a monoculture of sterile pine forest, and a far cry from what artist Ian Fairweather described as Bribie’s “friendly bush” where he painted many masterpieces.

BIEPA’s role in protecting some of this friendly bush has been crucial.

A good example is the preservation of Lot 402. This 37 hectare block of untouched bushland in the island’s south had the highest conservation rating of any block in the Caboolture Shire. It’s a beautiful mosaic of eucalyptus, tea-tree and banksia forest and wallum heath. Then in 1998 a developer persuaded Council to rezone – to change its classification from Open Space to Urban Designation.

Galvanised by a strong community spirit and representing themselves in court, BIEPA lodged a successful appeal with the Planning and Environment Court. Lot 402 was saved from urbanisation, and this year, along with other parts of Bribie totalling 3690 hectares, was gazetted as national park. This took the total area of national park to nearly 10,000 hectares, or about half the area of the island.

Another notable victory involved Buckley’s Hole, a freshwater lake close to the ocean, and one of Queensland’s top birding sites with over 280 species recorded. Just the place for a marina, some thought, until BIEPA managed to have the Hole and surrounding area protected as a conservation park in 1992.

Strong community participation is the key to the BIEPA’s effectiveness, according to President Ian Bell.

“We have over 240 members who are passionate, determined and contribute all sorts of skills, such as technical expertise, which has given us credibility and some influence with government ministers and bureaucrats.

“We also link with other organisations including the Bribie Island Community Association and Friends of Woorim Beach on issues of common concern.

“BIEPA’s vision for Bribie is a special natural area where a vibrant and cohesive community can live in harmony with the wonders of our national parks and marine parks and Ramsar areas.

“A community-led approach to development and proper community consultation is essential if we are to achieve this.”

As part of community engagement, the group sponsors a wildlife carer on the island, as well as environmental awards to local schools.

BIEPA’s regular meetings often feature a guest speaker. Recently dugong authority Dr Janet Lanyon gave a talk on the plight of this threatened creature. Where Pumicestone Passage was once home to huge herds, now a mere dozen remain, and they may soon be as impossible to sight in the Passage as the mermaid, the legendary creature described by early European sailors when seeing a dugong from a distance.

Harassed by speeding boats and jet skis, dugongs face a major threat from the algae lyngbya majuscula, commonly known as fireweed or mermaid’s hair. It’s a toxin best avoided by swimmers, and can blanket sea grass beds, the dugong’s food source.

There was an unprecedented outbreak of the deadly algae in Pumicestone Passage last year, with Council harvesting 6000 tonnes and trucking it to landfill sites. It’s thought that high water temperatures combined with massive nutrient loads – phosphorous, nitrogen, iron and dissolved organic matter, are responsible.

Many more threats to Bribie’s environment keep BIEPA busy.

Coastal erosion, especially on the southern side of the ocean beach, is a significant issue, and likely to increase as climate change generates rising sea levels and more storm surges.

As part of the SEQ Water Grid Plan, Caboolture Council last year began the Bribie Bores project, which involves extracting fresh water from underground aquifers. Community consultation was zero and no environmental impact studies were done.  BIEPA has identified risks of seawater intrusion and lowering of the water table, with possible devastating consequences for plant communities and associated fauna of Bribie’s delicate wetlands.

Another disturbing proposal involves a desalination plant on the eastern shore. BIEPA is concerned with high tension power pylons creating an ugly blight on Bribie’s holiday skyline, and the effect of concentrated saline discharge on marine life.

Challenges for the future revolve around Moreton Council’s Town Plan, which doesn’t effectively recognise Bribie’s unique features, according to Ian Bell.

“Moreton’s growth rate of 3.3 per cent is a real concern. If maintained it will cause the population to double within 21 years,” he said.

“If environmental impacts double as well, how can we retain dugongs and other iconic marine species such as turtles in Pumicestone Passage?

“Exponential population growth must be curbed if we are to successfully manage environmental threats in the region,” said Mr Bell.

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