Sunshine Coast myrtle financial offset project: a case study
The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) is working with Sunshine Coast Council to deliver an offset project to benefit the endangered Sunshine Coast myrtle (Lenwebbia sp. Blackall Range P.R. Sharpe 5387). The species is endemic to the Sunshine Coast region and is known to occur in only a small number of locations.
DESI receipted a financial settlement offset for impacts to seven individual Sunshine Coast myrtle plants caused by infrastructure works on the Sunshine Coast.
The survival of the Sunshine Coast myrtle is threatened by myrtle rust, a disease caused by an invasive fungus that affects plants in the Myrtaceae family. Myrtle rust can stunt growth, reduce fertility and lead to the death of plants. It has been the cause of the decline and local extinction of several individual populations of the Sunshine Coast myrtle. However, there are some populations that have shown some natural tolerance to myrtle rust.
This offset aims to conserve the Sunshine Coast myrtle by propagating plants from populations that have shown natural tolerance to myrtle rust and planting seedlings across several carefully selected sites on the Sunshine Coast. Although the minimum offset requirement to counterbalance the impact is 28 individual plants, Sunshine Coast Council will aim to propagate and plant 500 individuals. The project also includes the establishment of a nursery with ‘mother’ stock as an insurance measure, as well as an orchard with myrtle rust resistant plants in the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Garden.
This offset has a five-year management period, with each site receiving a quarterly maintenance program over the duration of the project to ensure the plants become established. This program will include health checks, weed control, adaptive site management and replacement plantings in the event these are required. By the conclusion of the project, the aim is to have multiple self-sustaining populations of the Sunshine Coast myrtle located across the Sunshine Coast.
If you are interested in providing an environmental offset or would like further information about offset delivery, please email financialoffsets@des.qld.gov.au