Western Port Hills – South Gippsland Biodiversity Protection Plan

Western Port Hills: public land, native vegetation and revegetation priority for biodiversity.

Private and public land	98.3% private land, 1.7% public land 464 ha public land: a mix of community use, stream frontage and uncategorised Crown land
Habitat priorities	1728 ha of native vegetation patches > 10 ha, mainly located within the northern and western portions of the landscape zone. Areas of high revegetation priority are most prevalent in the western portion of the zone north of Nyora, linking larger patches of remnant vegetation and waterways.
Key threatened species	Gang-gang cockatoo, little eagle, Narracan corrugated mussel, giant Gippsland earthworm, platypus, Narracan burrowing crayfish, black falcon, blue-winged parrot, barking owl, powerful owl, southern toadlet. Strzelecki gum, green scentbark.
Key threats	Loss of paddock trees, fragmented remnant vegetation Altered waterway hydrology and pollution Introduced herbivores and predators: rabbits, deer, foxes, cats Lack of fire in priority vegetation types.

Source: South Gippsland Biodiversity Protection Plan (October 2024), section 3.8 Biodiversity values by local area or landscape zone. See the nine Strategic Directions for the plan’s objectives, actions and measures.