Wildlife corridors connect plant and animal populations so that they can breed, migrate, disperse seeds, and seek safety.
Any patch of native vegetation, large or small, can be part of a wildlife corridor and can help our local wildlife.
Use our Wildlife Corridors web map to:
- Find out if there are corridors near your property.
- Identify which threatened species are protected by your local corridor.
- Learn what native plants grow in your area.
- Help plan your habitat creation or restoration project.
Go to the Wildlife Corridors map
Wildlife Corridor System Report
The Wildlife Corridor System Report explains:
- How the wildlife corridor map was created.
- Mapping methodology.
- All the datasets used.
Wildlife Corridor System Report(PDF, 7MB)
Photo credit: Greater Glider by L Cooper
The Byron Shire wildlife corridor map is a model that has been developed based on the needs of 120 of the most threatened, and least mobile, species in Byron Shire. This includes:
- Wallum Sedge Frog
- Greater Glider
- Long-nosed Potoroo
- Pale-yellow Robin.
The corridor map shows the best areas to restore and protect to help these plants and animals thrive.
If you want to restore wildlife habitat on your property, expanding and connecting corridors is the best place to start.
You don’t have to plant hundreds of trees to make a difference – just a line of native trees connecting one patch of habitat to another can help.
What to plant in a wildlife corridor?
Knowing what to plant where can be overwhelming.
The plant lists on the Wildlife Corridors Map show common species growing on the dominant soil type in your area.
Use the Wildlife Corridors Map to print out a list of the common species growing in your area. Take this list to your local plant nursery.
Together with Brunswick Valley Landcare, we have developed some simple local planting guides to help.
Visit Native Plant Guides
Other ways to make your land more fauna friendly
Information for farmers
There are many ways farmers can improve biodiversity and productivity at the same time.
Visit our Regenerative Agriculture section to learn more and book a free onsite farm consultation.
The wildlife corridor map aims to encourage landholders to restore wildlife habitat. It is not meant to limit permitted land use.
The wildlife corridor map is non-statutory, meaning landholders are not required to restore this land.
However, if landholders are interested in improving wildlife habitat on their property, the corridor map is a useful guide and may help when applying for grant funding.
Are wildlife corridors Conservation Zones?
Our Local Environment Plan (LEP) 2014 already protects high conservation value land in Byron Shire. These are known as Conservation Zones (C-Zones).
C-Zones have been identified through on-ground assessments and landholder consultation.
Changes to our LEP 2014 land use planning zones cannot be done without written notification to all affected landholders.
Having a wildlife corridor mapped on your land does not impact on your ability to undertake land uses that are already permitted in your land use zone under the LEP 2014.
Example
If you live in a Rural Land Use Zone, all rural land use activities, like farming, permitted under the LEP are allowed on your property. This applies whether your land is in a mapped wildlife corridor or not.
Landholders must continue to meet all requirements under the LEP and Development Control Plan (DCP). This applies to land both inside or outside a mapped wildlife corridor.
For more information visit Proposed changes to conservation zones and other land use zones
Clearing land in a wildlife corridor
The Byron Shire wildlife corridor map does not have any impact on whether a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report is required.
The Biodiversity Development Assessment Report requirement is controlled by the Biodiversity Conservation (BC) Act 2016. There are no specific provisions relating to Byron Shire’s wildlife corridor map in the Biodiversity Conservation Act.
A Biodiversity Development Assessment Report is required for:
- Developments where the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme applies
- Land on the NSW Government Biodiversity Values Map.
For more information visit
Will I need a Vegetation Management Plan if I subdivide within a wildlife corridor area?
Landholders seeking a subdivision of rural land are required to prepare
- a Vegetation Management Plan
- or a Biodiversity Conservation Management Plan.
This applies whether your land is mapped as a wildlife corridor or not.
For more information visit Developing Vegetation and Biodiversity Conservation Management Plans
If additional tree planting or restoration is required as part of a subdivision, we encourage this planting in or adjacent to a wildlife corridor. This would maximise on-site wildlife values.
Can I build a tourist cabin or secondary dwelling in a wildlife corridor area?
For all rural tourist accommodation development applications, proponents must prepare a Vegetation Management Plan, whether or not the site is mapped as a wildlife corridor.
A Vegetation Management Plan takes into consideration any existing ecological values at the site and details any compensatory planting or habitat restoration required. Council encourages compensatory planting in or next to wildlife corridors to help improve wildlife habitat.
For more information visit Developing Vegetation and Biodiversity Conservation Management Plans