Central and Southern Tablelands Koala Management Area – Restoring koala habitat | Threatened species

The Central and Southern Tablelands Koala Management Area (Central and Southern Tablelands KMA or KMA 5) lies in the central west and south west of New South Wales. Located between the Sydney metro area and the central western slopes and plains, the region extends from the Mudgee and Bathurst districts west of Sydney, south through Goulburn and Yass to the foothills of the Victorian alps.

Sparse and patchy koala populations live at high elevations, mostly to the east and north-east of Cooma and in the Bathurst–Cowra–Mudgee–Lithgow area. Other records of koalas scattered throughout this region include sightings around Goulburn, in Bungonia State Recreation Area and the Mundoonen Nature Reserve.

Koalas are mostly found in rugged, infertile woodlands and forests in this area, probably a consequence of land clearing and agricultural development in the fertile flats. Koalas in some areas chew the bark of Eucalyptus mannifera trees to access sodium in an otherwise sodium-poor environment.

Map showing the extent of the Central and Southern Tablelands Koala Management Area (KMA), with national parks, state forests, major waterways and roads.

Threats

Koalas and koala habitat in KMA 5 are threatened by:

habitat clearing and fragmentation due to agriculture and rural residential development
high-intensity and/or high-frequency fires causing koala mortality and temporarily eliminating food sources
vehicle strike and domestic dog attack
diseases such as chlamydia and koala retrovirus
canopy dieback across a range of species, such as Eucalyptus viminalis near Cooma.

Restoration of habitat

Habitat restoration aims to reduce threats to koalas, increase habitat and help conserve koala populations.

Read our Koala habitat restoration guidelines (the guidelines) for evidence-based recommendations and best-practice methods for restoring koala habitat.

Choosing an approach

Before you choose a restoration approach, such as natural regeneration, assisted regeneration, reintroductions or a combination of these, carefully assess your site and identify:

which plant community you aim to reinstate
whether the site has existing native vegetation on it. If native vegetation exists, try to facilitate natural regeneration before planting or direct seeding. The guidelines have more information.

Plant spacing

Plant spacing can vary depending on the vegetation community you aim to establish (for example, woodland, open forest or tall open forest). Trees should be planted far enough apart to have good tree form or lateral branches and to allow enough light through for native grasses, shrubs and ferns to thrive.

Some tips for planting:

Plant trees 8–10 metres apart (150 trees/hectare).
Plant shrubs 3–5 metres apart (400–625 shrubs/hectare), depending on the size of shrubs.
Spacing for groundcover varies and can be anywhere from one to 6 plants per square metre.
Density of trees and shrubs can vary from 400 to 1,000 per hectare.

Trees koalas prefer

Koalas use a broad range of tree species for food, shelter, rest and socialising.

Koalas usually feed within trees of the Eucalyptus genus, but they use many non-eucalypt species for shelter and sometimes feed on trees from genera such as:

Acacia – wattle
Allocasuarina – she oak
Callitris – conifer/cypress
Melaleuca – paperbark/tea tree.

We recommend you plant a range of high-, significant- and occasional-use tree species from our recommended tree species list.

Not all species will be relevant for all sites.

When you choose trees to plant, consider whether:

species are locally native
species are suitable for your site in terms of landscape position, such as near a creek, on a slope or ridge
you have chosen a mix of species that koalas will use for food, shelter and social activities
you have included shrubs and groundcover species as well as tree species.

Tree species lists

These tree lists contain recommended tree species for koala habitat within KMA 5. The lists align with local government areas located within this KMA: