New eyes on YCA

A helmeted honeyeater at Healesville Sanctuary. 149728 Picture: JESSE GRAHAM

 Two new groups will form to help to implement the Yellingbo Conservation Area draft 10-year plan.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) Port Phillip acting regional director Deb Brown said Yellingbo Conservation Area Coordinating Committee (YCACC) was independently reviewed every three years the process started in July last year.

“It recommended a change in governance arrangements given the Yellingbo Conservation Area (YCA) draft 10-year plan is in the process of shifting from planning to implementation,” she said.

So the State Government will restructure the management model to include a co-ordinating committee of land managers and a broader-based community reference group.

“It’s important that we adapt the management model to continue to work with land managers and the community,” Ms Brown said.

YCACC was created in October 2015 to implement the recommendations detailed in the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council’s (VEAC) Yellingbo Investigation Final Report.

Since then, DELWP has been engaging with the public on plans to establish the YCA.

The YCA will conserve biodiversity, improve water quality, improve public land management across the landscape, and provide a recreation space for future generations to enjoy.

The area is home to two of Victoria’s faunal emblems; the helmeted honeyeater and the lowland Leadbeater’s possum.