AN Eagleby group which has set out to save their surrounding wetlands is continuing its fight to have plans for a six-lane highway changed, despite Stage 1 of the project already being underway.
Under current plans, Stage 2 of the Coomera Connector would disrupt the Eagleby Wetlands area.
However, the Eagleby Community and Wetlands Group says there’s still hope.
They recently received an EnviroGrant from Logan City Council to help them with eDNA testing and further environmental research.
Secretary of the Eagleby Community and Wetlands Group Jackie Dobson said testing allowed experts to take samples from the wetlands, which have now been sent to Curtin University in Western Australia for further research.
“The wetlands in Eagleby are unique in Southeast Queensland, due to the varied sources of the water that flows through the system. As a result, we are hoping to find varied and interesting eDNA results,” she said.
“As organisms move through the environment, they shed genetic material called DNA. This material stays in the environment providing information about the past and present of the creature that left it. We hope that the testing will provide us with information about the animals that use the wetlands.
“This is important as no government has completed this thorough and extensive research before gazetting the area.”
Ms Dobson said during construction of the Coomera Connector, much of the wetlands would be destroyed with major implications on surrounding areas.
“During the construction process, our large flood plain that for decades has protected towns upstream of the Albert and Logan Rivers as well as the Ramsar listed Moreton Bay downstream will be altered forever,” she said.
“During the last few years, we have become aware of the importance of protecting floodplains and allowing the natural systems to operate effectively. The disruption to the floodplain could result in more flooding events and or higher levels of floods.”
She said social impacts would be enormous.
“We have only two major roads in Eagleby, both will be used extensively during the building process. Congestion, dust, noise, and heavy truck movements will become the norm in our suburb for anything between two to 10 years,” she said.
“There are two primary schools and several childcare centres along these roads. The damage to these young people`s growing bodies and brains will be enormous.”
As part of their ongoing research, Ms Dobson said the group will also be conducting two more Snipe surveys.
Latham’s Snipe is a migratory protected bird that flies from Japan to Australia to feed and rest before flying back.
“During the survey last year, 22 Snipes were located in a four-hour period,” Ms Dobson said.
“Eighteen snipes will trigger The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. We are hoping to get more triggers in the future.”
