Mapping our native grasslands

Some of the industrial areas in Hobsons Bay include native grassland areas that belong to the Plains Grassland Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC). This is a critically endangered ecological community listed under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. There is currently less than one per cent of these grassland environments remaining in Victoria. These grasslands provide habitat for many threatened species, including the golden sun moth (synemon plana), striped legless lizard (delma impar) and spiny rice-flower (pimelea spinescens).

Hobsons Bay is home to 13 plants and 26 animals threatened within Victoria and protected under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act). Victorian Government approval is required for applications which seek to remove listed native grassland species under the FFG Act.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (Victorian Government) has conducted modelling based on 2005 data to outline locations of plains grassland in Victoria, including Hobsons Bay. This mapping has identified industrial areas that have the right conditions (soil, climate etc.) for the plains grassland and related significant species to be located on it. Further investigation is required to determine the condition and prevalence of important species and the condition of the overall environment. 

Council officers have compared the 2005 modelling to recent aerial photography to identify remaining vacant sites that may include native grassland. From this review, 35 sites have been identified as having potential grassland. These are located in industrial areas in the western part of Altona, generally around Kororoit Creek Road and the Laverton railway line. We are focusing only on properties included in the 2005 maps that have not been developed and therefore may contain remaining native grassland.

We currently rely on outdated Victorian Government mapping of native grassland areas from 2005. This project will provide a more accurate understanding of the location and condition of native grasslands to help inform the ongoing management of grasslands and future planning controls for these areas.

We engaged an independent environmental consultant to inspect areas where native grassland has previously been identified. The consultant identified the location, condition and habitat value of these native grasslands that are predominantly located within industrial areas of Hobsons Bay.