Illawarra Escarpment and Coastal Plain - bioregional assessment

This bioregional assessment covers the escarpment and foothills of the Wollongong Local Government Area. Completed by the NPWS in August 2002, the assessment includes:

• habitat maps and species profiles for 51 threatened animals in the region
• mapping of all threatened ecological communities in the Wollongong Local Government Area
• details of wildlife corridors stretching from Macquarie Pass to Royal National Park, and from Lake Illawarra to the Illawarra Escarpment
• classifications, descriptions and photographs of 54 different plant communities, from coastal grasslands to subtropical rainforests.

Housing and agriculture have degraded many of the Wollongong area's natural environments. However, the report shows that the remaining pockets of bushland provide habitat for a huge number of species. An extensive survey program found more than 700 plant species and 220 animal species in the area, including 64 threatened species. The surveys also uncovered 13 endangered ecological communities.

Wollongong City Council will use the bioregional assessment as it develops a management plan for the Illawarra Escarpment and its foothills. This management plan was one of the recommendations of a 1999 commission of inquiry into long-term land use planning along the Illawarra Escarpment.

The bioregional assessment is available in two reports:

1. Native vegetation report - this describes and maps all native plant communities across the Illawarra Escarpment and Coastal Plain, including endangered ecological communities. It includes an electronic geographic information systems (GIS) data layer.

2. Fauna report - this deals with deal with faunal assemblages, the impacts of disturbance, and corridors and linkages within the study area. It includes species profiles for 51 priority species, including threatened species. Electronic GIS layers are also provided, including records, and where relevant, predicted habitats of priority species, faunal assemblages and linkages.

You can download vegetation maps from the bioregional assessment below. However, if you would like a copy of the two reports, you'll need to buy them from the NPWS - download an order form below.

Documents to download

• Vegetation maps of the Illawarra Escarpment and Coastal Plain
  • Southern section of the assessment area (PDF - 1.4MB)
  • Northern section of the assessment area (PDF - 880KB)
    
    
    
• Order form for the Illawarra Escarpment and Coastal Plain Bioregional Assessment reports (PDF - 65KB)

Page last updated: 27 February 2011