Native Vegetation 
Feral Native Species listed in Northern Rivers CMA
As per C17 (5) of the NV Regulation: A catchment management authority must publish on its website an
up-to-date list of the species of native vegetation that are listed for the time being under this clause as a feral species for land or an area in its area of operations. Listing of a feral native species allows clearing of that species as a Routine Agricultural Management Activity subject to the land and conditions defined in the listing. The land to which a listing applies may be quite restricted. For details of where and how each listing applies, please read the document accessible via the link for each species. Contact the NRCMA if you have any queries regarding a listing or its interpretation:
- Coastal Tea Tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) This is the first listing under the Native Vegetation Act (2003) of a feral native species in NSW.
What role does the CMA have in vegetation clearing in NSW ?
The Native Vegetation Act 2003 came into force in NSW on December 2005 and introduced a new approach to the management of native vegetation across NSW. The Act is designed to prevent broadscale clearing unless it improves or maintains environmental outcomes. It aims to protect native vegetation of high conservation value, protect water quality and biodiversity, and to prevent land degradation.
The Northern Rivers CMA (along with 12 other CMAs in NSW) is responsible for implementing the Native Vegetation Act and its regulation. In general, any clearing approved under the Act must be offset by improving the condition of another area of native vegetation of the same or similar type. The Northern Rivers CMA is the consent authority for vegetation clearing on non-urban lands in the northern rivers region.
What clearing does not require approval?
There are some clearing activities that do not require consent under the Act. Rural landholders can carry out certain clearing activities if these are defined as Routine Agricultural Management Activities (RAMAs). Some examples of permitted clearing activities (RAMAs) include:
- clearing for boundary and internal fences,
- clearing around farm infrastructure like stock yards,
- machinery sheds and dams, and
- clearing of vegetation that has regrown after the 1st January 1990 following a legal clearing event.
Please contact your local CMA office for advice on permitted clearing distances, or to discuss whether your clearing is defined as a RAMA.
For more information visit the native vegetation website or download a native vegetation fact sheet .
What is a Property Vegetation Plan?
The process of assessing the values of native vegetation and the impacts of clearing on the environment are done through the development of a Property Vegetation Plan (PVPs). This is a voluntary, binding agreement between the landholder and CMA that is implemented when clearning consent given.
What incentives are there for maintaining native vegetation ?
The Native Vegetation Act, 2003, also provides for Incentive Programs and Agreements for the conservation management of native vegetation on private land. During 2007/08, the Northern Rivers CMA delivered Round 3 of its Bush Recovery Program, to assist landholders with vegetation management in priority areas. The primary funding program for vegetation incentives, the Bush Recovery Program provided a flexible market based program for landholders. Landholders submit requests for funding to implement a site action plan under an agreement and term nominated by the landholder. A site specific Action Plan is developed on site with the Northern Rivers CMA.
The Bush Recovery program has proven popular with landholders, with a total of $1.55M made available to landholders in 2007/08 over rounds 2 and 3 of the Program. Almost 100 landholders in round 3 of the Bush Recovery Program have developed Action Plans, assisting landholders to understand the native vegetation values of their property. Plans address the threats to native vegetation and what actions can be taken to ensure natural values are maintained and enhanced.
The Northern Rivers CMA also partnered with other organisations to deliver incentive funding programs to landholders committed to native vegetation conservation. In 2007/08, the Northern Rivers CMA teamed with Dept. of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) and the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW (NCT) to deliver funding to assist landholders managing lands under conservation agreements registered on title. These included Voluntary Conservation Agreements with DECC, Conservation Covenants with the NCT and Property Agreements with the former Department of Land and Water Conservation (DLWC). A total of $100,000 was provided to 17 landholders under this Program.
