Paradise lost in Maclean

A letter to the editor in The Daily Examiner November 19, 2011:

Paradise lost
I'M visiting the Clarence area, having been away for some time.
I'm appalled at the lack of re-vegetation of the Maclean Rainforest Reserve, the amount of trimmings and vegetation removal in the high school area and the resulting movement of the flying fox camp to the gully/sub station area.
I was a member of the Maclean Rainforest Reserve Trust before the 1999 dispersals and I remember having a conversation with one of the residents of Harwood St, who stated from experience, that flying foxes had used the gully area in the past at times of dispersal/disturbance.
At the time, no one planning the dispersal would take any notice of this statement.
The "belief de jour" was that the disturbed flying foxes would move to Yaegl Nature Reserve - known then as Farlow's Swamp - despite the fact that there was no evidence that this was so.
The residents of the gully are certainly currently living daily with the results of this decision.
All evidence at the time stated that flying foxes are best managed in their original camp site.
I don't know what it takes to make those in authority take notice of evidence and consequences before they make decisions that others are going to have to live with.
They obviously use other criteria to make their decisions.
I wish I knew what they were.
It's interesting to note that Chris Gulaptis, who led the Maclean flying fox disturbance regime, is once again standing in the position of decision-maker for the people of this area.
I wonder if he ever reflects on the consequences of that earlier decision.
It certainly worked well for him, jump-starting his political career.
But the residents of the gully and a threatened species have not been so fortunate.

Carole West

Port Macquarie

Photograph from Google Images