Lower Hunter - Nominated - Hunter Valley Remnant Woodlands and Open Forests - Extent

Data compiled within this feature class is combined extent of the nominated Hunter Valley Remnant Woodlands and Open Forests found across the Lower Hunter region (Cessnock, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and Maitland LGAs). This data is for the EPBC Act Listed Ecological Communities Mapping in the Lower Hunter project and has been consolidated to help map the extent of Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs) in this area. This data will aid in reviewing and analysing the likelihood of occurrence of EPBC Act listed flora and fauna within the Threatened Ecological Communities, and also support the process of identifying and providing recommendations regarding High Priority Conservation Areas within the region. Recommendations from this data regarding Key Threatening Processes have the potential to impact EPBC Act – listed ecological communities and threatened flora and fauna.

• The GIS mapping data were obtained to inform sustainability planning for the Lower Hunter region, particularly to assist in informing the NSW government review of the NSW Lower Hunter regional strategy and Lower Hunter regional conservation plan.
• Once this review is complete, the second stage is to undertake a strategic assessment of proposed urban development and related infrastructure corridors. The NSW Government has entered into an agreement with the Commonwealth to conduct a strategic assessment of proposed urban development and related infrastructure corridors.
• The data provide the best available maps of the regional distribution of two Critically Endangered Ecological Communities protected under national environmental law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) – as well as the distribution of three vegetation communities nominated for listing as threatened species and ecological communities under the EPBC Act.
• Vegetation definitions used to map the distribution of the three nominated communities are preliminary and subject to change through the listing determination process. Changes to the definition of a vegetation community may result in changes to the mapped distribution of the community.
• While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this dataset are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this dataset.CC - Attribution (CC BY) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License. Data to be available in the Public Domain under Creative Commons by Attribution Licencing Agreement. More information can be found here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en IP owned by Department of the Environment and Energy. The data is provided as is and was captured and manipulated using best practice. Parsons Brinckerhoff bear no responsibility should the data be found to be incorrect. Users must attribute the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy as the data provider. © Commonwealth of Australia (Department of the Environment and Energy) 2014