The Biodiversity Council welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Draft National Recovery Plan for the Grassy Eucalypt Woodland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain.

The Recovery Plan guides action to secure and improve the geographic extent and integrity of the Grassy Eucalypt Woodland ecological community (GEW). The focus is on maintaining and protecting existing patches of GEW.

The Recovery Plan has the following objectives:

• Protect the GEW ecological community from threatening processes, potentially incompatible land use or catastrophic loss.
• Increase knowledge of the ecology and management requirements of the GEW ecological community.
• Improve connectivity for the GEW ecological community via restoration and enhancement.
• Improve community awareness and support to conserve and to improve management of the GEW ecological community.

The recovery actions are presented as a ‘menu’ that aligns with the main objectives of the Recovery Plan. The stated intention is that this ‘menu-style’ of recovery actions may be used flexibly and adaptively, according to local context.

Our key concerns are listed below:

1. The lack of progress in establishing Grassy Eucalypt Woodlands Reserve under the Melbourne Strategic Assessment must be addressed
2. The ‘menu-style’ of recovery actions is unlikely to drive action
3. The Recovery Plan must ensure that direct actions are the highest priority

For more detail, please read our full submission.