Underneath a clear, summer sky, amid the screeching chorus of cicadas, koala experts track through bushland around a large water-supply dam on the New South Wales Mid North Coast.
It does not take long to spot a koala nestled in the treetops.
Thermal drone surveys have revealed the Bootawa Dam site, near Taree, is home to one of the state’s most significant koala populations.
Aerial and audio surveys of the site conducted during 2024 by the MidCoast Council have shown a colony of about 60 koalas, some with joeys.
The council says that equates to about one koala for every 2.5 hectares of land — about seven times higher than the average density found within the MidCoast Local Government Area.
Senior ecologist Matt Bell and koala project officer Caitlin Orr at the Bootawa Dam site. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
“We’ve actually found one of the state’s highest density koala populations here,” said MidCoast Council koala project officer Caitlin Orr.
“We’ve always known anecdotally that it was high, but we had no idea that it had reached this level … the population is breeding and doing really well.”
Koalas have been considered endangered in NSW under the state’s Biodiversity Conservation Act since May 2022.
The MidCoast Council’s senior ecologist Matt Bell said the findings at the Bootawa site were “exciting” for a species considered at risk of extinction in NSW by 2050.
“It wasn’t until we did the detailed studies [that] we knew how important it was by the quite incredible densities we found here,” he said.
A koala and joey in bushland around the Bootawa Dam, near Taree. (Supplied: Erin Master)
Ms Orr said further surveys would be done this year to track the health of the colony and to learn more about what makes the site so special.
It’s hoped the findings can be used to boost koala habitat in other parts of NSW where the marsupials aren’t faring as well.
“We aren’t sure of the perfect combination that’s led to this high density,” Ms Orr said.
“Having that big permanent water source that’s always there means all the trees are nice and healthy and koalas always have that water source, even in the drought.”
Bushland around the dam is home to about 60 koalas, a “significant” colony. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
Enhancing koala safe spaces
Work is also being done to further enhance koala habitat at the Bootawa Dam.
According to the NSW government, the Bootawa Dam site sits within an identified Area of Regional Koala Significance.
These are places where koalas have the “potential to persist over the long term”.
Funding from the NSW Koala Strategy supported the thermal drone surveys at Bootawa, and the MidCoast Council also received money from the Commonwealth Saving Koalas Fund for long-term conservation measures.
Workers plant koala food trees on a property near the Bootawa Dam site. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
NSW Department of Environment senior project officer John Turbill is now working closely with the MidCoast Council to ensure the koalas at Bootawa continue to thrive.
“The data from the drone surveys will help council guide future conservation initiatives for this significant and high-density koala population,” Mr Turbill said.
Bush regeneration work includes native tree planting and the removal of weeds, including lantana, which has been shown to restrict koala movements across the landscape.
MidCoast Council workers inspect a tree planting area in the forest around Bootawa Dam. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
Koalas and cattle
Landowners around the Bootawa Dam are also working with the council and other agencies to improve vital koala corridors.
“Male koalas need to find partners to breed with, so the landscape and connections in the landscape are really important for koala conservation,” Mr Bell said.
Hillville cattle farmer Bill Hopkins, who lives near the Bootawa Dam, said he was committed to providing food for both cattle and koalas, even if it meant giving up some valuable grazing pasture.
Bill Hopkins is involved in bush regeneration work to create koala habitat on his property. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
“As a landowner we have to sacrifice a bit … it’s important to have that mixture between the cattle and koalas,” Mr Hopkins said.
He said weed removal work on his property was yielding results.
A koala on Mr Hopkins’s farm. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
“Pathways are opening up and we are noticing a lot more koala movements now,” Mr Hopkins said.
“We are starting to see a lot more males and for the first time this year we are starting to see mothers and joeys … I find it really rewarding.”
Lauren Booth, who also owns on a property near the Bootawa Dam, has been involved in extensive tree-planting projects.
Lauren Booth has done extensive tree planting on her property at Bootawa to improve koala corridors. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
“It’s something we felt was necessary since we discovered there were so many koalas in the area … the most we’ve ever seen in one day was five or six on the property,” she said.
“If each landowner does one small project … all of these projects add up into something really worthwhile.”
