Vegetation Management Plan
A Vegetation Management Plan (or Biodiversity Management Plan) manages a project's ongoing impacts after approval, including weeds, feral animals and edge effects. It's usually a condition of consent following a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR), or part of setting up a site under a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement.
When do I need a Vegetation Management Plan?
Two situations. On the development side, a Vegetation Management Plan (or Biodiversity Management Plan) is usually a condition of consent once your Biodiversity Development Assessment Report is approved. The plan determines what needs to happen around the cleared area to protect existing vegetation from weeds moving in, feral animals, and edge effects. On the stewardship side, it's part of setting up a Biodiversity Stewardship Site, the same management plan that sits inside your Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement.
What's included?
A vegetation management plan is scoped to the requirements outlined in the original report. Either as a condition of consent on the development side, or as part of the 20-year plan inside a stewardship agreement.
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Identifying and controlling weed species likely to move into the site over time, not just at the time the site was originally assessed.
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Managing feral animal impact on retained vegetation and any threatened species habitat nearby.
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Protecting native vegetation from the knock-on effects of the development, such as changed light, drainage, and access.
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Set out upfront, so compliance is something you can track against, not a moving target.
The obligations don't stop at approval
An approval is the start of a Vegetation Management Plan's job, not the end of it. A plan that's easy to act on and easy to report against is what keeps a project compliant for years, not just on the day it's signed off.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not quite. A condition of consent is what requires the plan to exist. The Vegetation Management Plan itself is the document that sets out how you'll actually manage weeds, feral animals and edge effects to satisfy that condition, over the life of the project.
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Yes, it's built in to the plan. The management plan inside your Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement covers the same actions, fencing, weed and feral control, erosion, across a 20-year budget, as part of setting up the stewardship site itself.
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On the stewardship side, it runs for the life of the Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement, typically 20 years or more. On the development side, the duration is set by your specific condition of consent, so it varies project to project rather than following a fixed term.
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Mining, quarrying and subdivision projects most commonly, since they tend to have the largest ongoing edge effects and the greatest weed and feral animal risk around retained vegetation. Smaller projects can still need one if it's attached as a condition of consent.
Need a vegetation management plan?
Whether it's a condition of consent or part of setting up a stewardship site, send us your project details and we'll scope a plan.