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Register.

Moreton Bay was listed under the Ramsar Convention in 1993 as a
wetland of international importance. The Melaleuca Wetland which is
contiguous with the Emerald Fringe on the southeast of
Coochiemudlo is part of that listing and serves as a feeding and
breeding ground for migratory birds.

The Coochiemudlo Island community has always been very
protective of the Emerald Fringe and has lobbied to retain it as a
natural, public space. A vision statement prepared by the community
and finalised in 2002 emphasises the importance of the natural
environment to islanders and the desire to maintain a low – key
foreshore, devoid of ‘blunt commercial or residential structures,
38
…pubs or gaudy tourist traps ‘ (see attachment 11.) In the same
year, the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines announced that
his Department would ask the Redland Shire Council to prepare a
Land Management Plan to determine ‘the most appropriate use for
Victoria Parade on Coochiemudlo Island which is a broad area of
road around the island consisting mostly of timbered areas and open
space’. He added that ‘Victoria Parade is known locally as ‘the
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Emerald Fringe’’.

As a result, the Council, in agreement with the Department of Natural
Resources and Mines, commissioned Rob Friend and Associates to

37 Redland City Council. Heritage Places Register, p.3.
38 Coochiemudlo Island Community, ‘Community Vision Statement for
Coochiemudlo Island in 2020’, March 2002. Coochiemudlo Island Progress
Association archives.
39 Queensland, Parliament, 2002, Question on Notice, 7 March.