A leading academic has come out in support local community members trying to save a block of land in Manyana from being bulldozed.
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Professor Chris Dickman, from the University of Sydney's School of Life and Environmental Sciences, said the land should not be developed because it's vital part of the bushfire recovery process.
"From my estimates, over 800 million mammals, birds and reptiles were killed in NSW alone," he said.
"Bushfires south of Sydney were particularly destructive, with around 80 percent of forested areas in the Shoalhaven being burnt, including those around Conjola National Park.
"Unburnt bushland refuges play a vital role in supporting wildlife recovery after fires.
"The remaining unburnt bushland at Manyana is crucially important habitat for wildlife in the area, including many NSW and Commonwealth listed threatened species.
"In addition to the greater glider - the powerful owl, gang-gang cockatoo, and greater broad-nosed bat, as well as other critically endangered species such as scrub turpentine and the swift parrot have been recorded there."
The Federal Court this week made orders which immediately halts plans to clear 20 hectares of land for a housing development.
Prof Dickman has over 30 years of experience working on the ecology, conservation and management of Australian mammals.
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He said given that conditions have changed so much since the block's original Environmental Impact Statement was undertaken, the opportunity to survey for threatened species is welcome.
However, he added three days and three nights was a short time to undertake a robust survey and report on the findings.
"It is essential that an experienced, well qualified and independent team be engaged to conduct the survey," the professor said.
"This would determine the current biodiversity value of the project area and quantify its evidently great value as a wildlife refuge."
He thinks the development should be stopped.
"In these post-fire months, I believe that the proposed development is exactly the kind that the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and recent provisional listings were designed to stop," Prof Dickman said.
"We cannot afford to lose more native species, or the refuges they now depend on, especially in the wake of the huge losses that we have witnessed already this year."
The matter is due to back in the Federal Court on Friday June 5.
