You can keep all species, including red listed species of gums in line with the following criteria
Your land is within the Nama Karoo, Succulent Karoo or Desert biomes, then eucalypts are exempt from removal. (NB this includes all 6 invasive species).
If the gums are within cultivated land and are at least 50 metres away from untransformed or natural land (natural land may not be cleared to achieve this) they do not need to be removed.
If the gums are within 50 metres of the main house on a farm, they are exempt from removal.
Gums in urban areas are exempt from removal if their trunk diameter is more than 400mm (at 1000mm height) at the time of publishing of the Regulations (1 October, 2014).
If the gums are on an existing formal plantation, no intervention is required.
All gums in riparian areas must be removed, even if any of the above are true
Eucalyptus trees within a ‘riparian area’ (i.e. within 32m of the edge of a river, lake, dam, wetland or estuary, or within the 1:100 year floodline, whichever is the greater), must be removed. This is necessary to prevent their establishment downstream, and impacts on water, sedimentation and on biodiversity.
Gums in Protected Areas (declared national parks, provincial reserves, mountain catchment areas and private nature reserves) must be removed. Discretion can be applied for non-invading species that add value to a Protected Area – e.g. shade for parking or historical value.
Eucalypts, particularly listed species, must also be removed if they are within a Listed Ecosystem or an ecosystem identified for conservation in terms of Bioregional or Biodiversity Management Plans.