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Wildlife corridors for threatened bandicoots
Scattered Southern Brown Bandicoot populations will soon be able to travel with ease from one patch of native forest to another, thanks to an ambitious conservation project in South Australia's southeast.
Seven strategic wildlife corridors have been planted over 18 months on ForestrySA land thanks to a project coordinated by the South East Natural Resource Management Board and the State Department for Primary Industries and Resources.
Funding
The project was funded with around $200,000 from the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust as well as with other support from the State Government.
Biodiversity Corridors Project Officer Sharn Lucas, said the corridors would help reverse the isolation of suitable habitat for a range of plants and animals.
"Things like clearing have left only isolated patches of native vegetation, with a mosaic of different land uses now separating them. Species like the Southern Brown Bandicoot are unlikely to travel across these areas as they are a very unfamiliar environment to them," she said.
"Because they cannot readily travel between remaining areas of native forest, they're vulnerable to a range of threats such as bushfires, feral cats, foxes and inbreeding.
Activities
"Creating these wildlife, or biodiversity corridors, helps us minimise the risk of local extinctions. The corridors provide shelter, food and protection from predators, as well as providing a safer path to finding a mate. We've already planted over 30 hectares of corridors - it's a great achievement.
"Each corridor we create is designed to be attractive to the Bandicoots but also to birds, reptiles, amphibians and other locally threatened mammals such as the Sugar Glider."
Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling ensures the corridors are placed in the areas of greatest need, with maps to show the best locations across the lower South East.
"We're inviting private landholders between patches of native vegetation in the region to come on board and create their own bandicoot highways," Sharn said.
"Through the Natural Heritage Trust we provide seed funding to establish corridors on private properties and then back that up with planning advice, wildlife surveys and technical support.
"We've also received great support from community volunteers, school groups and Green Corps teams, who have helped with surveys, seeding, fencing and weeding.
"It's hard to measure the success of wildlife corridors beyond new habitat, but even if a single bandicoot uses a corridor once and this leads to successful mating, the corridor is a success."
More information
- Sharn Lucas, Biodiversity Corridors Project Officer: (08) 8724 2813 or lucas.sharn@saugov.sa.gov.au
- Forestry SA
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