Biodiversity boost for native fauna and flora
The state government is partnering with a leading philanthropic wildlife foundation to create three new safer havens for endangered species in South Australia’s Far North.
Relocating bilbies, restoring bassian thrushes and protecting threatened plants are among 11 projects to be undertaken in the Flinders, Gawler and Gammon ranges.
The Foundation for Australia’s Most Endangered Species (FAME) will work alongside the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) to deliver the projects over three years.
Australia has the highest mammal extinction rate in the world and in South Australia more than 1100 native plants and animal species are threatened.
The $3 million partnership aims to:
- Recover threatened and iconic species by improving native vegetation and increasing the resilience of threatened species.
- Reverse extinctions through fence-free reintroductions for species able to cope with low levels of feral predators.
- Mitigate threats by reducing goat, cat and fox numbers, and targeting rabbits and kangaroos in areas where high densities threaten animals and plants.
The projects will help increase climate resilience and create refuges for species reliant on cooler, wetter and higher areas of the Flinders Ranges.
DEW and FAME have established three safer havens since 2013 to enable extinct mammal reintroductions within the Gawler, central and northern Flinders Ranges as part of the landscape conservation program, Bounceback.
The safer havens are unfenced areas, each about 500km2, where feral animals, are substantially reduced to allow reintroduced native animals to thrive.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Executive Director Mike Williams said the partnership had achieved significant ecological outcomes through the Bounceback program, which plays a critical role in threatened species recovery.
"The partnership provides a significant opportunity to build on this legacy and further demonstrates that South Australia is a leader in biodiversity conservation," Mr Williams said.
"Bounceback continues to build resilience into our landscapes to help native animals and plants adapt to climate change, and establish new populations."
Bounceback has successfully reintroduced two species – western quolls and brushtail possums – to the Flinders Ranges and is working to establish red-tailed phascogales in the Gawler Ranges.
FAME was founded in 1993 on the vision of environmentalist John Wamsley and was first known as the Earth Sanctuaries Foundation. It has contributed more than $3 million over the past 11 years to help protect endangered species and undertake habitat restoration in South Australia.
FAME Chief Executive Tracy McNamara said the foundation was pleased to continue working alongside the strong partnership developed with DEW to deliver projects that protect our most endangered native species.
"For more than 30 years, FAME has supported the protection and rewilding of Australian species at risk of extinction, and the habitats they depend on, by funding on-ground conservation outcomes and partnering with like-minded organisations," Ms McNamara said.
"This partnership of more than a decade strongly illustrates the importance of public-private partnerships and how they can benefit wildlife conservation initiatives. South Australia is the benchmark for this model."
