Community Project to Protect Warrumbungle Rock-wallabies
This web site has been produced to increase
awareness of the plight of the Warrumbungle Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby
and to publicise the work being carried out by local community
groups to help protect the rock-wallaby.
In December 2001 the Coonabarabran Landcare
Group received a grant of $18,000 from the Threatened Species
Network towards a community project to provide a buffer zone of
effective fox control of up to 5 km from the rock-wallaby colonies.
The Threatened Species Network is administered by the World Wide
Fund for nature and disperses funding provided by the Natural
Heritage Trust to community groups.
The grant provided for baits, warning signs
and awareness raising expenses over an 18 month period. Part of
the grant allowed a contract worker to regularly bait on properties
where the owners are absent, infirm or otherwise unable to bait.
Community members contributed many hours as the Group's 'in kind'
contribution. The DEC (NPWS) and the Coonabarabran Rural Lands
Protection Board also assisted.
Fox baiting (with the participation of more
than 20 landholders) under this grant continued for 18 months
until mid 2003. In June 2003 the Coonabarabran Landcare Group
received another grant of $8.506 to enable community fox baiting
to continue for another 12 months. This grant was from the Australian
Government Envirofund, part of the Natural Heritage Trust. The
funds will mainly cover the cost of baits and a contract worker
to bait on properties where the owners are unable to bait. Community
members will contribute their time.
Fox numbers in the district remain high but
recording of baits taken by Rod MacCallum, baiting contractor
for the project, indicate that the buffer zone of fox baiting
on private lands is keeping fox numbers lower close to the rock-wallaby
colonies around the Warrumbungle National Park.
Acknowledgements
This web site has been constructed by Peter
Morrissey using information from the following sources:
- Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby Warrumbungles Endangered
Population, Threatened Species Information, NSW NPWS 2003
- Peter Thompson (Friends of the Warrumbungle
Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby)
- Rod MacCallum, including photographs
- Tim Lanyon (Ranger DEC) including photographs
- Todd Soderquist Senior Threatened Species
Officer Dept of Environment & Conservation
- Warrumbungle Brush-tailed
Rock-wallaby Recovery Plan, NSW NPWS, 2003
Photographs
Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies are very shy and
difficult to photograph. Only some of the photographs shown in
this website have been taken of rock-wallabies from the Warrumbungle
area. Most of the photographs show wallabies and terrain from
other locations in NSW. The photographers are not known to the
author at this time.
This website is hosted by www.coonabarabran.com
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