Latest Leadbeater's Progress Report released
The Victorian Government today released the latest Supporting the Recovery of the Leadbeater’s Possum Progress Report.
The Report outlines a number of the key outcomes achieved as part of the work to protect the species and its habitat including the detection of 116 new colonies in the last 12 months.
It’s exciting and incredibly positive news that more than 100 new colonies of a critically endangered species have been identified during the past year.
As an industry I know we are committed to doing what we can to help the Possum and we continue to protect these areas with buffers to ensure our operations don’t impact the colonies.
A number of colonies have been detected in areas which were harvested only 20 or 30 years ago and we believe there is potential for more detections on sites where we have been operating.
I’d encourage you to take the time to read the story below regarding the release of the Progress Report and to visit our website to find out a bit more about the various developments related to this Possum - www.vicforests.com.au/leadbeaterspossum
Robert Green
VicForests CEO
Report into positive Leadbeater's progress
There have been 116 new Leadbeater's Possum colonies detected over the last 12 months including detections in areas which have undergone timber harvesting as recently as the 1980s and 1990s.
This new figure has been highlighted in the latest Supporting the Recovery of the Leadbeater's Possum Progress Report, released today by the Minister for Agriculture, Jaala Pulford, and the Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Lisa Neville.
The Report provides an update on the work done to support the recovery of the critically endangered species and its habitat by a number of organisations including VicForests, the Department of Land, Water, Environment and Planning, Parks Victoria, the Arthur Rylah Institute and Zoos Victoria during the past year including:
- detecting of 116 new Leadbeater’s Possum colonies through increased survey work including 23 detections in areas harvested between 1978 - 2000
- placing 12 hectares buffers around all new colonies and other recent detections to ensure they are protected
- delaying timber harvesting in areas in almost 15 000 hectares to allow additional surveys to be undertaken and identified colonies to be protected
- detecting Leadbeater’s Possum at 50 out of 113 sites (44%) during targeted surveys by DELWP
- introducing Regrowth Retention Harvesting (RRH) in place of traditional clearfell methods with VicForests aiming to use RRH in 50% of the harvesting operations in ash forest across the species' range over three years
- detecting Leadbeater’s Possums nesting in artificially hollows specifically created to provide additinoal habitat for the species
- detecting Leadbeater’s Possum nests were in 60 nest boxes out of 243 surveyed (an occupancy rate of 25%)
Further information regarding the Leadbeater's Possum including a full copy of the report can be found on VicForests' Leadbeater's Possum mini-site.
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