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Barrier Range Rock Dragon (Ctenophorus mirrityana)

The Barrier Range Rock Dragon is a small, rock-dwelling agamid found only in western New South Wales. It depends on rocky outcrops, gorges, crevices and associated arid vegetation, so clearing, rock removal, grazing and disturbance around shelter sites can affect it directly on development projects.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Breeding season

Breeding runs from late July or early August to early November. Eggs are laid in humid burrows and may remain there for 55 to 89 days, so clearing can affect eggs and hatchlings after the mating period has ended. Confirm local conditions before scheduling works.

Reproductive mode: Egg laying.

Clutch size: Usually 3 to 7 eggs. Multiple clutches may be produced in one breeding season, with later clutches usually smaller.

Incubation: About 55 to 89 days, depending on temperature stability.

Size at hatching: About 87 mm long and 1.8 g on average.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Constructed or used burrows with a relatively humid environment. Burrow dimensions and depth are not recorded.

Breeding frequency: Multiple clutches may be produced in one season.

Confirm timing locally before clearing, because rainfall, burrow humidity and temperature stability may alter breeding, incubation, hatching and surface activity dates.

  • Mating: Courtship occurs from late July or early August to early November. Males head bob and perform other displays from prominent rocks. Peak months are not measured, so September and October are marked as the strongest planning period within the documented season.
  • Gravid females: The documents do not specify when females carry eggs. For planning, treat females as potentially egg-bearing during the documented late July to early November breeding period, particularly before and during egg laying.
  • Egg laying: Eggs are laid in humid burrows from late July or early August to early November. Multiple clutches mean egg laying may continue through the season.
  • Incubation: Eggs remain in burrows for about 55 to 89 days. Combining the documented late July or early August to early November laying period with this incubation period, eggs may be present from late July or August through January.
  • Hatchlings: Hatching may begin about 55 days after early eggs are laid and may extend to about 89 days after later eggs are laid. Hatchlings may therefore occur from late September to January; the documents do not identify a month of greatest abundance.
  • Active period: The species is diurnal and leaves crevices and burrows to bask and feed, but no species-specific activity season is recorded. As general planning guidance for a temperate Australian rock-dwelling dragon, expect greatest surface activity in the warmer months, roughly August to December, with daily inactivity during the hottest part of the day between 1300 and 1500 hours.
  • Winter inactivity: Brumation and winter inactivity are not recorded for this species. As general guidance for a temperate rock-dwelling reptile, assume lower surface activity and greater shelter use during the cooler months, approximately January to July only where local temperatures indicate this pattern; inspect shelters before works.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from August to November, when courtship, gravid females, egg laying and eggs in burrows may overlap. Eggs can remain in burrows into January and hatchlings may occur from late September to January, while occupied crevices and burrows remain a risk in every month.

Identification

This is a moderately sized, sexually dimorphic dragon lizard with a flattened head and body adapted for entering narrow rock crevices. It is most likely to be encountered basking on exposed rock during the day or retreating into crevices when approached.

Adults have a strongly compressed head and body, long hindlimbs and a long, evenly tapering tail. The dorsal body and tail are flattened, allowing the lizard to squeeze into narrow gaps.

The species can reach about 91 mm snout to vent length. Total length is reported as about 220 mm in the NSW fact sheet and about 266 mm in the taxonomic description.

Adult size: Up to about 91 mm snout to vent length; total length reported as about 220 to 266 mm.

Weight: No reliable field body weight is given. A database reports 24.68 g as a calculated upper estimate, not a measured species-specific field value.

Identification: Colour and sex

Adult males are grey-blue to pale blue or grey-brown, with cream to orange colour around the head and neck, a black lateral stripe and a thinner, discontinuous orange stripe within it. The throat is cream with grey stripes, often orange flushes and a variable black central stripe.

Females are more cryptically coloured, with brown, grey and terracotta speckling, a pale vertebral line and a less prominent black and terracotta lateral stripe. Juveniles resemble females and are often paler.

  • Use the male throat pattern as the main visual clue: cream with grey stripes, a variable black central stripe and possible orange flushes.
  • The black lateral stripe extends from behind the eye towards the groin, with a thinner, discontinuous orange stripe inside it.
  • Do not rely on dorsal colour alone, because the species resembles the tawny crevice-dragon, Ctenophorus decresii.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

The closest likely confusion species is Ctenophorus decresii. Barrier Range Rock Dragons have a cream and grey striped throat with a black central stripe, a discontinuous orange stripe within the black lateral stripe, a relatively small head and no scattered tubercular scales on the flanks.

Ctenophorus decresii males have different throat colours, including orange, yellow, grey or blue forms, depending on lineage. Females and juveniles are more difficult to separate by appearance, so photographs, locality and expert confirmation may be needed.

No diagnostic tracks, calls, sloughs or eyeshine are described in the supplied sources. Scats may occur in or around crevices, and the NSW fact sheet identifies scat pollution of key crevice habitat as a threat, but scat identification alone is not established here.

  • Treat a flattened dragon seen basking on exposed rock in the Barrier Range region as a potential record.
  • Photograph the head, throat, flank stripe, dorsal pattern and habitat without handling the animal unless authorised procedures require capture.
  • Record the exact rock formation, crevice location, date, time and behaviour, because isolated localities are important for identification and management.

Distribution: National range

The species is endemic to western New South Wales. The supplied sources do not identify any confirmed population outside NSW or provide a reliable total population estimate.

The confirmed national range is restricted to western New South Wales, in the Barrier Range region around Mutawintji National Park and Broken Hill.

The taxonomic study records Mutawintji National Park and adjacent areas, Silverton Wind Farm about 35 km north-west of Broken Hill, Broken Hill and Koonenberry Mountain. The NSW fact sheet describes three remote sites near Mutawintji National Park and Broken Hill.

Confirmed state range: New South Wales only.

Region: Western NSW, including the Barrier Range region, Mutawintji, Broken Hill, Silverton and Koonenberry Mountain.

Recorded localities: Three remote sites are described in the NSW fact sheet; the taxonomic study reports four current localities and additional museum records.

  • For project screening, search rocky ranges, gorges and isolated outcrops in western NSW rather than applying a broad distribution across eastern Australia.
  • No other Australian state is identified as part of the confirmed range in the supplied documents.

Distribution: Strongholds and population structure

Mutawintji National Park and the area near Broken Hill are priority management sites under the NSW Saving our Species programme.

The taxonomic study describes two disjunct populations about 100 km apart. It also notes that intervening areas have not been fully surveyed, so the known range may understate the actual distribution.

Separation of known populations: Approximately 100 km between two disjunct populations, according to the taxonomic study.

Population size: No total population estimate is provided.

Population trend: No population trend is reported in the supplied sources.

  • Give particular attention to rocky habitat at Mutawintji National Park and around Broken Hill during project surveys.
  • Do not assume that apparently unoccupied rocky habitat between known sites is unsuitable without targeted survey.

Distribution: Bioregion and elevation

The records place the species in the arid western NSW Barrier Range area, rather than providing a formal IBRA bioregion name. The supplied database gives an elevation range of 200 to 450 m above sea level.

The species may be more widespread through the Barrier Range region than current records indicate, but further field surveys are needed.

Recorded elevation range: 200 to 450 m above sea level.

Habitat: Habitat types

Barrier Range Rock Dragons are rock specialists. They use rocky outcrops, gorges, scattered rock aggregates and road spoil where rocks provide basking surfaces and connected cracks or crevices for shelter.

The species has been recorded in rocky outcrops and gorges, scattered rock aggregates and road spoil. Habitat occupancy is associated with exposed rock cover, large rocks and landscape position.

It occurs within several arid vegetation communities, including mulga shrubland, black oak woodland and hummock grass woodland.

  • Inspect rocky outcrops, gorge walls, boulder fields, rock piles and suitable road spoil before clearing or earthworks.
  • Map both exposed rock and nearby vegetation, because the species uses rock habitat within broader shrubland, woodland and hummock grass settings.

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Recorded vegetation includes Mulga, Acacia aneura, and Dead Finish, Acacia tetragonophylla, in mulga shrubland.

Other recorded settings include Black Oak woodland dominated by Casuarina pauper, Western Rosewood woodland dominated by Alectryon oleifolius, and hummock grass woodland with Gum Coolibah, Eucalyptus intertexta, Red Mallee, Eucalyptus socialis, and Porcupine Grass, Triodia scariosa subsp. scariosa.

Habitat: Structural requirements

The most important habitat features described are exposed rock outcropping, large rocks, rock crevices, cracks and suitable landscape position. Understorey shrubs and soil-surface rocks should be retained where possible.

Rock crevices provide refuge when the lizards are inactive or threatened, while exposed rocks provide basking and display sites.

  • Retain exfoliating rocks, surface rocks, large boulders and connected crevice habitat within and beside work areas.
  • Avoid filling, sealing, polluting or storing materials against rock cracks and crevices.
  • Retain understorey shrubs around rock habitat where practicable.

Foraging habitat: Food

The species feeds during the day in and around rocky habitat. It leaves crevices to bask and forage, then retreats into shelter when threatened or inactive.

The diet consists mainly of small insects, including beetles and termites, together with leaves and flowers of small herbs.

The supplied sources do not provide a quantified foraging range, prey density or seasonal diet breakdown.

Animal prey: Small insects, including beetles and termites.

Plant food: Leaves and flowers of small herbs.

Foraging range: Not documented in the supplied sources.

  • Retain small herb cover and native understorey around rocky outcrops to support plant foods and invertebrate prey.
  • Avoid unnecessary disturbance of surface rocks, litter and low vegetation around basking and shelter sites.

Foraging habitat: Foraging behaviour

The species is conspicuous during hot weather and leaves the safety of crevices and burrows to bask on rocks and feed. Males also use prominent rock positions for courtship and territorial displays.

Push-ups and tail-flicks are reported during social and territorial behaviour. These displays can make males easier to detect on exposed rock.

  • Schedule searches during daylight and warm conditions when lizards are more likely to be basking or feeding.
  • Check prominent rocks and rock edges as well as crevice entrances, but avoid blocking escape routes or chasing animals into cracks.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding occurs in the warmer part of the year and uses humid burrow conditions for egg laying and incubation. Males display from prominent rocks to attract females.

Breeding begins in the lead-up to spring and may continue until early November. Females can produce multiple clutches in one season, with later clutches usually containing fewer eggs.

Eggs are laid in the relatively humid environment of a burrow. Hatchlings are about 87 mm long and weigh about 1.8 g on average.

Breeding season: Begins before spring and can continue until early November.

Clutches: Multiple clutches may be produced in one season.

Clutch size: Usually 3 to 7 eggs; later clutches generally contain fewer eggs.

Incubation: About 55 to 89 days, depending on temperature stability.

Hatchling size: About 87 mm long on average.

Hatchling mass: About 1.8 g on average.

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied sources.

Lifespan: A captive male lived for 11 years, 6 months and 5 days.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Males use prominent rocks for head-bobbing courtship and other conspicuous displays. Breeding habitat therefore includes exposed display rocks close to crevices, burrows and suitable feeding habitat.

Eggs require a relatively humid burrow environment. The supplied documents do not give burrow depth, entrance dimensions or a defined nesting distance from rock outcrops.

  • Retain prominent rocks used for basking and display, together with nearby crevices and burrows.
  • Protect humid burrow areas from filling, compaction, pollution, grazing damage and vibration during breeding and incubation.
  • Do not assume that a bare rock outcrop is unoccupied without checking nearby burrows and cracks.

Sheltering habitat: Crevices and cracks

Rock crevices and burrows are the main known refuges. They provide protection from predators, heat and disturbance, and may also provide the humid conditions needed for egg incubation.

The species is restricted to rocky outcrops in ranges and gorges where numerous crevices and cracks provide hiding places. Its flattened head and body allow it to enter narrow rock gaps.

Lizards shelter in rock crevices when threatened or inactive. They may bask on exposed rocks during the day before returning to shelter.

Crevice dimensions: No refuge or crevice dimensions are provided.

  • Inspect cracks, crevice mouths, exfoliating slabs, boulder edges and cavities before rock removal or blasting.
  • Retain connected crevice networks and avoid sealing or filling gaps with spoil, concrete, sediment or construction waste.
  • Use fauna spotter catcher procedures if a lizard enters a crevice within the impact area.

Sheltering habitat: Burrows and ground cover

Burrows are used for shelter and provide the relatively humid environment in which eggs are laid. The documents do not establish whether the species excavates its own burrows or uses existing burrows.

Understorey shrubs and surface rocks are management priorities because they support shelter, feeding habitat and regeneration around rocky sites.

Burrow size: Not reported in the supplied sources.

Hollows, nests and roosts: Not applicable or not reported for this species.

  • Retain surface rocks, understorey shrubs and intact soil around rock habitat.
  • Avoid grading, compacting or removing soil at the base of outcrops until burrows and crevices have been checked.
  • Treat scat accumulation inside crevices as a possible sign of occupied or important shelter habitat, but do not use it alone to confirm species presence.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main documented risks are degradation of rocky habitat and surrounding vegetation, grazing, introduced predators and inappropriate fire or land management. Small, isolated populations increase the importance of avoiding damage at known sites.

Clearing, excavation, road formation, rock removal and infrastructure works can remove outcrops, large rocks, crevices, burrows and nearby understorey.

Road spoil can provide habitat in some locations, but it should not be treated as a substitute for intact rocky habitat without survey and ecological assessment.

  • Survey rocky habitat before clearing, excavation, blasting or material placement.
  • Fence exclusion areas around important outcrops, crevices, burrows and surface rocks before works begin.
  • Prevent sediment, chemicals, waste and faecal material from entering crevice habitat.
  • Avoid unnecessary rock removal and retain understorey shrubs around retained habitat.

Threats: Grazing and habitat degradation

Goats are identified as a major cause of habitat degradation through browsing vegetation and disturbing rock habitat. Goat scats can pollute key crevice habitat.

Livestock and rabbits can degrade habitat, particularly during drought, reduce vegetation and impede dispersal.

  • Control or exclude goats, livestock and rabbits from priority habitat where practicable.
  • Maintain understorey regeneration around rocky sites, particularly during drought.
  • Inspect crevices and rock bases for evidence of stock or goat access before assessing habitat as suitable.

Threats: Predators, fire and land management

Cats and foxes prey on the species and can affect local populations. Fire is a documented threat when burns occur too frequently, with multiple burns within 20 years identified as a concern.

Inappropriate land management and changes in land use can degrade habitat or reduce connectivity between rocky sites.

Fire frequency concern: Multiple burns within 20 years are identified as too frequent for the species.

  • Manage feral cats and foxes around priority sites in accordance with approved control programmes.
  • Avoid repeated burning of rocky habitat and consider the documented risk of multiple burns within 20 years.
  • Retain links between suitable rocky areas where possible to support dispersal.

Threats: Fragmentation, roads and other pressures

The known populations are disjunct and approximately 100 km apart. Habitat degradation may decrease populations and impede dispersal, but the supplied sources do not quantify road mortality or define movement distances.

Disease and hydrology change are not identified as threats in the supplied documents. Construction drainage, altered runoff or increased erosion should nevertheless be assessed where they could damage humid burrows, soil or crevice habitat.

Known road impact: Not quantified in the supplied sources.

Known disease impact: Not reported in the supplied sources.

Known hydrology impact: Not reported in the supplied sources.

  • Do not assume that a road, quarry, wind farm or other disturbed site is unsuitable without checking exposed rock, large rocks and crevice habitat.
  • Record any road mortality or injured animals during project monitoring because species-specific road risk is not yet quantified.
  • Manage runoff, erosion and sediment so that burrows and crevices are not flooded, buried or polluted.

Survey methodology: 1. Diurnal visual searches

The supplied documents do not provide a formal survey guideline or prescribed survey effort for the Barrier Range rock dragon. Survey should therefore focus on warm, sunny conditions and direct searches of rocky habitat, with methods and effort recorded clearly for each project.

Search during the day when dragons are likely to leave crevices and bask on exposed rocks. Prioritise warm, sunny conditions, especially during hot weather when the species is active and conspicuous.

Walk all accessible rocky outcrops, gorges, scattered rock aggregates and road spoil that could provide crevices. Search rock faces, ledges, rock piles and the margins of mulga, black oak and hummock grass woodland.

Record the search area, start and finish times, weather, observer names, route, habitat searched and all animals detected. No species-specific transect length or minimum search duration is provided in the supplied documents.

  • Approach basking sites slowly and scan exposed rocks before entering crevices or moving rocks.
  • Treat a dragon that retreats into a crevice as a detection and record the crevice location without blocking or probing it.
  • Record photographs, coordinates and habitat details for each detection where this can be done without approaching too closely or disturbing the animal.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted rocky habitat assessment

Map and inspect habitat features before clearing, including exposed rock cover, large rocks, exfoliating rocks, soil surface rocks, deep crevices, cracks and burrows. These features are associated with habitat occupancy and shelter.

Assess connected rocky habitat between outcrops, including gorges, scattered rock aggregates and road spoil. The species is currently known from disjunct sites in western New South Wales, and its distribution may be wider than currently recorded.

Search adjoining vegetation types that occur in the species' documented habitat, including mulga shrubland, black oak woodland and hummock grass woodland with Porcupine Grass.

  • Use a consistent route or grid so that searched and unsearched rocky habitat can be distinguished on project plans.
  • Do not lift, stack, break or otherwise alter rocks during the survey unless this is authorised under the project fauna management plan.
  • Record negative results as well as detections, including the area searched and the amount of suitable rocky habitat present.

Survey methodology: 3. Supplementary survey and detection records

Use additional survey methods only where they are approved by the relevant wildlife authority and suited to the site. The supplied documents do not prescribe trapping, spotlighting, camera trapping, acoustic monitoring or a minimum number of trap nights.

Survey planning should account for the species' daytime basking behaviour, rather than relying on nocturnal methods alone. Breeding begins before spring and may continue until early November, so seasonal timing should be documented when interpreting results.

Use existing records, museum records and local knowledge to check whether the project is near known sites around Mutawintji National Park, Broken Hill, Silverton, Koonenberry Mountain or adjacent properties.

  • Document the method, survey dates, effort, weather, habitat searched and observer qualifications for every survey.
  • Do not present an absence result as confirmation that the species is not present where suitable rocky habitat was inaccessible or conditions were unsuitable.
  • Seek advice from the relevant NSW threatened species authority if proposed works are outside the documented NSW range or a possible new population is detected.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection of every rocky feature and adjoining area proposed for disturbance, using the diurnal visual search and habitat assessment methods above.
  • Repeat or extend the search if the first inspection was conducted in cool, wet, windy or heavily overcast conditions, because the species is normally detected basking and active in warm conditions.
  • Record each detection with coordinates, date, time, observer, photographs where possible, habitat description and the animal's direction of movement.
  • Submit sightings and relevant survey records to NSW BioNet through the contact details provided by the NSW Government, or use the Reptile Reporter where appropriate.
  • Report any suspected new locality or population to the relevant NSW threatened species authority and include the record in the project environmental report.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Avoid disturbing rocky habitat wherever practicable. The species depends on crevices, cracks, large rocks and associated ground and shrub cover for shelter, basking, feeding and movement.

Redesign the work footprint to retain rocky outcrops, gorges, scattered rock aggregates, large rocks, exfoliating rocks, soil surface rocks, crevices and cracks.

Retain connected rocky habitat and avoid isolating individual outcrops. The species is known from disjunct populations, and the documents identify uncertainty about its distribution and habitat requirements.

Retain understorey shrubs and native vegetation around rocky habitat, including mulga, black oak and hummock grass communities where they occur.

  • Map all known and potential rocky habitat before finalising the footprint.
  • Establish site-specific no-go areas and buffers around retained rocky habitat in consultation with the relevant authority and the project ecologist.
  • Prevent goats, livestock, rabbits and other grazing animals from degrading retained habitat where the project can control access.
  • Keep construction materials, spoil, sediment, waste and vehicle movements out of crevices and rock shelter areas.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

The species is listed as endangered in New South Wales and is not listed under the EPBC Act according to the supplied project information. Confirm the current legal status before works begin, because listings and approval requirements can change.

Obtain any required NSW threatened species, national park, land access, clearing and animal handling approvals before survey, clearing or relocation work.

Plan works outside periods of highest activity where practicable, while recognising that the documents do not provide a formal seasonal clearing window. Breeding begins before spring and may continue until early November.

  • Refer the action under the EPBC Act if the species becomes nationally listed or if another nationally listed matter may be affected.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan covering survey, daily clearing controls, animal handling, relocation, injury response, stop-work triggers, reporting and site rehabilitation.
  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat remains available and animals have an escape route towards undisturbed rocky habitat.
  • Brief all machinery operators, supervisors and spotter catchers on the location of no-go areas and the species' dependence on rock crevices.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

Complete the targeted pre-clearance survey immediately before disturbance of suitable rocky habitat. Mark detected animals, occupied crevices, retained rocks and exclusion areas on the ground and project plans.

Use exclusion fencing only where it will not block movement between retained rocky habitat areas or force animals towards machinery. Inspect fencing regularly for trapped or stranded fauna.

Confirm that the fauna spotter catcher is appropriately authorised for the work and that a suitable wildlife carer or veterinarian is available before clearing starts.

  • Mark no-go rocky habitat with high-visibility fencing or other durable markers that machinery operators can see.
  • Inspect the work area each day before machinery enters it, including areas searched on earlier days.
  • Remove or relocate construction hazards from retained habitat, but do not move rocks or disturb crevices unless this is covered by the approved fauna management plan.

During habitat disturbance: Daily clearing controls

Clear rocky habitat slowly and under direct fauna supervision. The main operational risk is crushing or sealing animals in crevices, burrows or rock piles and removing the shelter features they require.

The fauna spotter catcher should inspect the work area each morning and remain available while machinery is operating near rocky habitat.

Use the smallest practical work area and clear progressively towards retained habitat so animals can move away from disturbance.

Keep machinery, vehicles, spoil, dust, sediment and wastewater away from retained crevices, cracks, rock piles and understorey shrubs.

  • Stop machinery before entering any marked exclusion area or when the spotter catcher signals a stop.
  • Use low-speed operations and avoid sudden movement, vibration or rock handling near occupied or potentially occupied crevices.
  • Reinspect exposed rock faces, overturned material, spoil piles and newly opened cracks after each stage of clearing.
  • Do not burn, fill, seal, blast or bury rocky habitat without specific approval and a documented fauna risk assessment.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna spotter catcher response

If a Barrier Range rock dragon is found, stop the work that could affect the animal and keep people and machinery back. Allow the animal to retreat to nearby retained rocky habitat where this is safe.

Only an appropriately authorised person should capture, handle or relocate the animal. Handling should be limited to what is necessary to protect it and comply with the approved fauna management plan.

Relocate an animal only to suitable nearby retained rocky habitat approved by the project ecologist and relevant authority. Do not move it to an unrelated outcrop or across a road unless this is specifically authorised.

  • Do not chase an animal into a crevice, pull it from shelter, restrain it for photographs or handle it unnecessarily.
  • Use clean equipment and minimise contact time if capture is required.
  • Record the animal's location, condition, sex if known, action taken, release location, time and names of the people involved.
  • Take injured animals promptly to a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer and record the transport and treatment details.

During habitat disturbance: Rock and shelter feature handling

Treat large rocks, exfoliating rocks, soil surface rocks, rock piles, cracks, crevices and burrows as potential habitat during clearing.

Do not dismantle or relocate habitat rocks unless the action is approved and supervised under the fauna management plan. The species uses narrow crevices and burrows for shelter when inactive or threatened.

If a rock must be moved, inspect it and the exposed ground for animals before and after movement, and retain or reinstate it in an approved habitat area where required.

  • Keep retained rocks in their existing position whenever possible.
  • Do not store spoil, logs, pipes or construction materials over crevices or between retained outcrops.
  • Do not assume that a vacant crevice is unused because no animal is visible during one inspection.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

Stop work in the affected area if a dragon is detected, if an animal may be trapped in a crevice or rock pile, if exclusion fencing fails, or if machinery enters a marked no-go area.

Escalate immediately to the project ecologist and fauna spotter catcher if the animal cannot be safely released, if multiple animals are found, or if a previously unknown population is detected.

  • Maintain a daily fauna log with weather, areas cleared, machinery used, observers, searches, detections, incidents, relocations and injuries.
  • Photograph and map any damaged or contaminated crevice habitat, including habitat affected by scats, sediment, fuel or other pollutants.
  • Update the site supervisor and environmental officer before clearing recommences after a stop-work event.
  • Report significant incidents and any new records to the relevant NSW authority in accordance with approval conditions.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work should confirm that animals were not left in the disturbance area and that retained rocky habitat remains usable. Keep fauna controls in place until the site is stable and all approval conditions are met.

Inspect the cleared footprint and its edges for live or injured dragons, tracks or animals sheltering in exposed crevices, rock piles, spoil and construction materials.

Inspect retained outcrops, access routes and exclusion fencing after each clearing stage and after major weather or construction events.

Check that no crevices have been filled, polluted, blocked or isolated by spoil, roads, fencing or drainage works.

  • Have the fauna spotter catcher or project ecologist complete the final inspection before the area is handed over to construction or operations.
  • Repeat inspections where clearing exposes new rock surfaces or creates new piles of rock and spoil.
  • Apply the approved fauna response and relocation procedure to any animal found during post-clearance checks.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained rocky habitat and any approved relocation areas using repeat daytime visual searches under warm, sunny conditions. The supplied documents do not specify a required monitoring duration or frequency, so use the approval conditions and project fauna management plan.

Compare post-work records with pre-clearance records, including detections, habitat condition, rock cover, retained shrubs, disturbance and predator or grazing impacts.

Report the final number of animals detected, handled, injured, relocated or killed, together with coordinates and habitat outcomes.

  • Submit new or confirmed records to NSW BioNet and provide required reports to the relevant approval authority.
  • Keep photographs, maps, daily fauna logs, incident forms and veterinary or wildlife carer records with the project environmental records.
  • Investigate any decline in detections, damaged shelter habitat, new predator activity or grazing impacts and revise controls where required.

After habitat disturbance: Maintain site controls and offsets

Maintain exclusion fencing, no-go markers, sediment controls and pollution controls until construction risks to retained rocky habitat have ended.

Where impacts cannot be avoided, apply any approved offset, biodiversity credit or conservation measure required by the relevant approval. The supplied documents do not specify a species-specific offset formula.

Use the project closure report to confirm that retained rocky habitat, connectivity and understorey vegetation were protected as planned.

  • Remove temporary fencing only after the project ecologist confirms that it will not expose animals to construction hazards or block movement.
  • Repair damaged habitat controls promptly and record the repair date and person responsible.
  • Do not claim habitat rehabilitation success until the agreed monitoring and reporting requirements are complete.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild rocky shelter and movement habitat

Rehabilitation should recreate the rocky shelter and vegetation structure used by the Barrier Range rock dragon. Protecting existing habitat is preferable to attempting to replace mature crevices after disturbance.

Retain and reinstate large rocks, exfoliating rocks and soil surface rocks in stable arrangements that provide cracks, crevices and shaded shelter.

Reconnect retained outcrops and rock aggregates where roads, compounds or temporary work areas have interrupted movement between suitable habitat.

Use locally appropriate rock and soil materials from the site where practicable, and obtain approval before importing or relocating habitat material.

  • Do not seal, grout or tightly pack cracks that could provide shelter.
  • Place reinstated rocks so they are stable and cannot roll into animals, roads or drainage lines.
  • Keep rehabilitated rocky areas free of spoil, rubbish, sediment, fuel and construction wash water.
  • Record the location and design of each reinstated rocky habitat area.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore vegetation and ground cover

Restore native vegetation communities documented for the species at the site, including mulga shrubland, black oak woodland or hummock grass woodland where those communities naturally occur.

Retain or re-establish understorey shrubs and native ground cover around rocky habitat. The NSW recovery program specifically identifies retaining understorey shrubs and reducing grazing to allow vegetation regeneration.

Use local provenance plants where required by the rehabilitation plan, and select species already present at the project site rather than introducing unrecorded species.

  • Control weeds and prevent rehabilitation works from damaging retained rocks or crevices.
  • Exclude goats, livestock and rabbits from recovering areas where practicable.
  • Use erosion and sediment controls that do not block crevices or bury soil surface rocks.
  • Do not clear regrowth around rehabilitated outcrops solely to improve visibility of the rocks.

Rehabilitation actions: Predator, grazing and fire management

Include control of feral cats, foxes and rabbits in the rehabilitation plan where they threaten the retained or restored population. Predation by cats and foxes is identified as a threat, and rabbits and grazing animals can degrade habitat.

Manage fire so that the site does not experience repeated burns within 20 years. The documents identify too frequent fire, defined as multiple burns within 20 years, as a threat.

Coordinate fire planning with the land manager and relevant fire authority, recognising that the supplied documents do not provide a species-specific fire interval or burn prescription.

  • Record fire history and planned burns for each rehabilitated rocky habitat area.
  • Prevent grazing pressure from removing vegetation needed around shelter rocks, especially during drought.
  • Inspect rehabilitated habitat for cat, fox, rabbit and goat activity and act under the approved pest management plan.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Monitor rock cover, crevice condition, understorey regeneration, grazing pressure, predator activity, weed cover and connectivity between retained habitat areas.

Use repeat daytime searches in warm, sunny conditions to check whether dragons use rehabilitated or retained habitat. The documents do not provide a population density target or prescribed monitoring effort.

Set project-specific success measures before works begin, based on retention of shelter features, vegetation recovery, absence of construction impacts and confirmed fauna records.

  • Photograph fixed monitoring points and map the condition of reinstated rocks and vegetation at each inspection.
  • Record any Barrier Range rock dragon detection with the same location, weather, observer and habitat information used during pre-clearance surveys.
  • Continue monitoring until the project ecologist and relevant approval authority agree that habitat condition and fauna controls are stable.
  • Report failures such as rock movement, crevice burial, poor vegetation regeneration, repeated fire or predator impacts and undertake corrective action.

Sources