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Butler's Dunnart (Sminthopsis butleri)

Butler's Dunnart is a small, nocturnal, ground-dwelling carnivorous marsupial weighing about 15 to 30 g. It is restricted in Australia to the Tiwi Islands of the Northern Territory, with historical records from the northern Kimberley in Western Australia, and is relevant to development sites because it can occur in native open eucalypt forest and woodland that may be cleared or affected by changed fire, weed and feral animal regimes.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

The annual pattern below is based on the limited breeding records available for the Tiwi Islands and Kimberley. Butler's Dunnart is nocturnal and resident status is not well documented, so no distinct migration period is shown.

All months are January to December. The clearing-risk row is a field-planning precaution based on the documented breeding period and does not replace project-specific survey, approval or fauna management requirements.

  • Breeding: Reproductively active females have been recorded from August to December.
  • Young: Pouch young have been recorded in December, including seven young in one Kimberley female. The sources also report a very young individual in January.
  • Nocturnal activity: The species is described as nocturnal. Activity can therefore occur throughout the year, subject to local conditions.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing risk is highest during the recorded breeding and pouch-young period from August to January, when disturbance may affect females, pouch young and dependent young. Suitable habitat can remain occupied outside this period.

Identification

Butler's Dunnart is a small, soft-furred dunnart with grey to buffy-brown upperparts and whitish underparts. It is difficult to detect and can be difficult to identify from remote images or hair samples alone.

Adults weigh about 15 to 30 g. The species has a thin, sparsely furred tail that is about as long as the combined head and body length, and a faint darker stripe on the head. The cheeks and flanks may have a buff wash.

The hindfoot soles are relatively hairy. The interdigital pads are fused at the base and have enlarged, unstriated apical granules, although these features generally require an animal in the hand for confirmation.

Upperparts: Greyish to buffy brown

Underparts: Whitish

Tail: Thin and sparsely furred, about the same length as the head and body

Identification: Similar dunnarts

The most relevant sympatric comparison on the Tiwi Islands is the Red-cheeked Dunnart, Sminthopsis virginiae. Butler's Dunnart lacks the rufous cheek fur that gives the Red-cheeked Dunnart its name.

Animals previously identified as Butler's Dunnart from Cape York are now recognised as Chestnut Dunnart, Sminthopsis archeri. Identification of northern dunnarts should therefore be checked against current distribution and taxonomic information.

Identification: Field detection and signs

The provided sources do not describe diagnostic tracks, scats, calls, nests or other field signs for Butler's Dunnart. The species shelters under logs, rocks and other cover, so these features should be recorded during habitat searches.

Camera detections may not confirm the species because Butler's Dunnart and Red-cheeked Dunnart require live trapping for accurate identification. Hair sampling is not recommended as a species identification method in the current survey guidance.

  • Search systematically for logs, rocks, flood debris and other ground cover during daylight habitat inspections.
  • Use spotlighting for active individuals and targeted deep pitfall trapping where a formal survey is required.
  • Treat unconfirmed camera detections as dunnart records to be resolved by an appropriately licensed ecologist, rather than as confirmed Butler's Dunnart records.

Distribution: National range

Butler's Dunnart has a very restricted and discontinuous known range in northern Australia. Current confirmed Northern Territory records are from the Tiwi Islands, while the species has not been recorded in Western Australia since the 1960s.

In the Northern Territory, Butler's Dunnart is evidently restricted to Bathurst and Melville Islands in the Tiwi Islands. Targeted surveys on the adjacent mainland, including the Cox and Cobourg Peninsulas, have failed to locate it.

The historical Western Australian range is the northern Kimberley around Kalumburu. The species was last recorded there in 1966, and its continued presence in Western Australia is uncertain.

States and territories: Northern Territory and Western Australia

Known Northern Territory area: Bathurst and Melville Islands, Tiwi Islands

Historical Western Australian area: Kalumburu, northern Kimberley

Coastal association: All records cited in the survey guideline were within 20 km of the coast

Distribution: Bioregional context and strongholds

The species occurs within the North Australian Tropical Savanna conservation management zone. The Tiwi Islands are the only area identified in the supplied sources as supporting a current, regularly detected population.

The Tiwi Islands population is distributed at low density across suitable habitat on both islands. The species has not been reported from a conservation reserve in the Northern Territory.

Relevant bioregional setting: North Australian Tropical Savanna

Current stronghold: Tiwi Islands, especially native habitat on Melville and Bathurst Islands

Northern Territory reserve records: None reported

Distribution: Population information

Population size and trend are poorly known. The species has been recorded from fewer than ten locations overall, and the supplied sources describe continuing declines in the extent and quality of suitable habitat and in the number of mature individuals.

The Tiwi Islands records represent an important population, but the available sources do not provide a current population estimate or a reliable estimate of density.

Estimated mature individuals: Likely fewer than 2,500, based on the cited assessment

Known locations: Fewer than ten locations were reported in the cited assessment

Tiwi animals located: About 30 individuals had been located on the Tiwi Islands at the time of the cited assessment

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Butler's Dunnart is associated mainly with native open eucalypt forest and woodland on the Tiwi Islands. It also occurs in some Melaleuca woodland, low scrub and habitat adjoining treeless plains.

Preferred habitat is tall open forest and woodland dominated by Darwin woollybutt, Eucalyptus miniata, Darwin stringybark, Eucalyptus tetrodonta, and Melville Island bloodwood, Corymbia nesophila.

The species has also been recorded at lower densities in woodland containing other eucalypts, Melaleuca woodland, low scrub and along the edges of treeless plains. Historical Kimberley habitat included Eucalyptus and grassland where black soil country met sandplains, as well as nearby flood debris.

Primary vegetation: Tall open eucalypt forest and woodland

Characteristic trees: Eucalyptus miniata, Eucalyptus tetrodonta and Corymbia nesophila

Other habitat: Melaleuca woodland, low scrub, treeless plain edges and some grassland

Habitat: Substrate and structure

Suitable habitat may have flat sandy substrates or outcropping rocks and boulders. Logs, rocks, flood debris and other ground cover provide shelter and should be retained where practicable.

The species does not occur in the existing plantation forests described in the supplied sources, although native vegetation within and around project areas may still provide suitable habitat. The sources do not provide an elevation limit.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding sites

Specific feeding observations for Butler's Dunnart are limited. Its diet is inferred from other dunnarts and is expected to consist mainly of small ground-dwelling prey.

The species is a small carnivorous marsupial. It probably feeds mainly on invertebrates and may also take small vertebrates.

Foraging is expected to occur on the ground at night within open forest, woodland, scrub and other suitable native vegetation. The supplied sources do not identify particular food plants, prey taxa, daily foraging distances or home range sizes.

Main food: Probably invertebrates

Additional food: Small vertebrates may be taken

Foraging period: Probably nocturnal

Foraging range: Not documented in the supplied sources

  • Retain native ground cover, logs, rocks and litter that support invertebrate prey and provide cover while the animal forages.
  • Inspect the edges of proposed clearing where native vegetation, sandy substrates and ground cover are continuous with known or potential habitat.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding information is limited, but reproductive activity in the Northern Territory has been recorded during the late dry season and early wet season. Breeding habitat is expected to include native open forest and woodland with nearby ground cover for shelter.

Females with pouch young have been recorded in December, and the holotype female collected in the Kimberley in December carried seven pouch young. Litters of up to nine young have been recorded on the Tiwi Islands.

The supplied sources do not provide a confirmed gestation period, age at first breeding, lifespan or a defined breeding den. Records indicate that logs, rocks and other cover are important shelter resources within occupied habitat.

Breeding season: Reproductively active females recorded from August to December

Litter size: Up to nine young recorded; seven pouch young were recorded in one Kimberley female

Gestation: Not reported in the supplied sources

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied sources

Lifespan: Not reported in the supplied sources

Breeding habitat: Native open eucalypt forest and woodland with ground cover such as logs and rocks

Sheltering habitat: Refuges and cover

Butler's Dunnart is a ground-dwelling species that shelters in small structures at or near ground level. No den dimensions or nest construction details are available in the supplied sources.

Known or suspected shelter resources include fallen logs, rocks, boulders, flood debris and other ground cover. Rocky areas and outcropping boulders within open forest and woodland should be treated as potential refuge habitat.

The species is not an arboreal mammal and does not depend on tree hollows for shelter according to the supplied species information. No burrow, nest or refuge dimensions have been reported.

Shelter type: Under logs, among rocks and in other ground cover

Known refuge dimensions: Not reported

Tree hollows: Not identified as a required shelter resource for this species

  • Map and retain logs, rocks, boulders, flood debris and dense ground cover within native vegetation before clearing.
  • Avoid disturbing shelter features during daylight when animals are likely to be concealed.
  • Where clearing cannot be avoided, have a licensed fauna spotter catcher inspect and manage ground cover in accordance with project approvals and jurisdictional requirements.

Threats: Clearing and habitat degradation

The main risks to Butler's Dunnart are loss and degradation of native habitat, changed fire regimes, weeds, feral herbivores and predation by feral cats. These risks are particularly relevant where projects clear native Tiwi Islands forest and woodland or increase disturbance around plantations and infrastructure.

Clearing native open eucalypt forest and woodland removes habitat and ground shelter. Historical clearing for plantation forestry on Melville Island affected preferred habitat, and the supplied sources state that the species does not occur in existing plantation forests.

Construction compounds, access tracks, transmission corridors and other works can also remove or fragment native vegetation and disturb logs, rocks and other refuge features. The supplied sources identify habitat destruction and degradation as threats, but do not quantify a species-specific road or fragmentation threshold.

  • Avoid clearing native Eucalyptus miniata, Eucalyptus tetrodonta and Corymbia nesophila forest and woodland where practicable.
  • Retain connected native vegetation and ground shelter around work areas, rather than treating isolated logs or rock piles as interchangeable habitat.
  • Plan pre-clearing surveys and fauna management for native vegetation even where recent records are absent, because detection is difficult and the species occurs at low density.

Threats: Fire and weeds

Altered fire regimes can degrade open forest and woodland and reduce suitable ground cover. Plantation management has been associated with changed fire regimes, and frequent burning was identified as a factor that may limit local populations.

African grassy weeds can alter fire regimes and compete with native grasses. Acacia mangium can change vegetation structure and compete with native species.

  • Prevent construction activities and plantation management from introducing inappropriate fire frequency or intensity into occupied habitat.
  • Control African grassy weeds and plantation species around retained native habitat.
  • Maintain native ground cover and shelter features when undertaking fire, weed or vegetation management.

Threats: Feral animals

Feral cats are a likely predator. Feral pigs can change habitat, while feral water buffalo and horses exert unnatural grazing pressure on native vegetation.

The supplied sources do not identify disease or hydrology change as established threats for Butler's Dunnart. They also do not provide a species-specific road mortality assessment.

  • Manage feral cat, pig, buffalo and horse impacts around retained native habitat.
  • Prevent project activities from creating new food, shelter or access opportunities for feral predators.
  • Record and report any carcasses, predator activity or changes to ground cover during construction monitoring.

Threats: Survey and approval risk

Butler's Dunnart is difficult to detect, and conventional Elliott trapping and pitfall trapping may have low detection rates. A negative survey result should not automatically be treated as evidence that suitable habitat is unoccupied.

The current survey guidance recommends habitat searches, predator scat or owl cast searches, spotlighting and targeted pitfall trapping. Hair tubes are not recommended for this species because it is not included among the species known to be distinguishable from hair samples.

  • Use habitat assessment to guide survey placement and do not rely on a single detection method.
  • Consider targeted deep pitfall trapping using the Melville Island survey protocol where a project may affect suitable habitat.
  • Use appropriately licensed staff and obtain required permissions before handling or sampling animals.

Survey methodology: 1. Search for habitat and shelter sites

Butler’s Dunnart is a small, nocturnal, ground-dwelling marsupial. It is difficult to detect, occurs at low densities and may be confused with the Red-cheeked Dunnart, so surveys should combine habitat assessment with targeted detection methods.

Survey the full disturbance footprint and representative retained habitat before works begin. Target tall open eucalypt forest and woodland dominated by Eucalyptus tetrodonta, Eucalyptus miniata and Corymbia nesophila, as well as Melaleuca woodland, low scrub and the edges of treeless plains.

Search for logs, rocks, boulders, flood debris and other ground cover that could provide shelter. Record sandy substrates, outcropping rock and areas where woodland or forest meets open ground.

For small sites, use systematic transects spaced 50 to 100 metres apart, or quadrats in representative vegetation types. Use maps, aerial imagery and vegetation mapping to stratify the search across habitat types.

Complete habitat searches during daylight and record the location, condition and continuity of suitable habitat and shelter features.

Typical body mass: 15 to 30 grams

Activity pattern: Nocturnal

Known habitat range: Records in the Tiwi Islands and historical records near Kalumburu, with known records within 20 kilometres of the coast

Survey methodology: 2. Search for signs and collect predator remains

Search during the daytime for tracks, scats, burrows, nests, shelter sites and other signs of small ground-dwelling mammals.

Inspect sandy ground around rocks, logs, debris and other cover where tracks or scats may be visible.

Collect predator scats, owl casts and remains from suitable predator nests or dens where lawful and safe to do so. Submit material for specialist identification where appropriate.

Treat signs as supporting evidence only. Confirm species identity by an appropriate method because Butler’s Dunnart can occur with other dunnarts and is difficult to distinguish from them in field images.

Survey methodology: 3. Spotlighting

Spotlight after dark because Butler’s Dunnart is nocturnal and ground-dwelling.

Search likely shelter areas, forest and woodland edges, open eucalypt habitat and areas with logs, rocks or debris. Move quietly and scan the ground and low cover systematically.

Record the date, start and finish time, observer effort, weather, habitat, location and any identification features observed.

Do not rely on spotlighting alone. The survey guideline lists spotlighting as one method, while project reporting notes that the species has low detectability.

Survey methodology: 4. Pitfall trapping

Use targeted pitfall trapping where suitable habitat may be disturbed, following the Butler’s Dunnart survey protocol developed by Ward in 2009.

Use deep pitfall traps and an experienced fauna trapping team. The species is difficult to detect, and even targeted deep-pitfall surveys may produce few detections.

Stratify trapping across suitable habitat types and replicate sampling where the project area exceeds 5 hectares. The guideline states that its recommended effort is based on areas of 5 hectares or less.

Check traps at the frequency required by the approved protocol and animal welfare requirements. Provide appropriate shelter and protection from exposure, and release or process captures only under the relevant authorisation.

Guideline survey area basis: 5 hectares or less, with replication across habitat types for larger sites

Detection limitation: Deep pitfall trapping is targeted but still has low detectability

Survey methodology: 5. Supporting detection and identification

Consult Tiwi Land Rangers, Traditional Owners, local land managers and other people with relevant local knowledge, particularly in the Tiwi Islands and areas of historical Kimberley records.

Use photographs, measurements and, where authorised, tissue or other samples to support identification. The survey guideline notes that hair sampling is not recommended for Butler’s Dunnart because the species is not included among those known to be distinguishable from hair samples.

Do not treat a camera record as a confirmed Butler’s Dunnart record where Red-cheeked Dunnart or another similar species could be present. Live trapping may be needed for accurate identification.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Complete a systematic daylight habitat search across the entire disturbance footprint, using transects spaced 50 to 100 metres apart or quadrats in representative habitat.
  • Use a combination of habitat searches, signs searches, predator remains, spotlighting and targeted pitfall trapping where suitable habitat is present.
  • Replicate surveys across each relevant vegetation or habitat type, and justify the sampling effort in the environmental report, particularly for sites larger than 5 hectares.
  • Record all survey effort, trap locations, trap nights, search hours, transect lengths, weather, habitat condition, captures, photographs and identification decisions.
  • Have an appropriately experienced ecologist assess records where Butler’s Dunnart could be confused with another dunnart.
  • Submit confirmed records, negative survey results and relevant survey metadata to the relevant Northern Territory or Western Australian wildlife database, and provide records to the project regulator where required.
  • Report any suspected new population, range extension, mortality or significant habitat disturbance to the relevant state or territory conservation agency.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Treat suitable Butler’s Dunnart habitat as a potential presence area unless survey evidence and the relevant regulator support another conclusion. The species is listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act and in the Northern Territory, and it has also been recorded historically in Western Australia.

  • Retain open eucalypt forest and woodland dominated by Eucalyptus tetrodonta, Eucalyptus miniata and Corymbia nesophila wherever practicable.
  • Retain Melaleuca woodland, low scrub, treeless plain edges, sandy ground, outcropping rocks, boulders, logs and flood debris that may provide shelter.
  • Avoid clearing continuous native vegetation where an alternative footprint can retain habitat connections between forest, woodland and other suitable cover.
  • Keep project traffic, laydown areas, spoil, drainage works and construction compounds out of retained habitat and shelter-feature areas.
  • Use the smallest practicable disturbance footprint and apply any approved buffers around retained habitat, shelter features and known records.

Before habitat disturbance: Check approvals and permits

EPBC Act status: Vulnerable

Northern Territory status: Vulnerable

Known Northern Territory occurrence: Restricted to the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory

  • Check whether the proposed action may significantly affect Butler’s Dunnart or its habitat and obtain environmental advice before clearing or construction starts.
  • Refer the action under the EPBC Act where the proposed works may have a significant impact on this nationally listed species.
  • Confirm Northern Territory or Western Australian wildlife approvals, survey licences, trapping permissions, animal ethics requirements and fauna handling authorisations before fieldwork.
  • Confirm any additional conditions imposed by the project approval, land manager, Traditional Owner group or conservation agency.

Before habitat disturbance: Plan the works

  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies potential Butler’s Dunnart habitat, survey methods, stop-work triggers, fauna handling arrangements, contact details and reporting requirements.
  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat remains connected and fauna can move away from active work areas where this is consistent with the approved plan.
  • Schedule surveys and pre-clearance activities around the planned clearing date and record seasonal conditions. Breeding is poorly known, although reproductively active females have been recorded from August to December and pouch young have been recorded in December and January.
  • Use an ecologist and authorised fauna spotter catcher with experience in small dasyurid mammals.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare the site

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection of all vegetation and ground habitat that will be disturbed, including logs, rocks, boulders, debris, burrows and dense ground cover.
  • Mark the approved clearing limits, retained habitat, shelter features, access routes and no-go areas before machinery enters the site.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can prevent entry into retained habitat or direct fauna away from the work area without trapping animals or blocking important habitat connections.
  • Brief machine operators, supervisors and all fauna personnel on the species’ appearance, nocturnal activity, low detectability and the stop-work procedure.
  • Control access by feral cats, pigs, buffalo and horses where the project can lawfully and practically do so, because these animals can degrade habitat or threaten the species.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a controlled clearing sequence with an authorised fauna spotter catcher present whenever suitable habitat is disturbed. Butler’s Dunnart may be present even when surveys do not detect it.

  • Inspect the work area each day before clearing, including the ground beneath logs, rocks, debris and other cover that has changed since the previous inspection.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher in direct communication with the machine operator and supervisor throughout habitat removal.
  • Clear slowly in short sections so the spotter catcher can inspect the exposed ground and direct the operator to pause or change the sequence.
  • Keep machinery, vehicles, personnel and materials within the approved disturbance boundary.
  • Suspend clearing during conditions that prevent the spotter catcher from safely inspecting the ground or identifying animals.

During habitat disturbance: Handle ground habitat carefully

  • Remove logs, rocks, boulders and other shelter features only after they have been inspected by the fauna spotter catcher.
  • Where the approval requires habitat salvage, place suitable logs, rocks and cover in retained nearby habitat that is connected to similar forest or woodland.
  • Do not bury, burn, chip or move shelter features beyond the approved area without checking the fauna management plan and approval conditions.
  • Protect retained sandy ground, rocky areas, flood debris and forest or woodland edges from unnecessary vehicle movement.
  • Prevent weeds, plantation species and soil movement from spreading into retained native habitat.

During habitat disturbance: If an animal is found

  • Stop the machine and all nearby activity that could injure the animal, and establish a quiet exclusion area.
  • Allow only the authorised fauna spotter catcher or other person approved under the relevant permit to capture, handle or identify the animal.
  • Minimise handling time, keep the animal shaded and protected from heat, noise and predators, and follow the approved animal welfare and holding procedure.
  • Confirm identification where possible, noting that Butler’s Dunnart may require live trapping for reliable separation from the Red-cheeked Dunnart.
  • Release a healthy animal only into suitable, nearby retained habitat specified in the fauna management plan or approval, and record the release location.
  • Take an injured or ill animal to the nominated veterinarian or licensed wildlife carer as soon as practicable, under the applicable permit and animal welfare requirements.
  • Do not release an animal into plantation forest, isolated habitat or an area exposed to active machinery.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work if a Butler’s Dunnart is found within or immediately adjacent to the clearing area until the spotter catcher and project ecologist confirm the approved response.
  • Stop work if the clearing boundary, retained habitat, exclusion fencing or fauna management controls are not being maintained.
  • Stop work if an injured animal, unexpected shelter concentration, new population record or repeated unconfirmed dunnart detection indicates that the approved controls are inadequate.
  • Record the date, time, location, habitat, activity, animal condition, photographs, identification basis, handler, permit details, action taken and final outcome for every encounter.
  • Notify the project environmental officer, site supervisor and relevant regulator or land manager of confirmed records, injuries, deaths, escapes and any breach of approval conditions.

After habitat disturbance: Complete post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work must check that no animals or shelter features remain trapped in the disturbed area and that retained habitat controls are still working. Monitoring should focus on habitat condition and the species’ low detectability.

  • Inspect the cleared area, retained edges, exclusion fencing and access tracks after each clearing stage.
  • Check remaining logs, rocks, debris, dense cover and ground depressions for trapped or injured fauna.
  • Remove or repair fencing, stockpiles and other project materials that could trap animals or block movement between retained habitat areas.
  • Confirm that no unapproved clearing, vehicle access, burning, weed spread or changes to drainage have affected retained habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Monitor retained habitat

  • Monitor retained open eucalypt forest and woodland, Melaleuca woodland, low scrub and treeless plain edges for changes in shelter cover, weeds, fire effects, feral animal activity and habitat connectivity.
  • Use repeat spotlighting, habitat searches, predator remains and targeted trapping where required by the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Interpret non-detections cautiously because Butler’s Dunnart occurs at low densities and has low detectability.
  • Compare monitoring effort and results with the pre-clearance baseline, including search hours, trap nights, locations and habitat condition.

After habitat disturbance: Report and maintain controls

  • Provide the regulator, land manager and project environmental officer with clearance records, fauna encounter records, monitoring results and any corrective actions.
  • Maintain weed, feral animal, fire and access controls for the period specified in the approval or management plan.
  • Investigate any decline in shelter cover, repeated feral cat activity, altered fire effects or new barriers between retained habitat areas.
  • Apply approved offsets or other compensatory measures where residual impacts cannot be avoided or minimised.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore native habitat structure

Rehabilitation should recreate connected, native ground habitat rather than only replacing canopy cover. The main objective is to restore shelter, native vegetation structure and the ecological conditions associated with Butler’s Dunnart habitat.

  • Re-establish open eucalypt forest or woodland using locally appropriate native species, including Eucalyptus tetrodonta, Eucalyptus miniata and Corymbia nesophila where they suit the site and rehabilitation objectives.
  • Restore Melaleuca woodland, low scrub or treeless plain edge vegetation where those communities were disturbed.
  • Use local provenance seed or tubestock where required by the rehabilitation plan, and match plantings to the pre-disturbance vegetation community.
  • Retain or reinstate suitable sandy ground, native grass cover, leaf litter and low ground cover without creating dense weed-dominated fuel loads.
  • Reinstate salvaged logs, rocks, boulders and other natural cover in stable positions within or beside restored habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage weeds, fire and feral animals

  • Control African grassy weeds and other invasive plants that can alter fire regimes, compete with native grasses or change ground cover.
  • Prevent Acacia mangium and other plantation species from spreading into retained or rehabilitated native vegetation.
  • Develop a fire regime that maintains suitable eucalypt woodland structure and ground cover, and avoid frequent burning that removes shelter and simplifies habitat.
  • Control or manage feral cats, pigs, buffalo and horses where authorised, prioritising areas around retained and rehabilitated habitat.
  • Keep rehabilitation areas free from construction waste, uncontrolled vehicle access and soil disturbance.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor success

  • Inspect rehabilitation after wet and dry season periods for plant survival, native regeneration, shelter cover, weed invasion, fire effects, feral animal impacts and connectivity with retained habitat.
  • Use repeat habitat searches and, where required, spotlighting or targeted trapping to assess whether small ground-dwelling mammals are using restored areas.
  • Measure success against the approved rehabilitation criteria, including the return of native eucalypt or Melaleuca structure, stable ground cover, reinstated shelter features, weed control and functional connections to retained habitat.
  • Record Butler’s Dunnart detections and submit confirmed records to the relevant state or territory wildlife database.
  • Repair failed plantings, replace lost shelter features and revise weed, fire or feral animal controls where monitoring shows that habitat condition is declining.

Sources