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De Vis' Banded Snake (Denisonia devisi)

De Vis' Banded Snake is a small, poorly known elapid associated with low lying floodplain habitats, cracking clay soils and seasonal flooding in Queensland, northern New South Wales and a highly restricted part of north western Victoria. On development sites, clearing, soil disturbance, grazing, recreation and changes to floodplain hydrology can remove its shelter and reduce frog prey. It is listed as Critically Endangered in Victoria and is not listed under the EPBC Act.

Conservation status

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

De Vis' Banded Snake gives birth to live young, but the timing of mating, pregnancy and births is poorly documented. A late August pairing record, a pregnant female by December and warmer, wetter activity from November to May support avoiding clearing during both active and cooler sheltering periods.

Reproductive mode: Live bearing. Females give birth to fully formed young.

Litter size: 3 to 11 young, with an average of about 5. One captive female apparently gave birth to 7 young.

Gestation: Not recorded.

Size at birth: About 11 cm total length. Another compilation records 140 mm from nose to tail.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Not applicable to live birth. Birth sites are not recorded.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded.

Confirm timing locally with targeted surveys, particularly after warm weather and rainfall, because rainfall and temperature influence surface activity and the available records do not define a fixed breeding season.

  • Mating: An adult male and female were found together under a wooden sleeper in late August. No mating was observed in captivity, so the breeding season is not established.
  • Gravid females: The female from the late August record was noticeably pregnant by December. The duration of pregnancy and the months when gravid females are present are not recorded.
  • Births: The birth month for the recorded litter was not stated. As a precaution, plan for births from late spring through early autumn, when the species is reported to be more active and breeding activity may increase in February and March.
  • Newborns: The months when newborns emerge or are most abundant are not recorded. Use the late spring to early autumn period as a precautionary window, with newborns measuring about 11 cm total length.
  • Active period: The species is mainly nocturnal and is reported to be most active from late spring through early autumn, approximately November to May. Activity is reported to peak in December and January, especially after substantial rainfall.
  • Winter inactivity: The species shelters in soil cracks and deep cavities during the day, and cooler months may produce fewer surface observations. Exact winter inactivity months are not recorded, so June to October is a precautionary planning window for animals sheltering in soil refuges and under debris.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is year round because clearing can kill active snakes from November to May and animals sheltering in deep clay cracks or cavities during cooler months. Works may also affect gravid females, newborns, floodplain cover and frog habitat, and no reliable peak breeding period is known.

Identification

This is a thick bodied, banded snake that is most likely to be encountered at night in floodplain habitat. It can be confused with a Death Adder, so identification should be confirmed before handling or relocating any snake.

The dorsal surface is yellowish brown to olive green, with irregular, ragged edged, narrow dark bands running across the body.

Identification: Similar species

Death Adders have a thick, banded body and may look similar. De Vis' Banded Snake has a tail that does not taper abruptly and a head that is not broad and triangular.

  • Do not rely on body banding alone when distinguishing this species from a Death Adder.
  • Use a suitably qualified fauna spotter catcher and avoid handling until the identification is secure.

Identification: Field signs and handling

The supplied sources do not provide reliable information on body length, body mass, sex differences, tracks, scats, calls, nests, sloughs or eyeshine. No species specific field sign should be treated as diagnostic without a confirmed animal.

During the day, individuals remain in soil cracks or deep cavities. They emerge at night to feed on frogs, so night observations may provide the best opportunity for detection.

  • Inspect deep cracks and cavities before soil disturbance in suitable floodplain habitat.
  • Treat any thick, banded snake found on site as potentially hazardous until identified by an experienced handler.

Distribution: States and bioregions

The species has a discontinuous distribution centred on inland floodplain systems. The Victorian population appears isolated from populations in inland Queensland and north central New South Wales, although the range may extend into adjacent New South Wales.

The species is thought to be confined mainly to alluvial flats in Queensland and northern New South Wales. In Victoria, it is known from the Murray River floodplain in the north west, including sites in the Murray Scroll Belt Bioregion.

Distribution: Victorian strongholds

The Victorian population was first formally identified from surveys at Wallpolla Island and Mulcra Island. The species has also been recorded at Neds Corner, where it is associated with floodplain habitat and grey cracking soils.

  • Known Victorian records occur at only a handful of locations.
  • The two known Victorian subpopulations are separated beyond the species’ inferred dispersal capacity and are considered severely fragmented.

Distribution: Population and trend

The Victorian assessment infers continuing decline from habitat damage, hydrological change and other disturbance. The assessment also identifies drought, vegetation change and probable competition or hybridisation as future pressures.

Victorian extent of occurrence: Estimated at 36 km² from accepted post 1970 Victorian Biodiversity Atlas records.

Victorian area of occupancy: Estimated at 17 km² using 2 km by 2 km grids.

Mature individuals: Suspected to number 50 to 300 in Victoria.

Victorian subpopulations: Two known subpopulations, considered severely fragmented.

Habitat: Overall habitat

De Vis' Banded Snake uses low lying floodplain habitat with cracking clay soils, seasonal flooding and vegetation cover. Water management can influence habitat quality indirectly by maintaining vegetation and frog populations.

The species inhabits low lying areas with deep cracks in clay soils, particularly near sites subject to seasonal flooding. It has been recorded in open and riverside woodlands, brigalow and Murray River floodplain habitat.

Habitat: Vegetation and structure

Relevant Victorian habitat includes floodplain woodlands and grassland communities on grey cracking soils. At Neds Corner, Lignum and floodplain vegetation provide cover for terrestrial fauna, while improved vegetation condition and diversity may support the snake indirectly.

  • Retain floodplain woodland, grassland, Lignum and other dense ground cover around cracking clay depressions.
  • Retain fallen timber and avoid unnecessary disturbance of soil cracks and cavities.
  • Consider the condition and continuity of floodplain habitat beyond the immediate construction footprint.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The supplied documents do not give an elevation limit, temperature limit or quantified climatic envelope. They link the species with inland floodplains, seasonal flooding, drought effects and hydrological change.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The species is primarily a frog eating snake that forages at night. Its feeding habitat depends on both suitable shelter in floodplain soils and access to frogs associated with wetlands and seasonally flooded vegetation.

The diet comprises mainly frogs, with reptiles making up about 10% of the diet. Environmental watering may benefit the species by improving wetland condition and increasing frog prey.

Main prey: Frogs.

Other recorded prey: Reptiles, about 10% of the diet.

Foraging period: Night.

Foraging habitat: Foraging habitat

Individuals emerge from soil cracks or deep cavities at night to feed on frogs. Suitable foraging areas include floodplain habitat near seasonal wetlands, open and riverside woodlands, brigalow and areas with healthy wetland vegetation.

  • Retain connections between daytime refuges in cracking clay and nearby wetland or floodplain foraging areas.
  • Avoid draining, filling or isolating shallow wetlands and floodplain depressions that support frogs.
  • Use environmental watering and hydrological planning that maintains wetland vegetation and frog habitat where these actions are part of the project.

Foraging habitat: Foraging range

The supplied sources do not provide a measured home range, daily movement distance, prey density or foraging radius. Do not assume that the construction footprint alone represents the full area used by an individual.

Breeding habitat: Known breeding information

Breeding biology is poorly known. The available assessment gives a mean litter size and an inferred generation length, but does not provide a breeding season, gestation period, age at maturity or lifespan.

The species is reported to have a mean litter size of about 5. The documents do not state where females give birth, whether breeding is seasonal, or what habitat features are selected for reproduction.

Reproductive mode: Live bearing is indicated by the reported litter size, although the supplied documents do not describe the birth process in detail.

Mean litter size: About 5 young.

Breeding season: Not stated in the supplied documents.

Gestation: Not stated in the supplied documents.

Age at maturity: Not stated for this species; generation length is inferred to be 5 to 8 years from other elapid species.

Lifespan: Not stated in the supplied documents.

  • Treat deep soil cracks and cavities as potential breeding and shelter habitat during site assessment.
  • Avoid disturbing occupied cracks and cavities until a fauna specialist has assessed the site.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat requirements

No species specific breeding site has been described in the supplied documents. The known habitat association with deep cracking clay soils, seasonal flooding and floodplain vegetation means these features should be retained while breeding ecology remains unresolved.

  • Include cracking clay depressions and adjacent floodplain vegetation in pre-clearing habitat assessments.
  • Plan works to avoid removing both soil refuges and nearby frog habitat.
  • Record any females, young or aggregations separately and report the observations through the project’s threatened fauna procedure.

Sheltering habitat: Soil refuges

The main documented refuges are deep cracks in clay soils and deep cavities. These features can occur in floodplain depressions and may be damaged by earthworks, compaction, grading, filling or changes to soil moisture.

During the day, the species stays in deep cracks in clay soils or deep cavities. At Neds Corner, some grey soil cracks were measured at 50 mm across, and these soils were identified as potential habitat for the species.

Documented crack width at Neds Corner: Some grey soil cracks measured about 50 mm across.

  • Inspect and protect deep cracks before grading, trenching, vehicle access or soil removal.
  • Avoid collapsing, sealing or filling cracks and cavities within or next to the works area.
  • Retain fallen timber and vegetation cover associated with floodplain habitat where practicable.

Sheltering habitat: Floodplain cover

The species uses floodplain habitat and may benefit from improved vegetation condition, extent and diversity. Lignum and other floodplain vegetation can provide cover for terrestrial fauna, although a species specific preference for particular plant species has not been established.

  • Fence or clearly mark retained refuge habitat before construction.
  • Keep stock, vehicles, camping activity and firewood collection away from known habitat where these pressures occur.
  • Do not use the absence of a surface sighting as evidence that cracks or cavities are unoccupied.

Sheltering habitat: Other refuges

The supplied documents do not report use of tree hollows, mammal burrows, artificial shelters or quantified refuge dimensions other than the recorded 50 mm soil cracks. No species specific den or refuge density is available.

Threats: Clearing and earthworks

The principal documented risks are habitat degradation, disturbance and altered floodplain hydrology. Construction can affect the species directly by destroying soil refuges and indirectly by reducing frog prey or breaking connections between floodplain habitat patches.

Clearing floodplain woodland, grassland or Lignum can remove cover and alter the habitat around cracking clay soils. Grading, excavation, compaction and filling can destroy deep cracks and cavities used for daytime shelter.

  • Survey suitable floodplain habitat before clearing and ground disturbance.
  • Set out no go areas around confirmed records, deep cracks, cavities and retained floodplain vegetation.
  • Use staged clearing and fauna spotter catcher supervision where works cannot avoid suitable habitat.

Threats: Fragmentation and disturbance

The Victorian population is already considered severely fragmented, with two known subpopulations separated beyond the species’ inferred dispersal capacity. Cattle grazing, camping, firewood collection and other recreational activity degrade habitat and can also affect frogs.

  • Avoid creating isolated patches of floodplain habitat around infrastructure.
  • Control vehicle access and prevent unnecessary camping or firewood collection in retained habitat.
  • Maintain habitat links between cracking clay areas, wetlands and floodplain woodland where practicable.

Threats: Hydrology and drought

Hydrological change, drought and reduced inundation can alter floodplain vegetation and frog availability. The Neds Corner plan identifies reduced inundation as a risk to habitat niches in grey cracking soils and sets watering objectives for wetlands, Lignum and terrestrial fauna habitat.

  • Assess how temporary dewatering, drainage, levees, crossings and altered flood paths may affect nearby habitat.
  • Avoid changes that reduce seasonal wetland function or disconnect floodplain depressions from their water regime.
  • Include frog habitat and floodplain vegetation in hydrological impact assessments.

Threats: Other threats

The supplied documents do not identify a species specific disease, predator, road mortality rate or fire response. Roads and fire may still create project risks through direct mortality, access, refuge loss or changes to ground cover, so these pathways should be assessed where relevant to the site.

  • Manage vehicle speeds and night driving in suitable habitat where snakes may be active.
  • Keep access tracks within defined corridors and prevent unnecessary driving over cracking clay refuges.
  • Assess planned burns for their effects on soil cracks, ground cover, frog habitat and retained floodplain vegetation.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and records search

No species specific survey guideline was provided in the source material. Survey design should target nocturnal activity, frog prey and low lying floodplain habitat with deep cracks in clay soils, while allowing for the species being difficult to detect and poorly known.

Before fieldwork, map low lying floodplain areas, seasonal inundation zones, grey or other cracking clay soils, deep soil cracks, cavities, open and riverside woodland, brigalow and nearby frog habitat.

Review accepted records and local information, including the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, landholder records and previous project surveys. The Victorian population is known from only a handful of locations and is likely to comprise two isolated subpopulations.

Treat any suitable habitat as potentially occupied where the project is within or near the Victorian range, even if a previous inspection did not detect a snake.

Victorian extent of occurrence: Estimated at 36 km² from accepted post-1970 Victorian Biodiversity Atlas records.

Victorian area of occupancy: Estimated at 17 km² using 2 km by 2 km grids.

Known population structure: Two known Victorian subpopulations, considered severely fragmented.

  • Record the area of suitable habitat assessed, the condition of cracking soils, flood history, vegetation cover, frog habitat and any limitations caused by access, weather or inundation.

Survey methodology: 2. Nocturnal active searches

Search suitable habitat after dark because the species shelters in soil cracks or deep cavities during the day and emerges at night to feed on frogs.

Use a slow, systematic spotlight search along cracking clay margins, floodplain depressions, wetland edges, open woodland, riverside woodland and brigalow where safe access is available.

Give priority to areas recently receiving environmental water or areas with good frog habitat, because improved wetland condition and prey availability may increase snake use of floodplain habitat.

The supplied documents do not prescribe the number of nights, search hours, transect length or survey area. Set effort in a project survey plan according to the area of suitable habitat, disturbance footprint, habitat continuity, access and weather, and record the rationale.

Activity period: Nocturnal.

Main prey: Frogs, with reptiles making up about 10 per cent of the diet.

Generation length: Inferred at 5 to 8 years.

  • Conduct searches in suitable summer or other warm-season conditions when snakes are likely to be active, avoiding periods when cold, heavy rain, flooding or unsafe access would reduce detection or create safety risks.
  • Repeat searches across more than one suitable night where the risk assessment identifies occupied habitat, rather than relying on a single negative search.
  • Record start and finish times, route, observers, weather, ground conditions, recent watering or rainfall, search area and all reptiles, frogs and signs detected.

Survey methodology: 3. Daytime refuge and prey-habitat searches

Inspect cracking clay soils, deep cracks, cavities and sheltered ground cover for snakes or signs of recent use, without inserting hands or tools into cracks.

Search the associated vegetation and ground layer, including floodplain woodland, lignum, grassland and fallen timber, because these features can support the prey and cover used by the species.

Survey wetland margins and floodplain depressions for frogs and other indicators of suitable feeding habitat, while treating prey detections as habitat evidence rather than proof that a snake is present.

Do not excavate cracks or destroy cavities during survey. Photograph and map important features for avoidance and pre-clearance planning.

  • Use a trained observer and suitable lighting, gloves and snake handling equipment where required by the project risk assessment.
  • Keep a clear separation between habitat assessment and any capture or handling activity, and use only personnel authorised under current Victorian requirements for capture, handling or relocation.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Prepare a written, risk-based survey design because the supplied documents provide no fixed species-specific minimum of nights, hours, trap nights, transects or search area.
  • Use nocturnal searches and targeted habitat inspections as the core methods, and justify any decision not to survey at night.
  • Submit confirmed records, including negative survey information where required by the project, to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas or the current relevant Victorian wildlife database.
  • Report coordinates, datum, date, time, observers, method, effort, weather, habitat, photographs and the disposition of any captured or injured animal.
  • Obtain independent identification or expert confirmation for photographs or specimens that are not diagnostically clear, especially because the species can be confused with death adders.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Treat suitable Victorian floodplain habitat as high risk because the species has a very restricted recorded distribution, is listed as Critically Endangered in Victoria and may shelter below ground where it is not visible during ordinary clearing inspections.

Avoid clearing low lying floodplain habitat with deep cracking clay soils, particularly near seasonal flooding, wetlands, floodplain depressions and riverside or open woodland.

Retain connected areas of cracking soil, ground cover, fallen timber, lignum and floodplain vegetation around known or potential habitat.

Keep the two known Victorian subpopulations and any connecting or adjacent suitable habitat separate from the disturbance footprint wherever practicable, because the subpopulations are considered isolated beyond the species' dispersal capacity.

Avoid changes to wetland hydrology, drainage, inundation timing and floodplain water movement that could reduce frog habitat or degrade cracking soils.

  • Place the disturbance footprint, access tracks, stockpiles, drainage works and machinery parking outside mapped suitable habitat wherever practicable.
  • Use existing cleared access routes and minimise soil compaction, grading, recreational disturbance, firewood collection and other activities identified as habitat threats.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project controls

The species is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied information, but confirm its current national status before finalising the approvals pathway and determine whether another protected matter triggers referral.

Check current Victorian threatened species, wildlife handling, salvage, relocation and clearing requirements before works begin. The species is listed as Critically Endangered in Victoria.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies suitable habitat, survey results, avoidance areas, authorised personnel, stop-work triggers, handling arrangements, veterinary contacts, reporting and rehabilitation requirements.

Stage works so that retained habitat and wetland function remain available while each work area is assessed and cleared.

EPBC Act status supplied: Not listed.

Victorian status supplied: Critically Endangered.

  • Obtain all project, land tenure, wildlife, vegetation removal and water management approvals that apply to the site and proposed activity.
  • Name the responsible project ecologist and fauna spotter catcher, and confirm who can authorise a change to the work area or resume work after a find.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

Complete a pre-clearance inspection immediately before disturbance, with timing and effort set by the approved survey plan and the amount of suitable habitat at risk.

Clearly mark no-go habitat, retained cracking soils, cavities, wetland margins, floodplain vegetation, fallen timber and any other features identified by the project ecologist.

Install exclusion fencing where it can keep machinery, vehicles and people out of retained habitat without blocking safe fauna movement or concentrating animals into a work area.

Brief all workers on identification, the no-handling rule, reporting channels, stop-work triggers, safe machinery movement and the location of retained habitat.

  • Check the work area each day before machinery enters it, especially after rain, flooding, watering or other conditions that could alter animal activity.
  • Keep a snake hook, secure container, first aid equipment, communication equipment and the agreed wildlife veterinarian or wildlife carer contacts available where handling may be required.

During habitat disturbance: Daily clearing controls

Use a controlled, supervised clearing process. The species may be concealed in deep soil cracks or cavities, so machinery must not work ahead of the fauna spotter catcher in suitable habitat.

The fauna spotter catcher should inspect the active work area and exclusion fencing before work starts each day.

Keep machinery within the approved footprint and maintain marked exclusion areas around retained cracking soils, wetland edges, floodplain vegetation and other habitat features.

Clear progressively in small, manageable stages so each area can be inspected before it is disturbed.

Use a spotter catcher who can see the ground and machinery interface, and stop the operator before the bucket, blade, vehicle or worker enters an uninspected crack, cavity or retained habitat feature.

  • Suspend work during unsafe conditions, including poor visibility, flooding or conditions that prevent the spotter catcher from safely inspecting the area.
  • Do not allow workers to place hands into cracks, cavities, under logs or into other concealed spaces.

During habitat disturbance: Finding and handling a snake

Stop work immediately if a suspected De Vis' Banded Snake is seen, captured or exposed, and keep people, vehicles and machinery away from it.

The fauna spotter catcher should photograph the animal from a safe distance, record the exact location and contact the project ecologist or nominated wildlife authority for identification and direction.

Only a person authorised under current Victorian requirements and competent in venomous snake handling should capture, handle or relocate the animal.

If relocation is approved, place the snake in nearby retained habitat with suitable cracking clay soils, cover and access to floodplain or wetland prey habitat, as directed by the project ecologist and approval conditions.

Do not release the snake into an isolated site, across a major barrier or outside the approved local area. Record the release location and time.

Take an injured animal to a veterinarian or approved wildlife carer as soon as practicable, following the project's wildlife care arrangements.

  • Do not chase, restrain, kill, retain or transport the animal unless this is authorised and necessary for approved wildlife management.
  • Keep the container shaded, secure and away from workers and machinery if temporary containment is authorised.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature management and stop work

Treat deep cracks, cavities, fallen timber, lignum, ground cover and wetland margins as potential habitat or prey habitat, and avoid disturbing them unless the approved method specifically addresses the feature.

Do not fill, compact, drain or collapse cracking clay soils that are to be retained.

If a habitat feature must be moved, stop and obtain direction from the project ecologist before moving it, and reinstate it in retained nearby habitat where practicable.

Stop work across the relevant area for any confirmed or suspected individual, any injured animal, an animal that cannot be safely removed, or any failure of exclusion fencing or other approved control.

Resume work only after the project ecologist confirms that the animal has moved or has been lawfully managed and that the control failure has been corrected.

  • Escalate any unexpected concentration of frogs, snakes or other fauna, newly exposed cracking soils, flooding or hydrological change to the project ecologist before continuing.
  • Do not use fire, chemicals, rubble placement or uncontrolled grading to clear animals from cracks or cavities.

During habitat disturbance: Records and communication

Maintain a daily fauna register covering searches, observers, weather, work area, habitat features inspected, animals found, photographs, actions taken, injuries, relocations and approvals.

Map every sighting or potential sighting with coordinates and link the record to the relevant work stage and clearing polygon.

Provide a daily briefing to the supervisor and machinery operators when a new habitat feature, sighting or control failure changes the work conditions.

  • Report a confirmed record and any mortality or injury through the project incident process and to the relevant Victorian wildlife authority or database as required.
  • Retain photographs and field notes with the project environmental records.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work should confirm that no animals remain in the disturbed area, that retained habitat has not been damaged and that hydrological and ground-cover controls are functioning.

Inspect the cleared area and its edges after each staged clearing event, focusing on exposed cracks, cavities, wetland margins, fallen timber and retained vegetation.

Check exclusion fencing, access controls, drainage and sediment controls for damage or changes that could affect retained cracking soils, frog habitat or floodplain water movement.

Document any new snake, frog or other fauna records found during post-clearance checks and apply the same stop-work and handling procedures if a snake is detected.

  • Do not declare an area complete until the project ecologist has checked that the approved footprint was followed and that retained habitat features remain intact.
  • Repair fencing, drainage or other controls promptly and record the repair.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained habitat and nearby wetland or floodplain areas where the project could alter water availability, vegetation condition, ground cover or frog abundance.

Use repeat nocturnal searches where required by the fauna management plan, particularly if works occur beside known records or retained suitable habitat.

Compare post-work observations with pre-work habitat mapping, including the condition of cracking soils, floodplain vegetation, fallen timber, lignum and wetland margins.

  • Submit confirmed records and required monitoring results to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas or the current relevant Victorian wildlife database.
  • Report deaths, injuries, unauthorised habitat disturbance, failed controls and unexpected impacts to the project regulator and approval holder within the timeframes in the approval or management plan.
  • Keep monitoring and incident records for the period specified in the approval, fauna management plan or offset condition.

After habitat disturbance: Maintaining commitments

Keep retained habitat fenced or otherwise protected for as long as construction traffic, workers or follow-up maintenance could damage it.

Prevent ongoing grazing, recreational damage, firewood collection, soil compaction and hydrological changes in retained habitat where these are project-related threats.

Assess whether an offset or other compensatory measure is required under the applicable Victorian approval or project decision.

  • Do not remove habitat protection measures until the project ecologist confirms that the risk of construction-related disturbance has ended.
  • Review the fauna management plan if monitoring shows declining habitat condition, reduced frog habitat or repeated snake encounters in work areas.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore soil, vegetation and cover

Rehabilitation should restore the floodplain structure and water regime that support cracking-soil shelter, ground cover and frog prey. The Neds Corner plan provides useful habitat objectives, but site-specific designs and approvals are still required.

Reinstate natural levels and drainage patterns so that retained and rehabilitated floodplain areas can receive appropriate seasonal inundation without creating uncontrolled erosion or permanent waterlogging.

Protect and restore grey or other cracking clay soils, avoiding unnecessary compaction and allowing shrink and swell processes to continue.

Re-establish local floodplain woodland, grassland and lignum communities appropriate to the site, with enough ground cover to protect soil cracks and provide cover for terrestrial fauna.

Retain and replace fallen timber and other woody debris where it is safe and consistent with the approved rehabilitation design.

  • Use locally appropriate native species selected with the project ecologist and land manager rather than relying on a generic planting mix.
  • Control weeds that reduce native ground cover or alter the structure of floodplain vegetation.
  • Do not seal, fill or smooth all soil cracks in areas intended to provide habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore wetland and prey habitat

Design wetland rehabilitation to provide intermittent wetlands, floodplain depressions and fringing vegetation that support frogs and other prey without removing nearby dry refuge habitat.

Where the site forms part of a managed floodplain complex, use an approved watering regime that supports vegetation recruitment, lignum condition and habitat for terrestrial fauna.

At Neds Corner, the stated optimal regime includes inundating Neds East about six times in ten years and Neds Central five times in ten years, with water retained for four months, but these figures must not be transferred to another site without hydrological assessment and approval.

Neds East plan objective: Improve wetland-bed vegetation diversity and recruitment, and maintain fringing Shrubby Riverine Woodland.

Neds Central plan objective: Improve Lignum condition and enhance habitat potential for terrestrial fauna.

  • Maintain connectivity between wetland edges, cracking soils and floodplain woodland where this can be achieved without directing animals into roads or active work areas.
  • Avoid permanent barriers, drains or raised tracks that isolate suitable habitat or interrupt approved floodplain water movement.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Set success measures for cracking soil condition, native ground cover, lignum and floodplain vegetation recovery, wetland inundation, frog activity and the integrity of retained habitat.

Inspect rehabilitated areas after watering, rainfall and construction maintenance to identify erosion, compaction, weed invasion, failed planting or altered drainage.

Use repeat nocturnal searches and targeted habitat inspections where monitoring is required, and interpret non-detection cautiously because the species is nocturnal and may remain below ground.

  • Record rehabilitation area, treatment, date, watering or rainfall, vegetation condition, soil condition, frog observations, snake observations and corrective actions.
  • Continue monitoring until the project ecologist and approval authority agree that the habitat has met the approved completion criteria.
  • Submit any confirmed records to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas or current relevant Victorian wildlife database.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire, grazing and predator controls

Manage grazing so that cattle do not degrade cracking soils, ground cover, floodplain vegetation or frog habitat.

Plan fire management to retain soil structure, ground cover, fallen timber and refuge features, and ensure any burn is authorised and assessed for its effect on the species and its prey.

Control weeds and project-related disturbances that reduce habitat quality, and assess predator or pest management only where a site assessment identifies a relevant, approved need.

  • Do not use broadscale fire, intensive grazing or ground disturbance as a substitute for targeted rehabilitation.
  • Review these controls after monitoring identifies damage to cracks, cover, wetland vegetation or frog habitat.

Sources