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Fassifern Blind Snake (Anilios insperatus)

The Fassifern blind snake is a very small, fossorial blind snake known from one specimen found near Warrill View in south eastern Queensland in 1992. Its range and habitat needs remain uncertain, but clearing, urban growth, grazing and degradation near the known site make it a high priority on works sites. It is listed as Critically Endangered under both Queensland and Commonwealth legislation.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

The Fassifern blind snake is known from one specimen collected in south-eastern Queensland in 1992. Breeding months are not recorded, and seasonal activity may vary with local rainfall and temperature.

Breeding mode: Not recorded

Breeding season: Not recorded

Clutch or litter size: Not recorded

Incubation or gestation: Not recorded

Breeding sites: Not recorded. The species is thought to use underground spaces, but no breeding burrow or other breeding place has been confirmed.

Age at maturity: Not recorded

Rainfall, soil conditions and local temperature may change surface activity between years and across south-eastern Queensland, so surveys should target suitable conditions rather than rely on a fixed month.

  • Breeding timing: No month or season has been confirmed for mating, egg laying or young.
  • Surface activity after warm or wet conditions: Like other blind snakes, the species may come to the surface during favourable warm or wet conditions, including after rain.
  • Subterranean sheltering and foraging: The species is probably fossorial and may use soil, insect tunnels and spaces beneath rocks throughout the year.
  • Highest clearing risk: Treat clearing and ground disturbance as a year round risk because breeding places, underground refuges and activity periods are unknown.

Identification: Appearance and size

The Fassifern blind snake is a small, slender, pale blind snake with a uniform body colour. It is fossorial and may be overlooked during ordinary fauna searches, especially when below ground or under compacted soil.

The only measured specimen was 93.7 mm from snout to vent. No live photographs are known, so field staff should use care when handling or identifying a suspected animal.

Useful features include a bluntly angular snout, a slightly trilobed snout when viewed from above, small eyes set within the ocular scale, and light, uniform colouration without a clear difference between the back and underside.

  • Sixteen midbody scale rows.
  • The nasal scale is not completely divided.
  • The nasal cleft is not visible from above and joins the second upper lip scale.
  • The body is slender, with smooth and subtle scales.

Identification: Calls and similar species

No species specific call is known. Do not expect echolocation or a useful vocal cue. Identification should be based on close examination by a suitably experienced herpetologist.

Other blind snakes may occur in the broader region, including Anilios affinis, Anilios ligatus, Anilios nigrescens, Anilios proximus and Anilios wiedii. Most of these differ in having the nasal cleft visible from above.

Identification: Field signs and handling

There are no confirmed droppings, nests, whitewash, stains, burrow systems or other distinctive field signs for this species. The only known individual was found beneath a small rock.

Blind snakes can sometimes appear on the surface during favourable warm or wet conditions, including on roads at night. Any small, pale, worm like snake should be treated as a potential threatened fauna record until checked.

  • Photograph the animal in place where safe to do so.
  • Record the exact location, date, weather, substrate, vegetation and shelter feature.
  • Avoid unnecessary handling. Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher or reptile specialist for identification and release advice.
  • Do not assume that an apparently empty shelter is unused.

Distribution: Known Australian range

The Fassifern blind snake is a Queensland endemic with an extremely limited confirmed distribution. Its true range is unknown, and the species has not been confirmed outside the type locality.

The species is known from a single individual collected 2.9 km west north west of Warrill View, in the Fassifern Valley west of Brisbane, south eastern Queensland.

The known site is on or near a cattle grazing property and is not within a protected area. No confirmed records are known from another Australian state or territory, or from overseas.

  • State: Queensland only.
  • Region: Fassifern Valley, south eastern Queensland.
  • Known locality: near Warrill View.
  • Known record: one individual, collected in 1992.

Distribution: Interpreting records on works sites

The absence of records does not demonstrate that the species is absent. The animal is cryptic, largely subterranean and known from only one record. Several targeted searches between 2014 and 2015 and further surveys between 2021 and 2023 did not locate another individual.

Treat suitable remnants and rocky ground near the known locality as potential habitat, even where the land has been cleared or grazed.

  • Check project databases and current government records before finalising clearing plans.
  • Use local habitat and the species' very low detectability when assessing risk.
  • Escalate any suspected record promptly because a new locality would be highly significant.

Distribution: Regional context

Other Anilios species have been recorded within 100 km of the type locality, showing that the wider region supports blind snakes. This does not confirm that the Fassifern blind snake occurs throughout that area.

The known site lies close to the expanding Brisbane and Ipswich urban areas. Project footprints in the Fassifern Valley and nearby parts of south eastern Queensland should therefore be assessed conservatively.

Habitat: Vegetation and landform

The only known animal was found on a cleared hill slope pasture beneath a small rock. Its preferred habitat has not been confirmed, so both remnant vegetation and modified ground near the known site should be considered during site assessment.

The collecting site was associated with a former open dry eucalypt forest community, Regional Ecosystem 12.8.24. This community is associated with Cainozoic igneous rocks, including the lower slopes of rhyolite and trachyte hills.

Nearby remnant vegetation is dominated by Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata, Eucalyptus crebra and Eucalyptus moluccana. A remnant of the former community remains on an adjacent hill crest, less than 100 m from the collection site.

  • Open dry eucalypt forest and its remnants.
  • Rocky hills, hill slopes and hill crests.
  • Cleared pasture beside or near remnant woodland.
  • Ground with shallow, dark, hard setting clay and yellowish to reddish brown subsoil.

Habitat: Features to inspect

The species may use underground spaces, insect tunnels, soil cracks and shelter beneath rocks or other ground debris. These features are suspected habitat features rather than confirmed species requirements.

Inspect the full ground layer, not just vegetation. Habitat can persist as small remnants within a heavily modified site.

  • Loose rocks and rocky outcrops.
  • Logs, leaf litter and coarse woody debris.
  • Undisturbed or lightly disturbed soil beneath remnant trees.
  • Edges between pasture and remnant dry eucalypt forest.
  • Small patches of vegetation on slopes and hill crests.

Habitat: Habitat condition

The original locality was cleared for grazing in the 1920s, and clearing occurred before 1944. The only record therefore shows that a modified pasture can retain potential habitat, although the site may have been only marginally suitable.

Regional Ecosystem 12.8.24 has declined from about 13,000 ha before clearing to about 4,000 ha mapped as remnant in 2019. Retain remaining patches and avoid assuming that degraded ground has no fauna value.

Foraging habitat: Likely food and feeding areas

The Fassifern blind snake is probably nocturnal, fossorial and primarily subterranean. Its diet and feeding sites have not been confirmed, so surveys and impact assessments should allow for activity below the visible ground surface.

Blind snakes generally feed on termites and ant larvae or pupae. The Fassifern blind snake may use insect tunnels and loose soil to locate prey, but this has not been confirmed for the species.

Potential feeding areas include remnant dry eucalypt forest, rocky slopes, undisturbed soil and the edges of pasture and woodland.

  • Termite and ant activity in soil, under rocks, logs and leaf litter.
  • Loose, friable soil and natural cracks.
  • Ground beneath remnant trees and around rocky features.
  • Vegetated edges that connect pasture with woodland remnants.

Foraging habitat: Surface activity

The species may move near the surface during warm or wet conditions. Blind snakes are sometimes seen crossing roads at night after rain, although this behaviour is based on the group and has not been confirmed specifically for the Fassifern blind snake.

A night road search can supplement, but cannot replace, targeted ground searches.

  • Give particular attention to warm, humid or recently wet conditions.
  • Use slow night driving only where safe and authorised.
  • Stop work and arrange expert identification if a small pale snake is found.

Foraging habitat: Survey approach

Use a combination of careful hand searching and trapping where authorised under the relevant permits and animal ethics requirements. Previous work used searches beneath rocks, logs and leaf litter, soil searching, specialised pitfall traps and slow night road driving.

There is no established minimum effort, trap spacing or repeat interval for this species. For a Critically Endangered animal known from one specimen, survey design should be prepared by an experienced threatened reptile ecologist and scaled to the size and disturbance risk of the project.

  • Search potential habitat before clearing and before stripping or grading soil.
  • Keep rocks, logs and leaf litter in place until they have been checked.
  • Plan searches across more than one suitable weather period where the project risk justifies it.
  • Use suitable drift fencing, escape measures and daily checks for any pitfall trapping.
  • Record negative results with dates, effort, weather and habitat conditions.

Breeding habitat: Known breeding information

Nothing is known about the breeding habitat or breeding season of the Fassifern blind snake. Treat underground soil spaces, shelter features and connected remnants as potential breeding habitat until better information is available.

No breeding site, nest, burrow used for breeding, clutch, litter, breeding season, incubation period or age at maturity has been confirmed.

No colony or breeding group has been recorded. Do not use the absence of visible nests or animals to clear a site of breeding risk.

Breeding season: Unknown.

Breeding place: Unknown.

Clutch or litter size: Unknown.

Breeding habitat: Potential breeding features

As a fossorial blind snake, the species may depend on stable soil, underground spaces and access to prey. These are general group based considerations, not confirmed requirements for the Fassifern blind snake.

Potentially relevant features include undisturbed soil, cracks, insect tunnels, rocks, logs, leaf litter and remnant vegetation that protects ground conditions.

  • Avoid removing ground shelters before fauna searches.
  • Retain links between rocky ground, remnant vegetation and adjacent soil.
  • Avoid compaction, deep excavation and unnecessary soil disturbance in potential habitat.

Breeding habitat: Works controls

For a Critically Endangered species with one known record, plan clearing in stages and use a qualified fauna spotter catcher. Keep a stop work procedure in place for any suspected animal or previously unknown suitable habitat.

If an animal is found, protect the immediate area, prevent further soil disturbance and obtain advice from the relevant Queensland and Commonwealth authorities before work resumes.

  • Mark and retain potential shelter features where practicable.
  • Inspect soil, rocks, logs and leaf litter before disturbance.
  • Do not relocate an animal without approval and species specific advice.
  • Document all searches, finds, controls and decisions.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter features to look for

The only known individual was found beneath a small rock in cleared pasture. The species is thought to live underground, but its preferred shelter depth, soil conditions and use of burrows are unknown.

Potential shelter includes rocks, logs, leaf litter, soil cracks and insect made tunnels. These features can occur in pasture as well as in remnant dry eucalypt forest.

Give priority to rocky hill slopes, hill crests, woodland edges and ground with little recent disturbance.

  • Small rocks partly embedded in soil.
  • Rock piles and shallow rocky ground.
  • Logs, bark and deep leaf litter.
  • Natural soil cracks and loose soil beneath vegetation.
  • Termite and ant galleries or other insect tunnels.

Sheltering habitat: Ground disturbance risk

Clearing, grading, trenching, vehicle movement and soil stockpiling can destroy shelters or crush animals below ground without producing a visible sign. Avoid unnecessary disturbance of the ground layer in potential habitat.

Retain natural ground cover and shelter features wherever the work design allows.

  • Fence off retained rocky and vegetated patches before works begin.
  • Keep heavy machinery out of retained habitat and access tracks where practicable.
  • Do not move rocks, logs or soil into retained areas without ecological advice.
  • Stage ground disturbance so inspected areas are not disturbed again unnecessarily.

Sheltering habitat: Finding and protecting an animal

A suspected Fassifern blind snake should be left undisturbed until an experienced person confirms its identity. The animal may burrow rapidly or become concealed under nearby soil or debris.

Use photographs, location data and habitat records to support identification. Seek advice before capture, handling or relocation.

  • Stop work around the find location.
  • Establish a practical exclusion area based on the activity and the animal's location.
  • Keep people, vehicles and machinery away from the shelter feature.
  • Record whether the animal was under a rock, in soil, on a road or in another location.

Threats: Clearing and urban development

The Fassifern blind snake is Critically Endangered under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. With only one known record and no confirmed living population, avoidable disturbance should be managed conservatively.

The known locality is near Brisbane and Ipswich and has been extensively cleared. Further clearing of remnant dry eucalypt forest, rocky slopes, hill crests and adjoining ground may remove potential habitat or isolate unknown animals.

Before clearing, map remnant vegetation, rocky features, ground shelters and connections between habitat patches. Avoid the type locality and other potential habitat wherever practicable.

  • Retain remnant open dry eucalypt forest.
  • Avoid clearing rocky hill slopes and hill crests.
  • Keep construction access and laydown areas out of potential habitat.
  • Use the smallest practical disturbance footprint.

Threats: Excavation, grading and machinery

Trenching, grading, topsoil stripping, compaction and stockpiling can affect subterranean animals and their prey. These impacts may occur even where no snake is seen.

Use pre-clearance searches, staged clearing and fauna spotter catcher supervision for ground disturbance in potential habitat.

  • Set clear no go areas before machinery arrives.
  • Inspect ground shelters before removal.
  • Move slowly through high risk areas and stop for any suspected reptile.
  • Keep stockpiles, spoil and equipment away from retained habitat.

Threats: Grazing, weeds and habitat decline

The only known site has been grazed since at least the 1920s, and nearby remnants have weed problems. Grazing, soil disturbance, loss of ground cover, weeds and altered insect communities may reduce habitat quality.

Retain native ground cover and remnant trees, manage weeds without unnecessary soil disturbance, and prevent new tracks or informal access through remnants.

  • Control weeds using methods suited to the remnant vegetation and soil.
  • Avoid broad soil disturbance during weed treatment.
  • Manage cattle access to protect retained rocky and vegetated areas.
  • Maintain habitat connections between remnants where possible.

Threats: Unexpected finds and approvals

Any suspected record is significant because the species is known from only one specimen. Stop work at the location and obtain advice from a qualified threatened reptile ecologist and the relevant regulators.

Project teams should confirm whether the activity may require assessment or approval under Queensland and Commonwealth threatened species legislation. No general clearing buffer, timing restriction or relocation procedure has been established for this species, so controls should be site specific and precautionary.

Queensland status: Critically Endangered.

Commonwealth status: Critically Endangered.

  • Use a documented stop work and notification procedure.
  • Protect the animal and its immediate shelter from handling and machinery.
  • Record photographs, coordinates, habitat, weather and the activity underway.
  • Do not resume work in the affected area until the required advice and approvals are in place.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

The Fassifern blind snake is known from one specimen collected in 1992. Treat suitable habitat as occupied until targeted surveys and project approvals support a different conclusion.

Map the type locality near Warrill View, nearby remnant open dry eucalypt forest, rocky hillsides, pasture edges, soil disturbance and connected vegetation.

Review recent WildNet records, noting that records may be imprecise and that absence from a database search does not prove absence from a site.

Check for impacts to the endangered regional ecosystem RE 12.8.24, mapped remnants, rocks, logs, leaf litter and areas where ants and termites are likely to occur.

Assess whether the project may affect nationally or Queensland listed habitat, even where the species has not been recorded locally.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted field searches

Use experienced herpetologists and fauna ecologists familiar with fossorial reptiles. Include the type locality and nearby suitable habitat where access is available.

Search slowly beneath rocks, logs and leaf litter. Inspect loose surface soil and suitable soil cavities carefully. Replace cover objects exactly as found.

Use specialised pitfall trapping where approved and where animal welfare controls are in place. Include drift fencing only when designed and supervised by an appropriately qualified ecologist.

Use slow night driving on wet roads after warm or wet conditions. Blind snakes may move near the surface at these times, but this is a general blind snake response rather than a confirmed seasonal pattern for this species.

Survey methodology: 3. Timing and effort

Plan repeat surveys during favourable warm and wet conditions, including after rain where safe access is available. Do not rely on one short visit.

Increase survey effort for any area containing remnant dry eucalypt forest, rocky slopes, pasture edges or connected habitat. The species has not been detected during repeated searches, so a negative result has limited confidence.

Use a combination of hand searching, pitfall trapping and slow road searches. A recent project used eight days of hand searching, three days of pitfall trapping and one night of slow road driving across four sites, but this is not a confirmed minimum effort for the species.

Do not schedule surveys around a known breeding or migration season. Neither has been established for this species.

Survey methodology: 4. Records and specimen handling

Record the date, time, weather, recent rainfall, location, habitat, soil, surface cover, search method, effort, photographs and result for every search.

Record all other blind snakes and potential predators or prey, including ants and termites where relevant. Retain photographic and spatial records in the project database.

Do not collect a suspected Fassifern blind snake unless a current permit authorises collection. Photograph it in place where safe, prevent harm and contact the project ecologist and the relevant Queensland wildlife authority.

Report a suspected sighting promptly because any additional record may materially change conservation planning.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Approvals and permits

Avoidance is the preferred response for this critically endangered species. The only known locality is outside a protected area and has been modified by grazing and clearing, so remaining habitat and possible underground refuge must be treated cautiously.

Obtain ecological and legal advice before clearing, excavation, grading, rock removal or changes to drainage.

Consider an EPBC Act referral where the action may have a significant impact on this critically endangered species or its habitat. Do not assume that a lack of recent records removes the referral risk.

In Queensland, confirm whether a Nature Conservation Act permit is required for survey, handling, taking, relocating or interfering with protected wildlife.

If works may tamper with a breeding place, obtain advice on a Queensland species management program and any associated authority before work starts. No breeding place type is known for this species, so seek advice before disturbing likely underground habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Avoidance and exclusion

Retain remnant open dry eucalypt forest, rocky slopes, rock piles, logs, leaf litter and undisturbed soil wherever practicable.

Keep machinery, laydown areas, spoil, access tracks and vehicle parking outside mapped habitat and any site specific exclusion zone set by the ecologist.

Use a clearly marked no-go zone around suitable habitat. Set the boundary from field inspection, construction footprint, ground disturbance and the likelihood of underground refuge, rather than applying an untested standard distance.

Do not remove rocks or logs from retained habitat for tidiness or firewood.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Pre-clearance survey and work planning

Complete targeted surveys before finalising the clearing method. Search the work area and adjacent retained habitat using hand searches, careful soil inspection, approved pitfall trapping and wet night road searches where suitable.

Sequence works to keep suitable habitat intact until searches, approvals and fauna management arrangements are complete.

There is no confirmed breeding period or migration period. Plan works outside warm and wet conditions where practicable if those conditions are likely to increase surface activity, and obtain ecologist advice before changing the timing.

Include a contingency for discovery of an animal, a suspected breeding place or an unexpected concentration of blind snakes.

Before habitat disturbance: 4. Induction and fauna controls

Induct all workers, machine operators and subcontractors on the species description, its critically endangered status, likely underground habits and the project exclusion zones.

Show workers how to identify a suspected blind snake and explain that it must not be picked up, moved or harmed by untrained personnel.

Give the fauna spotter catcher clear authority to stop work and require machinery to remain still until the animal and habitat risk have been assessed.

Place contact details for the fauna spotter catcher, project ecologist, site supervisor and wildlife rehabilitation provider at the site office and in work vehicles.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Sequential clearing

Use a slow, staged approach that leaves the fauna spotter catcher in control of ground disturbance. Underground animals may not be visible during ordinary clearing, so minimise soil and shelter disturbance.

Clear from the least suitable, already disturbed areas towards retained habitat only where the project ecologist has approved that sequence.

Use low speed and low impact methods around rocks, logs, leaf litter, remnant vegetation and shallow soil. Lift and inspect cover objects before removal.

Stop and reassess if excavation exposes cavities, insect tunnels, concentrated ants or termites, intact soil refuges or other features that could support a fossorial reptile.

Keep cleared material and machinery out of retained habitat and do not bury rocks, logs or leaf litter in exclusion zones.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Stop work and animal handling

The fauna spotter catcher may stop work at any time where a suspected Fassifern blind snake, suitable refuge or unexpected habitat feature is found.

Keep people, vehicles and machinery clear. Do not chase, prod, wash, spray or handle the animal.

Only a person authorised under the relevant permit and approved project procedure may handle or relocate the animal. Use the least handling possible and place it in a secure, ventilated container if authorised.

Obtain a clear photograph and location before any authorised movement, unless this would increase risk to the animal.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Breeding places and concentrated activity

Stop work if an active breeding place, suspected breeding place, group of animals or repeated use of a refuge is found.

Protect the feature with an exclusion zone set by the fauna spotter catcher and project ecologist. Do not disturb, fill, excavate or relocate it until the relevant authority has been consulted.

There is no confirmed breeding place type for this species. Treat underground cavities, soil refuges and repeated shelter sites conservatively until assessed.

Update the method statement, permits and Queensland species management program requirements before work resumes.

During habitat disturbance: 4. Injured animals and incident records

If an animal is injured, keep it quiet, shaded and secure. Do not offer food or water unless directed by a qualified wildlife carer or veterinarian.

Contact the approved wildlife rehabilitation provider, project ecologist and relevant Queensland authority immediately. Arrange veterinary assessment where directed.

Record the location, condition, suspected cause, photographs, people involved, machinery involved, actions taken and final outcome.

Report any death, injury, unauthorised handling, habitat breach or stop work event under the project approval and environmental incident procedure.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work should confirm that the approved footprint was followed and that no animal or refuge was missed. Because the species is extremely difficult to detect, monitoring results should be interpreted cautiously.

Inspect the completed footprint after clearing and before backfilling, grading or sealing areas where the fauna spotter catcher identified potential refuges.

Check disturbed soil, rock piles, logs, leaf litter, excavations and drainage features for animals or signs of further activity.

Keep exclusion zones in place until the project ecologist confirms that the relevant work stage is complete and the area is safe to release.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Reporting and data management

Prepare a clearance report with survey methods, dates, weather, effort, maps, photographs, records, incidents, animal outcomes and any permit conditions applied.

Submit records to the relevant Queensland database or authority where required. Clearly distinguish confirmed records, unconfirmed observations and survey non-detections.

Keep a spatial record of retained habitat, disturbed habitat, exclusion zones, relocated animals and restoration areas.

Do not describe the species as absent solely because it was not detected.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Relocated animals

Confirm that any relocation was authorised and recorded under the project approval. Document the original and release locations, habitat, date, time, condition and handling duration.

Monitor the release location where required by the permit or advice from the project ecologist. Avoid repeated handling or unnecessary checks.

Use a release site with suitable retained cover and soil habitat identified by the ecologist. Do not release an animal into a generic landscaped area or exposed ground.

After habitat disturbance: 4. Monitoring and incident review

Review all detections, non-detections, injuries, mortality, habitat breaches and stop work events with the project ecologist and site supervisor.

Change clearing methods, exclusion zones, induction content and survey design if monitoring identifies unexpected habitat use or repeated fauna risks.

For projects near the known locality or suitable remnants, consider repeat targeted surveys after major disturbance and during favourable warm and wet conditions.

Share significant new records with Queensland conservation authorities because the known distribution is based on a single specimen.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore underground refuge, surface cover and the ecological processes that support blind snakes and their prey. The species specific requirements are poorly known, so retain natural features rather than relying on artificial structures.

Protect and regenerate remnant open dry eucalypt forest, including locally appropriate native canopy, shrub and ground layers.

Reinstate natural soil profiles where practicable. Avoid compaction, deep ripping, unnecessary excavation and imported fill in habitat restoration areas.

Retain or replace natural rocks, logs, coarse woody debris and leaf litter in safe locations identified by the ecologist.

Maintain links between remnant vegetation, rocky slopes and suitable ground habitat so animals can move through the site.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Do not use unsuitable artificial structures

Do not install bird nest boxes, bat boxes, artificial roosts or generic nest structures for this species. It is a fossorial blind snake and no such breeding or roosting structures are known to suit it.

Do not construct artificial burrows or breeding places unless a qualified reptile ecologist and the relevant authority develop and approve a species specific design.

Where natural shelter has been lost, prioritise carefully placed rocks, logs, leaf litter and intact soil rather than enclosed structures.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Manage weeds, grazing and fire risk

Control weeds in and around remnant habitat using methods that minimise soil disturbance, chemical exposure and loss of ground cover.

Manage cattle access where grazing is degrading rocky refuges, soil structure, leaf litter or regeneration. Use fencing and controlled access where required by the rehabilitation plan.

Avoid broad disturbance of ground cover during weed control or fire management. Use a site specific ecological assessment before applying fire in potential habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: 4. Water, drainage and lighting

Restore natural drainage patterns and prevent sediment, polluted runoff and prolonged waterlogging from entering retained or rehabilitated habitat.

Do not create artificial ponds or release water into soil refuges unless this forms part of an approved ecological restoration design.

Use the lowest practical level of night lighting near habitat. Direct lights away from remnant vegetation, rocky ground and movement routes, and use timers or shields where practicable.

Keep roads and hardstand areas to the minimum required and manage night traffic near suitable habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: 5. Long term monitoring

Monitor vegetation recovery, soil condition, ground cover, weeds, grazing impacts and the integrity of retained rocks and logs.

Include targeted searches after favourable warm and wet conditions, using hand searches, approved pitfall trapping and slow night road searches where safe and permitted.

Use consistent methods and record effort so future non-detections can be interpreted. Treat any suspected record as significant and follow the authorised handling and reporting procedure.

Review rehabilitation outcomes with the project ecologist and relevant authorities, and adapt the management plan if the species or suitable habitat is detected.

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