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Fawn Antechinus (Antechinus bellus)

The fawn antechinus is a small terrestrial and partly arboreal insectivorous marsupial found in the monsoonal Top End of the Northern Territory. It uses open eucalypt forests and woodlands with dense shrubby understorey, tree hollows and fallen logs, so clearing, intense fire and removal of hollow-bearing habitat can affect individuals on development sites.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

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

Breeding season

The timing below reflects the documented breeding cycle for the Northern Territory population. Activity is generally greatest around dusk and dawn throughout the year.

Months are January to December. The season is based on documented Northern Territory breeding observations.

  • Breeding and mating: Breeding occurs from mid June to late August. Males undergo a synchronous die-off after breeding.
  • Births and young: Young are born from late September to October, remain attached to the nipples for 4 to 5 weeks and are suckled in the nest until weaned in early January.
  • Adult activity: The species is generally active at dusk and dawn. The supplied sources do not document a seasonal migration or defined dispersal period.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing is most likely to harm the species from mid June through early January because this period includes mating, male die-off, births, dependent young and nesting. Risk is highest from June to October when breeding and births occur.

Identification

The fawn antechinus is a small dasyurid with pale grey to grey-brown upperparts and a short, uniformly brown tail. It may be encountered on the ground or in low vegetation, particularly around open forest with a dense understorey.

Adults weigh 30 to 60 g. The fur is pale to medium grey above, sometimes with a fawn or brownish tinge, and cream or light grey below.

The species has a white chin, pale eye-ring and white upper surfaces on the hands and feet. The tail is uniformly brown, slightly darker above, and shorter than the combined head and body length.

Females do not have a true pouch. During the breeding season, males may have yellow to brown staining on the chest from a chest gland.

Body size: 30 to 60 g

Tail: Uniformly brown and shorter than head and body length

Identification: Distinguishing features

The white chin, pale eye-ring, white hands and feet, brown short tail and small dasyurid body shape are useful field characters.

The species can be confused with small rodents. Antechinuses are marsupials and are primarily insectivorous, unlike mice, which are generally herbivorous. Species-level identification should rely on the full combination of size, colour, tail proportions, locality and habitat rather than a single character.

Identification: Field signs

There are no species-specific tracks, scats, calls, eyeshine or nest dimensions described in the supplied sources.

A live animal may be detected in tree hollows, fallen logs, traps or remote-camera images. Shelter records and detections in open Eucalyptus woodland with a shrubby understorey are more informative than an isolated sign record.

For fauna spotter catcher work, treat small grey-brown dasyurids in suitable Top End woodland as potential fawn antechinuses until identified by a suitably experienced person.

  • Check fallen logs, hollow-bearing trees and dense understorey before vegetation removal.
  • Use photographs and precise location records for any suspected detection.
  • Do not rely on a lack of tracks, scats or calls to conclude that the species is absent.

Distribution: National range

The fawn antechinus is endemic to the Northern Territory and is largely restricted to the mainland Top End. Its distribution has contracted from historical records in central and eastern Arnhem Land, and recent monitoring has recorded substantial declines at several sites.

The species is known only from the Northern Territory. It occurs in forests and woodlands of the lowlands of the monsoonal tropics, mostly on the mainland Top End.

A single record has been collected from the Tiwi Islands. The supplied documents do not identify additional Australian states or a more specific set of bioregion names.

States and territories: Northern Territory only

Broad region: Lowland monsoonal tropics of the Northern Territory, mainly the mainland Top End

Distribution: Known strongholds and former range

The species has been recorded in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, Kakadu National Park and Litchfield National Park.

Recent surveys failed to record it across central and eastern Arnhem Land, where it had been recorded in the 1930s and 1940s. These records indicate a former range broader than the currently confirmed distribution.

Distribution: Population status

The species is listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act and Endangered under the Northern Territory legislation.

Monitoring in Kakadu recorded a ten-fold fall in the population index, from a mean trap success of 0.39 in 2001 to 2004 to 0.04 in 2007 to 2009. At one Kakadu site, captures fell by 76 per cent between 2002 and 2009. At two Garig Gunak Barlu sites, captures fell by 93 per cent between 2002 and 2008.

The available assessment concluded that the population had declined by more than 30 per cent over the previous 10 years, but was unlikely to have declined by more than 50 per cent overall.

Estimated mature individuals: Approximately 20,000

Estimated area of occupancy: Approximately 488 km² using 2 by 2 km grid cells, although this was considered an underestimate

Population trend: Substantial decline over the assessed 10-year period

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Fawn antechinuses use open tropical eucalypt forests and woodlands in the monsoonal Top End. Habitat condition depends on a retained understorey, shelter features and fire regimes that do not repeatedly remove cover and hollow-bearing resources.

Preferred habitat is open forest and woodland dominated by Darwin woollybutt, Eucalyptus miniata, and/or Darwin stringybark, Eucalyptus tetrodonta.

The species is particularly associated with forests that have a relatively dense shrubby understorey.

Suitable habitat may occur in woodland patches within or beside disturbed areas. A development survey recorded three individuals in Eucalyptus woodland, including one in a small patch of highly disturbed woodland that had previously been burnt and cleared.

Key canopy species: Eucalyptus miniata and Eucalyptus tetrodonta

Important structural layer: Relatively dense shrubby understorey

Habitat: Climate and fire setting

The species occurs in the lowland monsoonal tropics of the Northern Territory. No species-specific elevation limits are given in the supplied documents.

It prefers areas exposed to cooler and less frequent fires. It declines where fires are frequent and intense, but it is not necessarily common where fire has been excluded for more than 20 years.

Habitat assessment should therefore consider recent fire history, fire intensity, understorey condition and the presence of fallen logs and hollows, not vegetation type alone.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The fawn antechinus is a terrestrial and partly arboreal insectivore. It generally feeds around dusk and dawn, using ground cover, leaf litter, shrubs and nearby tree structure.

The diet consists mainly of invertebrates. Small vertebrates, including geckoes, are also eaten.

The supplied sources do not identify particular food plant species. Invasive grasses, weeds and grazing may alter the availability of preferred or important insect prey.

Main prey: Invertebrates

Additional prey: Small vertebrates such as geckoes

Foraging habitat: Foraging structure

Foraging is likely to involve both the ground and low vegetation because the species is terrestrial and partly arboreal. The sources do not provide a measured foraging range or home-range size.

Retain dense shrubby understorey, leaf litter and fallen woody material where practicable. These features are associated with the preferred habitat and can support invertebrate prey and movement close to shelter.

  • Inspect dense understorey and fallen logs before clearing.
  • Avoid unnecessary removal of ground cover and woody debris in retained woodland.
  • Schedule vegetation disturbance outside the breeding and dependent-young period where practicable.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding is highly synchronised in the dry season. Males die after the breeding period, while some females survive to breed in a second and occasionally third season.

Young are born from late September to October. They remain attached to the nipples for 4 to 5 weeks and are suckled in the nest until weaned in early January.

Most breeding females are in their first year. The generation length is considered to be one year because of the annual male die-off and the predominance of first-year breeding females.

Age at first breeding and a precise gestation period are not given in the supplied sources.

Mating and breeding: Mid June to late August

Male survival after breeding: A synchronous male die-off follows breeding

Birth period: Late September to October

Litter size: Up to 10 young

Attachment to nipples: 4 to 5 weeks

Weaning: Early January

Lifespan: Not stated precisely; some females survive to a second and occasionally third breeding season

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

Breeding habitat includes the tree hollows and fallen logs used for shelter and nesting within open Eucalyptus forests and woodlands.

Retain hollow-bearing trees, fallen logs, shrubby understorey and connected woodland around known records. Avoid clearing during June to early January where practicable, particularly where shelter features or recent detections are present.

  • Search and mark hollow-bearing trees and substantial fallen logs before clearing.
  • Treat occupied or potentially occupied hollows and logs as fauna habitat until inspected by an appropriately qualified person.
  • Use staged clearing and fauna handling procedures where disturbance cannot be avoided during breeding or the dependent-young period.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

The species shelters in tree hollows and fallen logs. The supplied sources do not provide hollow entrance sizes, log dimensions, nest dimensions or den occupancy rates.

Tree hollows and fallen logs are documented shelter sites. These features may also provide nesting space while young are suckled after leaving the nipples.

Shelter is most likely to be important where it occurs within open Eucalyptus woodland with a dense shrubby understorey and a cooler, less frequently burnt fire history.

Documented shelter types: Tree hollows and fallen logs

Known shelter dimensions: Not provided

  • Retain hollow-bearing trees and fallen logs inside and beside the clearing footprint where safe to do so.
  • Inspect hollow-bearing trees and large fallen timber before felling, moving or burning them.
  • If a shelter feature must be removed, use a qualified fauna spotter catcher and follow the approved relocation or staged-clearing procedure for the project.

Sheltering habitat: Fire and shelter availability

Frequent intense fires can reduce the woody understorey and the availability of hollow logs and tree hollows. The species prefers areas exposed to cooler and less frequent fires.

Long-term fire exclusion is not automatically beneficial, because the species is not necessarily common where fire has been excluded for more than 20 years.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main documented threats are feral cat predation, inappropriate fire regimes, and habitat loss and fragmentation. These pressures can act together, especially where clearing removes cover and intense fire leaves animals exposed.

Darwin woollybutt and Darwin stringybark open forests are a major target for broadscale vegetation clearance in northern Australia.

Clearing can remove foraging understorey, fallen logs and tree hollows, and can reduce the area of occupancy. Fragmentation may also isolate remaining woodland from surrounding habitat.

A project assessment recorded three individuals in woodland within a proposed infrastructure area, showing that small or disturbed patches can still be used.

Example local survey result: Three individuals recorded in Eucalyptus woodland

Example assessed clearing amount: Less than 1 ha was assessed as a small local loss in one project context

  • Avoid clearing Eucalyptus miniata and Eucalyptus tetrodonta woodland where practicable.
  • Map hollow-bearing trees, fallen logs, dense understorey and recent records before finalising the clearing boundary.
  • Keep infrastructure within existing disturbed areas where practicable and maintain links to surrounding woodland.

Threats: Fire

Frequent and intense fires reduce habitat suitability, deplete the woody understorey and may reduce hollow logs and tree hollows.

The species prefers cooler and less frequent fires, but is not necessarily common where fire has been excluded for more than 20 years. Fire planning should therefore avoid both repeated hot burns and unmanaged long-term exclusion.

  • Use fire history and fuel condition when assessing habitat before clearing or construction.
  • Avoid hot, extensive burns in known or potential habitat.
  • Protect retained woodland, dense understorey, fallen logs and hollow-bearing trees from construction-related fire.

Threats: Predators and introduced species

Feral cats are a documented threat, with strong evidence linking them to declines in small mammals in northern Australia. Cat predation may be greater in areas recently burnt by intense fire.

Potential additional pressures include cane toads, invasive grasses and disease associated with introduced species such as black rats and feral cats.

The supplied documents do not identify roads or hydrology change as demonstrated species-specific threats. They should nevertheless be considered project risks where they remove woodland, alter fire or prey conditions, or increase access by introduced predators.

  • Do not create food, waste or shelter conditions that attract feral cats or other introduced predators to work areas.
  • Control invasive grasses before they increase fuel loads and alter fire intensity or frequency.
  • Prevent construction activities from spreading cane toads and weeds between occupied sites.
  • Record and report feral cat, cane toad, black rat and invasive grass observations during site works.

Threats: Development controls

The species breeds from mid June to late August, and young remain dependent until weaning in early January. Clearing during this period can disrupt breeding or remove occupied shelter.

Use pre-clearance searches, staged clearing, qualified fauna spotter catcher supervision and retention of habitat features wherever practicable. The exact method should follow the approval conditions and the project fauna management plan.

  • Complete targeted searches in suitable Top End Eucalyptus woodland before clearing.
  • Give particular attention to tree hollows, fallen logs and dense shrubby understorey.
  • Avoid clearing from June to early January where practicable, or apply additional controls if timing cannot be changed.
  • Keep a location, photograph and outcome record for each suspected or confirmed detection.

Survey methodology: 1. Trapping in suitable woodland

Survey the fawn antechinus in Top End open forest and woodland, especially Darwin woollybutt and Darwin stringybark communities with a dense shrub layer, tree hollows and fallen logs. The species is generally active at dusk and dawn, so surveys must cover both ground activity and shelter features.

Use live trapping where permits, animal ethics approval and suitably trained personnel are in place. Place traps through open forest and woodland, including areas with dense understorey, fallen logs and hollow-bearing trees.

Schedule trapping to include the species' active period at dusk and dawn, and avoid relying only on daytime searches. The species weighs 30 to 60 g, so use equipment suitable for small dasyurids and check traps at the required frequency under the relevant permit and animal welfare requirements.

The project survey that recorded this species used trapping across a survey area of approximately 220 ha and captured one female in woodland near the proposed vent corridor.

Known breeding period: Mid June to late August

Typical activity: Dusk and dawn

Body mass: 30 to 60 g

  • Record trap locations, habitat type, weather, trap effort, trap checks, captures and non-captures.
  • Release animals at the capture location unless an authorised wildlife procedure requires another action.

Survey methodology: 2. Remote cameras

Deploy remote cameras along woodland transects, beside fallen logs, at the bases of hollow-bearing trees and on likely movement routes through dense understorey. Cameras can complement trapping because the species uses both ground and arboreal shelter features.

Use cameras for a period and coverage appropriate to the project risk, habitat extent and survey objectives. The supplied documents do not provide a standard camera duration or camera spacing for this species, so the ecologist must document the rationale for the selected effort.

The project survey recorded two fawn antechinuses on cameras at woodland transects, in addition to one trapped animal.

  • Set cameras to record date, time and location, and retain identifiable images as evidence.
  • Review records for small grey to fawn mammals with a uniformly brown tail, pale eye-ring and white chin and feet, while recognising that identification should be confirmed by a suitably experienced ecologist.

Survey methodology: 3. Dusk and dawn searches

Conduct walking searches and, where appropriate, spotlighting during dusk and dawn because the species is generally active at these times. Search open forest and woodland, dense shrub layers, leaf litter, fallen logs and the bases of hollow-bearing trees.

Use quiet, systematic transects that cover all habitat proposed for clearing and retained habitat nearby. Record the transect length, start and finish times, observers, weather, fire history, habitat condition and any detections.

Treat a non-detection cautiously. The species has declined across parts of its former range, and recent surveys failed to record it across central and eastern Arnhem Land where it was recorded in the 1930s and 1940s.

  • Do not disturb or block tree hollows, fallen logs or other shelter features during a survey.
  • Repeat searches when the first survey is affected by unsuitable weather, access constraints, recent intense fire or other conditions that reduce detectability.

Survey methodology: 4. Habitat and feature inspection

Map Darwin woollybutt and Darwin stringybark woodland, shrub density, hollow-bearing trees, fallen logs, recent fire areas, dense understorey and adjoining retained habitat before selecting survey locations.

Inspect the full proposed disturbance area and the surrounding retained woodland for shelter and movement features. Include areas that appear disturbed, because three animals were recorded in woodland during a project survey, including one in a small patch of highly disturbed woodland that had been previously burnt and cleared.

Record the area surveyed, vegetation type, disturbance history, fire history, feature locations and links to nearby suitable woodland.

  • Give particular attention to habitat exposed to cooler and less frequent fires, because the species declines where fires are frequent and intense.
  • Use the habitat map to identify areas requiring avoidance, staged clearing, fauna handling or additional survey.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Prepare a project-specific survey design that states the area covered, transect lengths, trap effort, camera deployment, search times, weather, fire history, limitations and reasons for any departures from the design.
  • Use more than one detection method where the project may remove woodland, dense understorey, hollow-bearing trees or fallen logs, because the species uses both ground and arboreal habitat and may be missed by a single method.
  • Have records and identifications reviewed by an appropriately experienced ecologist before clearing starts.
  • Submit confirmed records, including coordinates, date, detection method, photographs where available and survey effort, to the relevant Northern Territory wildlife database or other relevant state or territory wildlife database.
  • Report the species under its current scientific name, Antechinus bellus, and common name, fawn antechinus.
  • Retain survey data, permits, animal welfare records, photographs and clearance decisions in the project environmental records.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Plan the work around the species' shelter, breeding and fire requirements. The main avoidable risks are removal of woodland habitat, loss of hollows and logs, frequent or intense fire, and increased exposure to feral cats.

Avoid clearing Darwin woollybutt and Darwin stringybark woodland where practicable, particularly woodland with a dense shrub layer, hollow-bearing trees and fallen logs.

Retain connected patches of suitable woodland around the work area and avoid creating isolated remnants. The species' known distribution is concentrated in the Northern Territory, including Garig Gunak Barlu, Kakadu and Litchfield national parks, and its former distribution has contracted in parts of Arnhem Land.

Keep disturbance footprints as small as practicable and use existing cleared areas, roads and disturbed ground for infrastructure where feasible.

  • Map and retain hollow-bearing trees, fallen logs and dense understorey within and beside the work area.
  • Do not assume that disturbed woodland has no value, because a project survey recorded a fawn antechinus in a small patch of highly disturbed woodland.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and timing

Confirm the current EPBC Act status before works begin. The species is nationally Vulnerable and listed as Endangered in the Northern Territory, so obtain advice on whether referral, approval or other conditions apply to the proposed action.

Confirm Northern Territory or other state and territory permits for clearing, trapping, handling, relocation, wildlife care and use of fauna equipment.

Where practicable, avoid clearing during the breeding period from mid June to late August, when mating occurs. This also reduces the risk of disturbing breeding animals and dependent young, although timing alone does not remove the need for pre-clearance checks.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies survey methods, habitat to retain, clearing limits, spotter catcher responsibilities, stop-work triggers, handling arrangements, emergency contacts and reporting requirements.

  • Stage works so that retained woodland remains connected and animals can move away from active clearing into suitable habitat.
  • Coordinate clearing, fire management, weed control and feral animal controls rather than treating each pressure separately.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare the site

Complete a pre-clearance survey using methods suited to the habitat and project risk before machinery enters the work area.

Clearly mark approved clearing limits, retained woodland, hollow-bearing trees, fallen logs, dense understorey and any fauna exclusion areas on plans and on the ground.

Use exclusion fencing only where it will not trap animals or block movement to retained woodland. Inspect fencing regularly and remove it when the risk has passed.

Brief machinery operators, supervisors and fauna spotter catchers on the species' appearance, active periods, habitat features, handling limits and stop-work procedures.

  • Control access to retained habitat so that vehicles, stockpiles, lighting and temporary facilities do not damage shelter features.
  • Check for feral cats, cane toads, invasive grasses and other introduced animals or weeds that may affect the work area or retained habitat, and include controls in the site plan.

During habitat disturbance: Daily clearing controls

Use a slow, supervised clearing process that gives animals a safe route to retained woodland. A fauna spotter catcher must have authority to stop machinery whenever an animal or shelter feature is at risk.

Confirm each day that the approved clearing boundary, retained habitat and fauna controls are in place before machinery starts.

Clear progressively towards retained suitable woodland, where safe and appropriate, rather than surrounding animals with machinery or leaving isolated habitat islands.

Use a fauna spotter catcher during clearing of woodland, dense understorey, hollow-bearing trees and areas containing fallen logs. Keep machinery stopped while the spotter catcher inspects the next clearing section.

Limit night work, bright lighting and noisy activity near retained woodland where practicable, because the species is generally active at dusk and dawn.

  • Stop work if the spotter catcher cannot maintain a safe view of the clearing area.
  • Keep spoil, equipment, waste and vehicles out of retained woodland and away from hollow-bearing trees and fallen logs.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

Inspect hollow-bearing trees and fallen logs for fauna before felling, moving or burning them. The species shelters in tree hollows and fallen logs.

Retain suitable logs in place wherever possible. If an occupied log must be moved, stop work and follow the approved fauna handling procedure under the relevant permit.

Do not burn, bury or chip hollow-bearing trees or fallen logs until the fauna spotter catcher has cleared them and the environmental officer has confirmed that the action is permitted.

Protect adjoining woodland, dense shrub layers and drainage or wetland areas from machinery and fire, even where they are outside the direct footprint but provide movement or shelter habitat.

  • Do not use nest boxes as a substitute for retaining natural hollows unless this is specified in the fauna management plan and approved by the relevant authority.
  • Manage weeds, grazing and introduced animals so that retained habitat continues to provide insects, understorey and shelter features.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and stop-work triggers

Stop machinery immediately when a fawn antechinus is seen, trapped, injured, exposed in a hollow or log, or placed at risk by the next clearing action.

Only an appropriately authorised and trained person may capture, handle or relocate the animal. Minimise handling, keep the animal cool and quiet, and follow the approved species and animal welfare procedure.

Relocate a healthy animal only to nearby suitable retained woodland that is outside the active work area and within the movement plan approved for the project. Record the release location and time.

Take an injured animal to an approved veterinarian or wildlife carer as soon as practicable, using the authorised wildlife care pathway.

Stop work if an animal cannot be safely captured, if dependent young may be present, if a hollow or log is occupied, if clearing moves outside the approved boundary, or if fire, smoke, flooding or machinery prevents safe supervision.

  • Do not chase an animal through dense vegetation, handle it without authority, or release it into exposed cleared ground.
  • Record every detection, capture, relocation, injury, mortality, stop-work event and unresolved animal welfare issue before the shift ends.

During habitat disturbance: Records and supervision

Maintain a daily clearance record showing the area cleared, methods used, personnel, habitat features inspected, animals detected, actions taken, weather, fire conditions and incidents.

Photograph important habitat features and any animal where this can be done without delaying safe handling or increasing stress.

The environmental officer must review records daily, verify that clearance matches the approved footprint and escalate any unexpected concentration of animals or habitat loss to the project manager and relevant authority.

  • Keep survey, permit, fauna handling, veterinary, relocation and mortality records together with the project environmental register.
  • Update the fauna management plan when monitoring shows that the planned controls are not preventing harm.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work must confirm that no animals or shelter features were left at risk and that retained woodland remains functional. Continue controls until the site is stable and rehabilitation is established.

Have the fauna spotter catcher inspect the cleared area, retained edges, felled timber and any moved logs after each clearing stage.

Check machinery, stockpiles, trenches and temporary exclusion fencing for trapped fauna before demobilisation or at the frequency required by the fauna management plan.

Confirm that all retained hollow-bearing trees, fallen logs, dense understorey and connected woodland shown on the approved plan remain undamaged.

  • Remove temporary fencing, waste and equipment that could trap or injure small mammals when the work area is safe.
  • Report any late detection, injury or mortality promptly and investigate whether the clearing method or boundary needs to change.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained and rehabilitated woodland with cameras, trapping or repeated dusk and dawn searches where the project risk, approval conditions or management plan requires it.

Compare records with the pre-clearance baseline, including detections, habitat condition, fire history, weed cover and feral cat activity.

Report the area cleared, habitat retained, animals handled, relocations, injuries, deaths, incidents, rehabilitation actions and monitoring results to the relevant regulator and wildlife database where required.

  • Continue monitoring long enough to detect whether retained habitat is being used and whether management actions are maintaining the species' habitat features.
  • Use adaptive management if monitoring records continuing decline, repeated mortality, loss of understorey, frequent intense fire or increased predator activity.

After habitat disturbance: Maintain project controls

Keep feral cat, cane toad, invasive grass and other introduced animal controls active around retained and rehabilitated habitat where they are relevant to the site.

Maintain fire management that protects woodland from frequent intense fires while avoiding long periods of complete fire exclusion, because the species prefers cooler and less frequent fires but is not necessarily common where fire has been excluded for more than 20 years.

Maintain connectivity between retained woodland patches and prevent new clearing, vehicle access or storage from reducing shelter and foraging habitat.

  • Review fire, weed, predator and habitat controls after each monitoring event and record any management change.
  • Consider offsets or other compensatory measures where required by an approval, policy or residual impact assessment.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild suitable woodland structure

Rehabilitation should recreate the open forest and woodland structure used by the fawn antechinus, with a functioning shrub layer, shelter features and protection from intense fire and introduced predators. Success is habitat recovery and continued use by the species, not only plant establishment.

Use locally appropriate Darwin woollybutt and Darwin stringybark woodland species and a diverse native shrub layer that matches the surrounding reference community.

Reinstate fallen logs and retain natural hollows within rehabilitated areas where safe and lawful. Place logs so they provide shelter without blocking drainage, access or fauna movement.

Use nest boxes only where natural hollow resources have been lost and the approved rehabilitation plan identifies them as appropriate; inspect and maintain them under a documented monitoring programme.

  • Protect new plantings from grazing, vehicles, fire and weeds until they are established.
  • Link rehabilitation areas to retained woodland rather than creating isolated planted patches.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire, weeds and introduced animals

Apply a fire regime that supports a dense understorey and protects logs and tree hollows from frequent intense fires. Use cooler, less frequent burns where fire is required and follow the approved fire management plan.

Control invasive grasses, including gamba grass where present, because they can increase fire intensity and frequency and reduce foraging conditions.

Control feral cats and manage cane toads, black rats, feral herbivores and livestock impacts where they occur and where site approvals permit.

  • Inspect rehabilitated areas for weed spread and changes in understorey after fire, wet season growth and major disturbance.
  • Coordinate weed and predator control with nearby land managers where animals can move between project and adjoining habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Success measures

Set measurable rehabilitation targets for survival of planted woodland and shrub species, understorey cover, retained or reinstated logs, functioning hollows, weed cover, fire condition and connectivity to retained habitat.

Use cameras, trapping and dusk or dawn searches to test whether fawn antechinuses return to or use rehabilitated habitat. Record effort in the same way at each monitoring event.

Continue monitoring until the site provides stable woodland structure, shelter features and management conditions comparable with suitable nearby habitat, or until the approval's completion criteria are met.

  • Compare rehabilitation results with nearby reference woodland and the pre-disturbance habitat map.
  • Escalate failed planting, loss of logs or hollows, repeated intense fire, weed invasion, predator activity or absence of expected habitat development for corrective action.
  • Submit confirmed fawn antechinus records and relevant monitoring data to the relevant Northern Territory or other state or territory wildlife database.

Sources