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Mountain Pygmy Possum (Burramys parvus)

The mountain pygmy-possum is a small, ground-dwelling marsupial restricted to alpine and subalpine boulderfields in south-eastern New South Wales and Victoria. On development sites, clearing, road construction, ski-resort works, snow grooming, fire and introduced predators can remove or degrade its small habitat patches, block movement and disturb nesting or hibernation spaces.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

Breeding season

Timing varies with snow melt, elevation and local conditions. The pattern below represents the usual seasonal cycle described for the species across its alpine and subalpine range.

Month values are January to December: 0 not typical, 1 occurs, 2 peak. Exact timing varies with snow melt and elevation.

  • Hibernation and winter shelter: Animals use deep boulderfields and snow-insulated subnivean spaces during winter. Cold-weather shelter requirements begin in autumn and depend on snow cover.
  • Breeding: Breeding begins soon after emergence from hibernation. Mating activity is reported from October to December, with females usually producing a litter in October to November.
  • Young: A typical litter contains about four young. Young are dependent during the late spring and summer activity period, and second litters generally do not survive winter.
  • Seasonal movement and feeding: Most feeding and growth occur during about five months between snow melt in late spring and the onset of cold weather in autumn. Males move into female habitat during breeding and may return to lower elevation habitat by February.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing or disturbance is most likely to harm animals from May to September when they may be hibernating in boulderfields, and from October to November during breeding and the dependent young period. Avoid disturbance of shelter and breeding habitat throughout these periods.

Identification

The mountain pygmy-possum is the largest of Australia's five pygmy-possum species. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial animal with a compact body, a long sparsely haired tail and conspicuous dark patches around the eyes.

Adults have uniformly mid-grey to brown-tinged fur on the back, cream or fawn underparts and cheeks, and black patches surrounding the dark, round eyes.

The tail is thin, pinkish-grey and mostly naked, with fur on only the basal 2 cm. The fur is fine and dense, and adult males may develop brighter fawn-orange colouring on the underside and flanks during the breeding season.

Head and body: 10 to 11 cm.

Tail: 13 to 15 cm.

Weight: 35 to 80 g.

Identification: Distinguishing features

Unlike the four Cercartetus pygmy-possum species, the mountain pygmy-possum is ground-dwelling and associated with alpine boulderfields rather than being primarily arboreal or scansorial.

It is also larger than the other pygmy-possums. Its lightly furred, thin tail helps separate it from Cercartetus species, which have more feather-like tails. Identification should be confirmed by an appropriately qualified person where a captured animal, photograph or hair sample is available.

  • Look for a small grey-brown possum with a long, thin tail, dark eye patches and a pale underside among rocks or dense alpine heath.
  • Treat a small possum found in alpine boulderfields as potentially significant habitat, even if the animal is not seen.

Identification: Field signs and survey detection

The supplied documents provide little information on species-specific tracks, scats or calls. The species is nocturnal and may remain within rock crevices or beneath snow, so absence of surface signs does not demonstrate absence.

Suitable field methods include targeted searches for boulders, rock crevices, heath, food resources and signs of activity, followed where appropriate by Elliott A trapping, hair sampling devices or other approved survey methods. Trapping above the snowline requires insulation in traps, early morning checks and release of animals as soon as practicable.

  • Search systematically across boulderfield patches and adjacent heath, including crevices, dense ground cover and movement routes.
  • Use qualified fauna handlers for any trapping, handling or release.
  • Mark every trap clearly, check it early each morning and remove all flagging and equipment after the survey.
  • Do not use unverified tracks, scats or calls as the sole basis for identifying this species.

Distribution: National range

The species is endemic to alpine, subalpine and montane areas of mainland south-eastern Australia. It occurs in three separated regions, with genetically distinct populations and fragmented habitat patches within each region.

In New South Wales, the species occurs in Kosciuszko National Park, including the southern and northern Kosciuszko areas. In Victoria, it occurs in the Mt Buller area and the Mt Bogong to Mt Higginbotham area, including sites around the Bogong High Plains.

Low elevation valleys separate the three main regions. Within regions, local subpopulations occupy small boulderfield patches and may be linked by limited dispersal, particularly by males and juveniles.

States: New South Wales and Victoria.

Known regions: Kosciuszko National Park, Mt Buller, and Mt Bogong to Mt Higginbotham.

Genetic structure: The three main regional populations are highly genetically distinct and are treated as Evolutionarily Significant Units in the 2018 scorecard.

Distribution: Strongholds and population trend

The Mt Bogong to Mt Higginbotham area and Kosciuszko National Park contain the largest known groups. Mt Buller is a small population that declined sharply before genetic rescue and later management actions.

Population estimates vary between assessments and years. Numbers can increase in wet years and decline in drought years. The 2018 scorecard reported an overall population that appeared generally stable at that time, but with variable trends between sites and continuing chronic threats.

2016 estimate: About 2,670 mature individuals, including about 950 in the Mt Kosciuszko area, 1,680 in the Mt Bogong to Mt Higginbotham area and 40 at Mt Buller.

2018 estimate: About 2,245 mature individuals in the draft action statement data cited by the scorecard.

2015 to 2018: No significant overall trajectory change was detected by the scorecard assessment.

Mt Buller decline: About 300 adults in 1996 declined to about 40 in 2010 in the cited monitoring data.

Kosciuszko decline and recovery: The monitored population declined from about 615 adults in 2000 to 355 in 2009, then recovered to about 620 in 2011 to 2013 after several wet years.

Habitat: Habitat type and vegetation

Mountain pygmy-possums occupy alpine and subalpine boulderfields, rock screes and associated heathland. Habitat suitability depends on both physical shelter and seasonal access to food and insulating snow cover.

Preferred habitat is deep, complex boulderfield heath, often around or above the tree line. Mountain plum-pine, Podocarpus lawrencei, is a characteristic and important plant in occupied habitat.

Other associated plants include alpine pepper, dusty daisy-bush, alpine rice-flower, snow beard-heath, mountain baeckea and several Epacris species. Snowgrass, ribbony grass, sedges and ferns may occur nearby, with snow gum as the main tree species in the surrounding alpine vegetation.

Typical elevation: About 1,400 to 2,230 m above sea level, with some Kosciuszko records at about 1,200 m.

Patch size: Many habitat patches are less than 1 ha, with few larger than 5 ha.

NSW habitat estimate: Preferred habitat was estimated at less than 4 km2 in NSW in the cited assessment.

Habitat: Structural requirements

Boulders and rock crevices provide nest sites, movement routes and a buffered microclimate for hibernation. A snow layer of about 70 cm or more can maintain temperatures of about 0 to 2 degrees Celsius beneath the snow.

Small, isolated patches can still support animals, but roads, buildings, cleared ski runs, slope grooming, sediment and trampling can reduce habitat quality or interrupt movement between patches.

  • Retain deep and interconnected boulderfields, associated heath and established mountain plum-pine.
  • Protect habitat patches and movement routes from clearing, vehicle access, soil disturbance, sediment deposition and recreational trampling.
  • Map both occupied boulderfields and nearby potential habitat before works begin, because small patches may be separated by only several hundred metres to several kilometres.

Foraging habitat: Food resources

The species feeds on a seasonal mix of invertebrates and plant foods. Most feeding and growth occur during the relatively short snow-free period between late spring and autumn.

Bogong moths, Agrotis infusa, are a primary and often the most abundant food source, particularly in spring. The diet also includes other invertebrates, nectar, seeds, berries and other fruits.

Seeds and berries of mountain plum-pine are important plant foods. Reduced bogong moth abundance, drought, agricultural chemicals in moth breeding areas and artificial lighting that disrupts moth navigation may reduce food availability.

Main animal food: Bogong moths, especially during spring.

Other foods: Other invertebrates, nectar, seeds, berries and other fruits.

Feeding season: Most feeding and growth occur during about five months between snow melt in late spring and the onset of cold weather in autumn.

Foraging habitat: Foraging movements

Females generally remain in higher quality habitat but may travel to food concentrations. At Mt Blue Cow, females nesting at lower altitudes travelled up to 1 km to feed near the peak during summer.

Males use lower quality and lower elevation habitat more often, moving into female habitat during the breeding season and returning to lower areas after females are carrying young.

  • Retain food plants and adjacent heath around boulderfields, not only the rock piles themselves.
  • Avoid lighting, vegetation removal and disturbance that could reduce access to bogong moths or force animals into exposed habitat.
  • Assess nearby food patches and likely movement routes when planning access tracks, utilities or construction compounds.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding is strongly seasonal and begins soon after animals emerge from hibernation. Females generally select the deepest and most complex boulderfields at higher elevations, where food and shelter are better.

The species is polygynous, with males mating with multiple females. Females usually produce one litter, although second litters can occur and generally do not survive winter.

Females occupy higher quality habitat than males on average. Breeding habitat therefore includes secure female nesting areas, nearby food resources and movement routes that allow males to reach female areas during the breeding period.

Breeding period: Breeding begins soon after emergence from hibernation; mating activity is reported mainly in October to December.

Birth or litter period: A typical litter of about four young is produced in October to November.

Gestation: The supplied documents do not provide a gestation length.

Age at maturity: Sexual maturity is reached at one year.

Lifespan: Females can live up to 12 years and males up to five years, although most individuals survive for one to three years.

Generation length: 3 to 4 years.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Female breeding areas are typically at higher elevation and contain deeper, more complex boulderfields, higher quality shelter and higher densities of bogong moths.

Fragmentation can affect breeding by separating male and female areas and restricting movement by males and juveniles. Even local clearing around a resort, road or ski run may therefore affect recruitment.

  • Protect deep boulderfields and the surrounding heath during the breeding season and when young are dependent.
  • Maintain connected routes between lower elevation male habitat and higher quality female habitat.
  • Do not assume that a cleared or modified patch is unimportant because females are not detected there during one survey.

Sheltering habitat: Nests and hibernation refuges

Mountain pygmy-possums shelter in rock crevices and deep boulderfields. These spaces provide nesting sites and a stable, humid microclimate for hibernation beneath snow.

Deep boulderfields and rock piles provide the subnivean spaces used for nesting and hibernation. The spaces beneath and between rocks are insulated by snow and buffered from severe alpine temperatures.

The species may also use artificially created habitat, including spoil dumps, where suitable rock structure and vegetation are present. This does not make spoil dumps automatically suitable or safe for works.

Snow insulation: A snow cover of about 70 cm or more can produce temperatures of about 0 to 2 degrees Celsius beneath the snow.

Known shelter structure: Deep, complex boulderfields, rock screes, rock crevices and suitable rock piles.

  • Treat deep rock crevices, gaps beneath boulders and connected rock piles as potential shelter even when no animal is visible.
  • Prevent soil and silt from being deposited between or under rocks, because sediment can fill nesting and hibernation spaces.
  • Avoid compacting snow over occupied boulderfields, as this can reduce insulation and disturb hibernating animals.

Sheltering habitat: Seasonal shelter use

Habitat use changes between summer and winter. Snow cover and the availability of deep boulderfield refuges determine whether a patch is suitable for hibernation.

Noise and vibration may cause more frequent arousals from hibernation. Snow grooming, construction vibration and disturbance around rock piles should therefore be managed as potential shelter impacts.

  • Keep machinery, vibration and people away from known or potential boulderfield refuges during winter hibernation.
  • Use exclusion zones and qualified ecological supervision where works are close to occupied rock piles.
  • Retain vegetation around rock piles to reduce erosion, sediment movement and loss of shelter quality.

Threats: Clearing, development and fragmentation

The main project-related risks are loss and fragmentation of boulderfield habitat, disturbance of hibernation refuges, altered fire regimes, predators and reduced food availability. The species has a very small, fragmented range, so impacts at one patch can affect a local subpopulation.

Ski-resort development, roads, buildings, slope grooming, exotic grass plantings and associated activities have destroyed, fragmented or degraded habitat. About 80 percent of the Victorian range and about 30 to 40 percent of the NSW range is within or near ski-resort areas, depending on the cited assessment.

Clearing can remove boulderfields, mountain plum-pine and heath, interrupt male and juvenile dispersal, and separate male and female habitat. Roads and groomed ski runs may be barriers to movement.

  • Avoid clearing boulderfields, rock screes, mountain plum-pine heath and connecting vegetation.
  • Keep construction compounds, access tracks, spoil, drainage works and temporary storage out of potential habitat.
  • Fence and sign retained habitat where people, vehicles or machinery could enter it.
  • Control sediment and runoff so that soil does not fill gaps beneath or between rocks.

Threats: Fire, snow and climate

Severe fire reduces habitat quality, particularly by killing or damaging the long-lived mountain plum-pine. Large fires have affected substantial parts of the Mt Bogong and Kosciuszko ranges.

Reduced snow depth and earlier snow melt can remove winter insulation, alter hibernation conditions, change food availability and increase exposure to predators. Warmer conditions may also increase fire risk and affect the species' thermal refuges.

2003 bushfires: About 50 percent of the Mt Bogong range and 20 percent of the Mt Kosciuszko range was reported as burnt in the cited assessment.

Temperature sensitivity: Individuals without adequate shelter are reported to die at temperatures above 28 degrees Celsius.

  • Apply fire planning that protects occupied boulderfields and retains or restores mountain plum-pine.
  • Prevent unplanned ignition, fuel accumulation and vehicle access impacts around known habitat.
  • Monitor snow cover, fire effects, vegetation recovery and food resources where projects may alter these conditions.

Threats: Predators, herbivores and food loss

Red foxes and feral cats are significant predators across the range. Resorts, roads, fragmented cover and post-fire conditions can increase predator access or activity.

Rabbits, hares and other introduced herbivores can graze vegetation, cause erosion and support predator populations. Weeds such as willows, apple and blackberry can reduce habitat quality.

Declining bogong moth abundance may reduce food supply and has been associated with loss of pouch young at some Victorian sites. The effect of reported arsenic residues in bogong moths remains uncertain in the supplied documents.

  • Include fox and feral cat control in project environmental management where these predators occur near occupied habitat.
  • Control rabbits, hares and other introduced herbivores around habitat patches and access corridors.
  • Prevent weed spread and rehabilitate disturbed ground with suitable native alpine vegetation.
  • Avoid bright artificial lighting that could interfere with bogong moth movement near habitat.

Threats: Winter disturbance and genetic risk

Snow grooming and winter recreation can compact snow, reduce insulation, damage vegetation and disturb hibernating animals through noise and vibration. Erosion and sedimentation can fill the spaces used for nesting and hibernation.

The three regional populations are genetically distinct. Small isolated populations, particularly Mt Buller, are vulnerable to loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding.

  • Restrict snow grooming, vibration, drilling and heavy vehicle use over or beside occupied boulderfields.
  • Schedule unavoidable disturbance outside winter hibernation and the October to November breeding and litter period where practicable.
  • Maintain habitat connectivity and record any movement barriers created by roads, drains, fences or construction areas.

Survey methodology: 1. Map and search habitat resources

Survey this species as a small, ground dwelling mammal of alpine and subalpine boulderfields, rock screes and heathland. Focus effort on deep, complex boulderfields with mountain plum pine, Podocarpus lawrencei, and on connected habitat patches, including habitat near ski resorts and roads.

Complete a desktop review using vegetation maps, aerial photographs, topographic maps and recent imagery before fieldwork. Identify boulderfields, rock screes, mountain plum pine heath, snow persistence, springs, roads, ski runs and habitat corridors.

Search the whole project area, or representative sampling sites, for deep boulderfields, rock crevices, dense heath, mountain plum pine, nesting and hibernation spaces, food plants and signs of use. The species generally occurs from about 1,200 to 2,230 metres above sea level, with most records above 1,400 metres and NSW records generally above 1,600 metres.

Key habitat: Deep and complex boulderfields or rock screes with alpine heath, especially Podocarpus lawrencei

Typical elevation: About 1,200 to 2,230 metres above sea level, with most habitat above 1,400 metres

Known regions: Kosciuszko National Park in NSW, Mt Buller in Victoria, and the Mt Bogong to Mt Higginbotham area in Victoria

  • For small sites, use transects spaced 50 to 100 metres apart, or quadrats in representative habitats, so the area is searched systematically.
  • Record habitat patch size, boulder depth and complexity, vegetation condition, connectivity, evidence of snow persistence, and nearby disturbance such as grooming, roads, buildings, fire, erosion and introduced predators.

Survey methodology: 2. Elliott trapping

Use Elliott A traps as the primary live trapping method where a targeted presence or abundance survey is required and the method is approved by the relevant authority. The Australian survey guidelines identify Elliott A trapping for small ground dwelling mammals, including the mountain pygmy possum.

Set traps on the ground along transects or grids through suitable boulderfield habitat, near rocks, shrubs and likely travel routes. Use species appropriate bait, check traps early each morning, close them during the day and reopen them in the late afternoon.

Trap type: Elliott A trap for small ground dwelling mammals

Minimum stated run: 3 to 5 consecutive nights

Trap checking: Early each morning, with traps closed during the day

  • Run trapping for 3 to 5 consecutive nights, unless the approved survey design specifies a different effort.
  • Provide insulating bedding in every trap when trapping above the snow line or in cold conditions, and protect traps from rain and direct sun.
  • Release animals promptly at the capture point after identification, processing and any authorised measurements, unless a permit or approved translocation plan requires otherwise.
  • Do not trap during weather conditions that could expose animals to hypothermia, overheating or flooding, and stop checking if safe access cannot be maintained.

Survey methodology: 3. Hair, sign and other detection methods

Use hair sampling devices where trapping is unsuitable or where additional detection information is needed. The guidelines describe baited tubes or funnels that collect hair on adhesive inserts and state that devices are usually set for several consecutive days.

Combine searches for tracks, nests, scats and other signs with habitat searches. Collect predator scats, owl casts or remains where this can help identify the species or assess predation risk.

Consider pitfall trapping only where it is approved, safe and appropriate for the site. The survey guidelines list pitfall surveys among methods for small ground dwelling mammals, but the supplied material does not provide mountain pygmy possum specific pitfall effort.

Hair device deployment: Several consecutive days, with bait enclosed and hair collected on an adhesive insert

Small site transects: 50 to 100 metre spacing for systematic habitat searches

  • Use an experienced laboratory or specialist to identify hair samples where field identification is not reliable.
  • Record the exact location, date, method, effort, weather, elevation, habitat type, animal evidence and surveyor name for every detection and non detection survey.
  • Do not treat a failed survey as evidence that the species is absent from apparently suitable boulderfield habitat, because populations occupy small, isolated patches and can vary between years.

Survey methodology: 4. Monitoring and seasonal planning

Plan surveys around the species' marked seasonality. Reproduction, most feeding and growth occur during the approximately 5 month period between snow melt in late spring and the onset of cold weather in autumn.

Use repeated surveys where works could affect occupied habitat. Long term programs in NSW and Victoria have monitored populations since 1986 and 1981 respectively, and annual monitoring is undertaken at several Victorian sites.

Breeding period: Usually October to November, with breeding beginning soon after emergence from hibernation

Generation length: About 3 to 4 years

Existing monitoring record: Since 1981 in Victoria and since 1986 in NSW

  • Record snow duration, early snow melt, Bogong moth abundance, fire history, predator activity and habitat condition with each survey where practicable, because these factors affect detection and population size.
  • Obtain advice from the relevant state threatened species agency before selecting survey dates for high elevation sites, especially where snow, fire or access conditions may limit detection.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Survey all suitable boulderfield and connected heath habitat within the disturbance footprint and any habitat proposed for access, storage or spoil placement.
  • For small sites, search along transects spaced 50 to 100 metres apart or use quadrats that represent each habitat type.
  • Where live trapping is approved, use Elliott A traps for 3 to 5 consecutive nights, with morning checks, daytime closure and insulating bedding above the snow line.
  • Submit confirmed records, survey effort and negative results to the relevant state wildlife database and provide them to the project regulator or threatened species agency.
  • Report the survey design, dates, weather, snow conditions, methods, trap nights, hair device days, search area, habitat mapping, photographs, records and limitations in the project ecological report.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Treat any suitable alpine or subalpine boulderfield as potentially occupied until targeted survey and agency advice support another conclusion. The species has three isolated regional populations, small habitat patches and continuing threats from development, predators, fire and climate change.

Habitat patch context: Patches can be less than 1 hectare, with most separated by hundreds of metres to several kilometres

Development exposure: About 80% of the Victorian range and about 30 to 40% of the NSW range is within or near ski resort areas

  • Redesign the footprint to retain deep, complex boulderfields, rock screes, mountain plum pine heath, springs and the vegetation that covers or connects habitat patches.
  • Keep roads, buildings, temporary compounds, laydown areas, spoil, drainage works and machinery out of occupied or apparently suitable boulderfield habitat wherever practicable.
  • Retain movement routes between habitat patches, because males and juveniles can move between patches while females generally remain near high quality nesting habitat.
  • Do not specify a generic buffer distance for this species. Set site specific no go areas through habitat mapping, survey results, the approval conditions and advice from the relevant wildlife agency.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Check whether the action is likely to have a significant impact on this EPBC Act listed Endangered species and refer the action under the EPBC Act where required.
  • Obtain the relevant state threatened species, national park, wildlife survey, trapping, handling and translocation approvals before work starts.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies mapped habitat, exclusion areas, survey methods, stop work triggers, authorised handlers, escape and release procedures, injury response, records and reporting.
  • Stage works so that the smallest practicable area is opened at one time and retained habitat remains connected and available throughout construction.
  • Schedule disturbance outside hibernation and breeding risks where the approval permits, and obtain agency advice because snow melt, snow cover, fire and food availability vary between sites and years.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance site preparation

  • Complete the approved pre-clearance survey immediately before disturbance and repeat it if works are delayed, the footprint changes, or fire, snow or other conditions alter habitat.
  • Mark boulderfields, rock crevices, mountain plum pine heath, springs, movement routes and all approved exclusion areas on plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it can be placed without damaging boulderfields, heath or movement routes, and inspect it daily during works.
  • Brief machinery operators and spotter catchers on the mapped no go areas, access routes, daily communication process and stop work triggers before mobilisation.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Use a controlled clearing system that keeps machinery away from boulderfield habitat and gives the fauna spotter catcher authority to stop work. This species shelters and hibernates among rocks, so disturbance can damage both animals and the spaces they need for winter insulation.

  • Hold a daily pre-start briefing covering the approved footprint, exclusion areas, weather and snow conditions, fauna observations, access routes and the spotter catcher's stop work authority.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher in direct communication with the operator and positioned where the active work face, ground surface and retreat route can be seen safely.
  • Use slow, staged clearing and stop the machine before the spotter catcher enters the exclusion zone or investigates rocks, crevices, heath or other potential shelter.
  • Prevent spoil, sediment, fuel, concrete, weeds and construction materials from entering retained boulderfields, rock crevices, springs or connected heath.
  • Inspect exclusion fencing, access controls and habitat protection measures at least daily and after storms, fire or other damaging events.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

Treat boulders, rock screes, deep crevices, mountain plum pine heath and snow protected spaces as habitat features. The supplied documents do not identify hollow bearing trees, logs or nest boxes as important features for this species.

  • Do not move, roll, crush, bury or stockpile boulders and rocks in occupied or retained habitat unless the approved plan specifically requires habitat reconstruction.
  • Do not groom, compact or drive across boulderfields, because compaction can remove subnivean space, reduce insulation and disturb hibernating animals.
  • Keep drainage and sediment controls from changing water flow into rock piles, springs or heath, and repair erosion promptly.
  • If approved clearing affects a habitat feature, inspect it progressively with the spotter catcher and record its location, condition, treatment and any animal detected.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and stop work

  • Stop work immediately if a mountain pygmy possum is found, if an animal is injured, or if machinery exposes an occupied rock crevice, nest space or hibernation refuge.
  • Keep workers and machinery back, prevent further disturbance and allow the animal to retreat naturally where it can do so safely.
  • Only an appropriately trained and authorised person may capture, handle, assess or relocate the animal, and handling must follow the permit and fauna management plan.
  • Relocate an animal only where authorised, using nearby retained habitat with suitable boulder cover and connectivity, and record the release location and reason.
  • Take an injured animal to an approved wildlife veterinarian or wildlife carer through the relevant state wildlife authority, and record the chain of custody.
  • Do not resume work until the spotter catcher and the project environmental officer have checked the area and confirmed that the approval conditions can still be met.

During habitat disturbance: Records and incident reporting

  • Record every detection, capture, injury, mortality, relocation, habitat feature disturbance, stop work event and corrective action with coordinates, date, time, photographs and personnel.
  • Notify the regulator and relevant state wildlife agency of any threatened species injury, death, unauthorised habitat disturbance or approval breach within the timeframe in the approval.
  • Update the site map each day to show cleared areas, retained habitat, exclusion zones, sightings and any changed work limits.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Do not close out the fauna controls when machinery leaves. Check the retained habitat, document outcomes and maintain protection while the site remains accessible to people, vehicles, predators and fire.

  • Inspect the completed footprint and all retained habitat for injured or trapped animals, damaged boulderfields, blocked crevices, sediment deposition, erosion, weed spread and broken exclusion fencing.
  • Complete a final fauna and habitat check before removing temporary fencing, demobilising the spotter catcher or opening the area to normal access.
  • Remove construction waste, unused materials, spoil and temporary access surfaces from retained habitat and restore any disturbed drainage.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and adaptive management

  • Monitor retained and rehabilitated habitat for animal presence, habitat condition, connectivity, weeds, erosion, predator activity, fire impacts, snow persistence and Bogong moth availability where practicable.
  • Use repeated monitoring across subpopulations or habitat patches where the approval requires it, because population numbers vary with snow, rainfall and food resources.
  • Increase protection, predator control, habitat repair or survey effort if monitoring shows declining use, damaged shelter, loss of connectivity or increasing predator activity.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and offsets

  • Submit the final ecological and compliance report to the approval holder, regulator and relevant state wildlife agency, including all records, maps, photographs, incidents, rehabilitation results and unresolved risks.
  • Check the EPBC approval and state approval for any offset, restoration or financial contribution requirement, and deliver those measures as specified rather than substituting unapproved works.
  • Retain the species records and habitat mapping in the relevant state wildlife database and project environmental record.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild habitat structure and connectivity

Rehabilitation should rebuild the sheltered, connected boulderfield habitat on which this species depends. It must be planned for slow alpine recovery, long term predator and weed control, fire risk and changing snow conditions.

Important plant: Podocarpus lawrencei, mountain plum pine

Habitat recovery constraint: Some alpine heath species, including Podocarpus lawrencei, can recover very slowly and may live for several hundred years

Known restoration examples: Boulderfield creation, revegetation and connectivity works have been undertaken at Victorian alpine sites

  • Retain and reinstate complex rock piles, deep crevices and stable boulderfield structure where approved, without filling the spaces used for nesting or hibernation.
  • Replant or protect native alpine heath, especially Podocarpus lawrencei and other locally appropriate native species, using seed or plant material approved for the site.
  • Reconnect fragmented habitat with native vegetation and safe crossings where roads or infrastructure interrupt movement routes.
  • Do not use exotic grasses or other introduced vegetation in rehabilitation areas, because introduced plants can degrade habitat and attract rabbits and hares.
  • Do not install hollow logs, nest boxes or wetland features as a substitute for boulderfield habitat unless a site specific ecological assessment identifies another approved benefit.

Rehabilitation actions: Control weeds, predators and fire risk

  • Control willows, apple, blackberry and other weeds that reduce habitat quality, and prevent weed spread from vehicles, machinery, soil and imported materials.
  • Control feral cats, red foxes, rabbits and hares around retained and rehabilitated habitat through the approved state or site program.
  • Design fire management with the recovery agency so that it reduces the risk of severe fire without damaging fire sensitive mountain plum pine and alpine heath.
  • Keep rehabilitation areas free from waste and food sources that could attract predators or introduced herbivores.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor success

Recommended live trapping effort where approved: 3 to 5 consecutive nights using Elliott A traps

Key monitoring variables: Possum presence, habitat quality, connectivity, snow duration, Bogong moth abundance, fire, weeds and introduced predators

  • Set measurable completion criteria for boulderfield stability, native vegetation establishment, connectivity, weed cover, erosion, predator activity and protection from unauthorised access.
  • Repeat habitat and fauna surveys using the approved methods, including systematic habitat searches and, where authorised, Elliott A trapping for 3 to 5 consecutive nights.
  • Continue monitoring for long enough to detect seasonal and wet year or drought year variation, and report whether the rehabilitated area is being used by mountain pygmy possums.
  • Repair failed plantings, eroded areas, damaged rocks, fencing and drainage, and adjust predator, herbivore, weed and fire management when monitoring shows that rehabilitation targets are not being met.

Sources