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Quokka (Setonix brachyurus)

The quokka is a small, mostly nocturnal wallaby endemic to south-western Western Australia. It remains Vulnerable because mainland populations are fragmented and are affected by introduced predators, habitat clearing and modification, altered fire regimes, roads, disease and drying conditions, so construction sites containing dense wetland, riparian or shrubland vegetation require targeted assessment.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Timing varies between mainland and island populations. Mainland females may breed throughout the year, while births on Rottnest Island and Bald Island are concentrated from late summer to autumn. The species has no documented annual migration, but animals may move between habitat patches as vegetation changes.

Month values are January to December: 0 means not typical, 1 means occurs, and 2 means peak. Site-specific survey and timing decisions must account for the local population, habitat condition and current approvals.

  • Breeding: Mainland breeding can occur throughout the year. On Rottnest Island and Bald Island, most births occur from mid-February to the end of April.
  • Young: A young remains in the pouch for about 175 to 195 days, then continues to suckle for about two months. Dependent young may therefore be present in every month, with island births producing a concentration of pouch young and recently emerged young through the middle of the year.
  • Movement and dispersal: There is no documented seasonal migration. In functioning habitat systems, quokkas can move between patches as vegetation matures and food availability changes. Movement is likely to be constrained where habitat is fragmented.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is present throughout the year on the mainland because breeding is continuous and pouch or dependent young may be present. The February to July emphasis reflects the concentrated island birth period and the subsequent period when young remain dependent. Avoid clearing dense refuge and swamp vegetation whenever practicable.

Identification

The quokka is a stout, short-tailed wallaby with a distinctive compact appearance. It may be seen at night in dense vegetation, along swamp margins or on tracks through understorey, but mainland animals are often cryptic and difficult to observe directly.

Adults have thick, coarse grey-brown fur, often with a slight rufous tinge, lighter underparts, short rounded furry ears and a short, mostly close-haired tail. The snout is broad and naked, and there are no definite body markings.

The hind feet are large and the fur extends over the claws. Quokkas can climb trees to reach food, although they are primarily ground-dwelling.

Head and body: 40 to 54 cm

Tail: 25 to 31 cm

Hind foot: 10 to 12 cm

Identification: Sex and similar macropods

Males are generally larger than females. Average head and body length is about 487 mm for males and 468 mm for females. Average male weight is about 3.7 kg and average female weight is about 2.7 kg.

Quokka scats and tracks can be difficult to distinguish from those of western grey kangaroos, western brush wallabies, tamar wallabies and other macropods occurring in south-western Western Australia. Confirm suspected scats with DNA analysis where species identification affects project decisions.

  • Do not identify the species from pellet shape alone where other macropods are present.
  • Use body form, the short tail, dense swamp or riparian habitat and direct evidence together when assessing a record.

Identification: Field signs

Useful signs include fresh scats, repeated runnels through dense understorey, tracks, hair, skeletal remains and carcasses. Runnels are narrow tracks or tunnels formed by repeated movement through thick vegetation.

Tracks may be difficult to detect in dense vegetation or where there is little exposed substrate. Scats are commonly found in or near runnels, but fresh pellets should be collected within a day if DNA confirmation is required.

No species-specific call, nest, hollow, slough or reliable eyeshine description is provided in the supplied documents. Spotlighting and camera trapping can supplement sign searches, but are not substitutes for appropriate habitat searches and, where necessary, genetic confirmation.

Distribution: State and bioregional range

The quokka is restricted to south-western Western Australia. Its former range was about 41,200 km2, but the known mainland distribution had contracted to about 17,800 km2 by the early 1990s, with populations now occurring in isolated or discontinuous patches.

The species is endemic to Western Australia. The recovery plan places records in the Swan Coastal Plain, Jarrah Forest, Warren and Esperance Plains IBRA regions.

On the mainland, the range extends from areas east and north-east of Perth south through the northern and central jarrah forests, the southern jarrah, marri and karri forests, and east to the south coast near Albany and Green Range. Quokkas also occur in the Stirling Range and on Bald Island and Rottnest Island.

Current Australian state range: Western Australia only

Historical range: About 41,200 km2

Reported mainland distribution after contraction: About 17,800 km2

  • Potential project areas include dense wetland vegetation on the Swan Coastal Plain, creek systems in the jarrah forests, southern forest wetlands and riparian vegetation, south coast reserves, the Stirling Range and areas near Albany.

Distribution: Strongholds and subpopulations

Seven broad subpopulation groups are recognised: Rottnest Island, Bald Island, northern jarrah forest, central jarrah forest, southern forests, south coast and Stirling Range.

Rottnest Island is the principal population stronghold in the supplied recovery information. Mainland populations are more fragmented and include the northern jarrah forest, southern forests, Two Peoples Bay, Mount Manypeaks, the Albany area, the Stirling Range and the Muddy Lakes wetland on the Swan Coastal Plain.

Rottnest Island estimate in 2007 recovery information: 8,000 to 12,000 individuals, with large seasonal fluctuations

Bald Island estimate in earlier records: About 600 to 1,000 individuals in the 2007 table; later review cites 200 to 600 from previous records

Northern jarrah forest local groups: Often fewer than 50 animals, with some sites fewer than 10

Southern forest estimate: More than 700 in the 2007 table

Stirling Range estimate: More than 50 in the 2007 table

Distribution: Population trend

The species has undergone a major decline in mainland distribution and abundance. The recovery plan reports an 85 to 90 per cent decline in mainland geographic range and identifies fragmented, small populations as susceptible to local extinction and loss of genetic diversity.

The supplied documents do not provide a single current national population estimate. Rottnest numbers fluctuate substantially, while many mainland subpopulations are small and isolated.

Habitat: Habitat types

Quokkas use a range of forest, woodland, wetland, shrubland and heath habitats, but mainland records are strongly associated with dense cover and relatively high rainfall. Habitat suitability depends on both food-producing young vegetation and nearby dense refuge vegetation.

Mainland quokkas are commonly associated with dense streamside vegetation, swamps, riparian systems, incised gullies, coastal heath and thickets. In the southern forests they occupy jarrah, marri, karri and tingle forest, woodland and wetland habitats.

Important examples include Taxandria linearifolia swamp shrublands in the northern jarrah forest; sedge-dominated riparian habitats in the southern forests; coastal heath and thickets, swamps and riparian systems near Two Peoples Bay; and dense bulrush and rush sedgeland at Muddy Lakes.

Habitat: Structure and fire age

The most suitable mainland habitat generally contains a mosaic of recently burnt or regenerating vegetation that provides young food plants beside long-unburnt vegetation with a thick, complex understorey for refuge.

In southern forests, occupancy is associated with complex vertical vegetation structure, dense understorey, low near-surface fuel, woody debris and patchy vegetation. Continuous or homogenising fire can remove this mosaic and reduce habitat suitability.

Rainfall limit: Mainland populations occur in areas receiving more than 600 mm of rainfall per year, and most are believed to occur above 1,000 mm.

Recently burnt food habitat: Young vegetation within about 10 years of fire is used in parts of the northern jarrah forest.

Adjacent refuge habitat: Northern jarrah sites require sufficiently thick vegetation close to more open, recently burnt areas.

Habitat: Site assessment

For clearing assessments, inspect creek lines, swamp edges, wetland sedgelands, dense heath, paperbark areas, riparian strips and forest patches with repeated runnels or fresh scats. Assess connected patches, nearby long-unburnt cover and recently regenerating vegetation together rather than treating a cleared or open patch in isolation.

Specific elevation limits are not given in the supplied documents. The species is primarily limited by rainfall, water availability and vegetation structure rather than a documented elevation threshold.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Quokkas are browsing herbivores that feed mainly at night, using dense cover and adjacent areas of fresh plant growth. Food availability varies with season, rainfall and time since fire.

The usual diet consists of leaves and stems, including young growth in recently burnt or regenerating vegetation. Dietary composition varies between seasons and sites.

On Rottnest Island, succulents and wattle leaves are important foods. The supplied monitoring review also records occasional consumption of small reptiles and molluscs on Rottnest Island, particularly where food availability may be limited, but the species is primarily herbivorous.

Foraging habitat: Where and how it feeds

Quokkas feed mostly at night, alone or in small groups, and move along runnels through dense vegetation to reach feeding areas. They may use more open, recently burnt vegetation for fresh growth while returning to dense cover for refuge.

In northern jarrah forest, localised disappearances have been associated with reduced dietary diversity and the absence of a preferred recently burnt age class. In southern forests, regeneration areas can provide food before the understorey recovers.

Activity period: Mostly nocturnal

Preferred food condition: Fresh, young growth associated with recent fire or regeneration

Tail adaptation: Fat can be stored in the tail during periods of seasonal food shortage

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

The supplied documents do not provide a standard home-range size or foraging distance. Do not apply a fixed buffer around a record without considering the connected swamp, riparian vegetation, refuge cover and nearby food patches.

In functioning southern forest metapopulations, animals can move between habitat patches as vegetation structure changes. Fragmentation can restrict access to suitable feeding and refuge areas.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Quokkas breed in dense, well-connected habitat where females can access food and conceal young from predators. Mainland breeding can occur throughout the year, so breeding and dependent young should be assumed possible during any clearing period.

Females are polyoestrous and can breed throughout the year on the mainland. On Rottnest Island and Bald Island, breeding is more seasonal, with most births from mid-February to the end of April.

A single young is born after a short gestation and remains in the pouch for about six months. After leaving the pouch, the young continues to suckle for about two months and is dependent during this period. Embryonic diapause allows a second embryo to resume development if the first pouch young dies.

Breeding season, mainland: Can occur throughout the year

Peak births, Rottnest Island and Bald Island: Most births occur from mid-February to the end of April

Litter size: One young at a time

Gestation: About 27 days

Time in pouch: About 175 to 195 days, or about six months

Age at maturity: About 252 to 254 days for females and about 389 days for males; breeding may begin at about one year to 18 months

Lifespan: More than 10 years in the wild; up to 14 years in captivity

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Dense understorey, swamp vegetation, riparian cover and complex vegetation structure provide concealment for females and young. Suitable breeding areas are usually close to feeding habitat and permanent or reliable water in southern forest sites.

Clearing, fire or vehicle access that separates dense refuge from nearby food patches can increase exposure to foxes and cats and reduce recruitment.

  • Search dense vegetation and swamp margins for signs before clearing, including areas that appear too thick for easy access.
  • Retain connected cover between wetlands, creek lines and regenerating feeding areas where practicable.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter structure

During the day, quokkas shelter in dense vegetation rather than in documented permanent burrows, hollows or nests. The main shelter resource is a structurally complex ground layer that provides concealment and runways.

Shelter sites include dense sword grass, sedges, rushes, paperbark swamp vegetation, thick riparian understorey, coastal heath, thickets and complex forest vegetation. In southern forests, dense vertical structure and woody debris contribute to cover.

Quokkas create repeated runnels and tunnels through thick understorey. These runnels are both movement routes and useful indicators of shelter and feeding activity.

Common swamp cover: Dense Lepidosperma sword grass, rushes, grasses, sedges and Taxandria or paperbark vegetation

Shelter period: Primarily during daylight hours

Documented refuge size: No standard den, burrow, hollow or shelter dimension is provided

Sheltering habitat: Predator refuge

In the northern jarrah forest, critical habitat includes thick and complex natural vegetation close to more open recently burnt vegetation. This arrangement allows feeding in young vegetation while retaining nearby cover from foxes and cats.

When wetlands are inundated, the core home range can shift towards the swamp edge, leaving animals more exposed to predation. Maintain dense cover around wetland margins and avoid creating open access routes through refuge vegetation.

  • Inspect and protect runnels, dense understorey and swamp edges before machinery enters the site.
  • Treat connected dense vegetation as shelter even when no animal is observed during daytime searches.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The strongest project-related risks are loss and fragmentation of dense habitat, road mortality, altered fire patterns, predator access and changes to water availability. Mainland populations are small at many sites, so impacts that may be tolerable for a large island population can be serious for an isolated mainland group.

Clearing can kill animals directly, remove food and refuge vegetation, and force movement through unsuitable or predator-exposed areas. Roads and associated infrastructure can also open pathways for foxes and increase roadkill risk.

About 60 per cent of quokka records in the recovery information were within State forest or timber reserves. Creek zones may be retained as informal reserves during harvesting, but disturbance can still affect the connected habitat mosaic.

  • Survey dense riparian vegetation, swamps, heath, thickets and regeneration areas before clearing.
  • Map runnels, fresh scats, refuge patches, wetland edges and connections between occupied patches.
  • Plan machinery access and construction timing to avoid separating dense cover from nearby feeding habitat.
  • Include vehicle movements and temporary access roads in the impact assessment.

Threats: Predators and introduced animals

Red fox predation was identified as the major historical cause of mainland decline. Feral cats can particularly affect juveniles and pouch young, especially where habitat is open. Feral pigs can damage soil and vegetation, reduce food resources and create access routes for predators.

Fox and cat control immediately after fire or other habitat disturbance is recommended in the supplied fire management information, subject to approval, animal welfare and local control requirements.

  • Coordinate predator control across adjoining land tenures where it is part of the approved management plan.
  • Avoid creating open corridors through dense vegetation that allow predator access to refuge areas.
  • Record fox and cat signs during quokka surveys and report them with the quokka evidence.

Threats: Fire, disease and hydrology

Intense, frequent or homogenising fire can remove long-unburnt refuge, destroy wetland and riparian cover, and reduce the food mosaic. The supplied fire guidance recommends low-intensity burns, treatment of small sections over several years and avoiding the burning of entire swamp or creek systems at once.

Phytophthora dieback can remove susceptible understorey plants, reducing food and shelter and increasing predation risk. It may be spread by forestry, recreation, mining, vehicles, people, pigs and contaminated soil or sand. Drying conditions, reduced rainfall, altered hydrology and reduced surface water can also reduce food and increase dehydration risk.

  • Apply site hygiene and dieback controls before entering or leaving known or potential habitat.
  • Do not introduce untreated sand or soil for track or monitoring pads because it may spread Phytophthora cinnamomi.
  • Protect wetland, creek and riparian hydrology from drainage, diversion, sedimentation and altered groundwater conditions.
  • Use staged, low-intensity fire management where authorised, retain unburnt refuge and allow vegetation to recover before adjacent treatment.

Threats: Survey and handling risk

Mainland quokkas can be trap-shy. Sign-based searches should generally guide any later live trapping. Live trapping should not be undertaken during hot summer conditions, and non-consecutive trap nights can reduce impacts on mothers and young.

Faecal pellet counts are a lower-disturbance option for assessing presence or relative abundance, but scats may require DNA confirmation where other macropods occur.

  • Use daytime searches for scats, runnels and other signs before considering capture.
  • If trapping is approved, pre-feed for about 5 to 7 nights and use suitably trained personnel and animal ethics procedures.
  • Do not rely on a rapid sign survey to estimate population size without accounting for its tendency to overestimate abundance.

Survey methodology: 1. Sign-based searches

Use a staged survey that starts with low-disturbance searches and targets trapping only where signs indicate likely quokka presence. Quokkas are mostly nocturnal, cryptic on the mainland and often trap-shy, so dense vegetation, runnels and fresh scats should guide survey locations.

Search suitable habitat during the day before any trapping or clearing survey. Focus on dense understorey, swamp margins, creek lines, riparian vegetation and runnels, which are repeated tracks or tunnels through thick vegetation.

Record fresh scats, runnels, tracks, hair, skeletal remains and incidental sightings, and mark each location with GPS. Scats can be difficult to distinguish from those of other macropods, so use DNA identification where species confirmation is required.

Use faecal pellet counts as a rapid, low-disturbance option for estimating relative abundance. Counts take less than 10 per cent of the time required for trap-based mark-recapture surveys, but account for pellet deposition, decay and missed detections.

Where a transect design is appropriate, search transects from 30 to 50 m from a swamp edge towards the swamp centre, count only fresh pellets near the observer and use the same observer for repeat transects where possible.

  • Search all potentially suitable habitat within and adjacent to the project footprint, including habitat that may be used for movement between retained patches.
  • Collect scats within one day of deposition if DNA analysis is planned, and follow the laboratory’s collection and preservation instructions.
  • Treat sand introduced for tracking as a pathogen risk, because untreated sand can spread Phytophthora cinnamomi.

Survey methodology: 2. Spotlighting and cameras

Spotlight suitable habitat after dark, particularly dense vegetation, swamp edges, creek lines and runnels. Use spotlighting with other methods because dense vegetation can limit detection and the species may remain concealed during the day.

Use remote cameras where access is difficult or where activity needs to be confirmed without repeated handling. Cameras have been used with live trapping, but the available review does not establish a standalone camera effort or detection rate for quokkas.

Record the survey date, start and finish time, weather, observer effort, habitat type and all quokka and predator detections.

  • Do not treat a failure to see a quokka as evidence of absence where dense cover, low detectability or trap shyness may apply.
  • Use signs and camera detections to select locations for any subsequent trapping effort.

Survey methodology: 3. Live trapping and mark-recapture

Use live trapping only when presence, abundance, demographic condition or relocation risk requires information that sign surveys cannot provide. Trap in suitable habitat such as creek lines and swamps, close to fresh scats or used runnels.

Pre-feed or pre-bait for 5 to 7 nights before trapping because mainland quokkas are trap-shy. Report the bait and pre-feeding period used.

Avoid hot summer conditions. Use non-consecutive trapping nights where practicable to reduce stress, particularly for frequently captured animals and mothers with joeys at foot.

For population studies, open-population estimates generally require at least three primary trapping periods, each with five secondary sampling periods. Project surveys should be designed by a qualified wildlife ecologist rather than applying this design automatically.

Record sex, weight, pes length, reproductive status and tail circumference, which provides an indication of condition. Identify animals consistently using an approved marking method and authorised animal ethics procedures.

Typical mainland pre-feeding period: 5 to 7 nights

Recommended non-consecutive example: Four nights over eight days has been used to reduce trapping impacts

Recorded condition measure: Tail circumference

  • Open traps before dusk, check them at dawn and close them during the day.
  • Use appropriate cage or soft traps and provide protection from heat, rain and predators.
  • Stop trapping if animal welfare cannot be maintained or if a dependent young animal could be separated from its mother.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Complete a desktop review of current and historical records, habitat mapping, fire history and nearby subpopulations before selecting survey sites.
  • Use daytime sign searches first, then add spotlighting, cameras, pellet counts or live trapping according to habitat, project risk and the survey question.
  • Survey the full disturbance footprint and retained habitat that may be used for refuge or movement, not only the area scheduled for machinery access.
  • Document methods, dates, effort, weather, habitat condition, GPS locations, photographs, detections, non-detections, scat identification, trapping outcomes and animal welfare incidents.
  • Submit confirmed records and relevant negative survey information to the relevant Western Australian wildlife database or other relevant state or territory wildlife database, and provide records to the project approval authority where required.
  • Obtain advice from the relevant state wildlife agency before using trapping, marking, genetic sampling or relocation methods.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Treat dense, connected vegetation around swamps, creek systems and riparian areas as potential quokka habitat in south-west Western Australia. The species is nationally listed as Vulnerable, and the mainland distribution is patchy and fragmented.

Mainland rainfall association: Most mainland records are from areas receiving more than 600 mm annually, with most believed to occur above 1,000 mm

Key habitat feature: Dense, complex vegetation near suitable food resources and water

  • Avoid clearing dense swamp, riparian, sedge and heath vegetation wherever practicable, especially Taxandria linearifolia swamp shrublands and vegetation that provides thick refuge close to younger food-producing vegetation.
  • Retain a connected mosaic of dense long-unburnt refuge, recently regenerated vegetation, wetland edges and movement routes between habitat patches.
  • Keep works, access tracks, stockpiles, lighting and temporary compounds out of retained habitat where practicable, and prevent roads or cleared corridors from increasing predator access.
  • Do not apply a generic quokka buffer where the project documents do not provide a distance; set site-specific no-go areas with a qualified ecologist and the relevant authority.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Assess whether the action is likely to have a significant impact on the EPBC Act Vulnerable quokka and obtain an EPBC Act referral or approval if required.
  • Check Western Australian approvals, threatened fauna permits, animal ethics requirements and any local conditions before surveying, trapping, handling, marking or relocating quokkas.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies habitat, survey results, exclusion areas, fauna spotter catcher responsibilities, stop-work triggers, handling arrangements, release sites and reporting requirements.
  • Stage clearing in small sections so that retained habitat remains available and animals are not driven into roads, machinery areas or predator-exposed ground.
  • Avoid large, intense or homogenising fires in quokka habitat. If fire mitigation is necessary, plan low-intensity treatments that retain a mosaic and do not burn an entire swamp or creek system at once.
  • Consider the mainland breeding pattern when scheduling works because breeding can occur throughout the year and depends on resource availability and habitat condition.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance survey using sign searches and, where justified, spotlighting, cameras or live trapping before disturbance begins.
  • Mark retained dense vegetation, swamp and creek habitat, runnels, scats, movement routes, wetland edges and other fauna exclusion areas on plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it will direct animals towards retained habitat and will not trap quokkas, separate mothers from young or block access to essential refuge and water.
  • Brief all operators and subcontractors on the species’ appearance, nocturnal habits, likely shelter sites, reporting chain and stop-work procedure.
  • Inspect fencing, gates, trenches, pits and stored materials immediately before work and at the start and end of each shift.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Keep an authorised fauna spotter catcher involved throughout clearing and other activities that can disturb dense vegetation, wetlands or movement routes. Quokkas may shelter in dense cover and can be missed if inspection relies only on visual searches.

  • Hold a daily pre-start briefing covering the approved work area, exclusion zones, weather, planned clearing sequence, fauna risks and the spotter catcher’s stop-work authority.
  • Clear progressively in small, inspectable sections and direct machinery away from retained dense vegetation and towards already checked ground.
  • Use a fauna spotter catcher to inspect vegetation immediately before disturbance, remain within effective observation range during clearing and communicate directly with the operator by an agreed stop signal.
  • Stop machinery for any animal sighting, movement into the work area, damaged exclusion fence, blocked escape route, uninspected vegetation or unexpected habitat feature.
  • Do not allow workers to chase, corner, hand-feed, photograph at close range or handle a quokka unless authorised and trained.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna handling and habitat features

  • Have only an appropriately authorised and experienced person capture, examine, contain or relocate a quokka, using approved animal welfare and permit conditions.
  • If a quokka is found, stop work, keep people and machinery back, provide a clear route to nearby retained habitat and allow it to move without pursuit where safe.
  • Relocate an animal only when required by the approved fauna management plan or directed by the relevant wildlife authority, and release it into nearby suitable retained habitat that is connected, sheltered and away from active works.
  • Treat dependent young, lactating females and injured animals as high-risk cases, and seek direction from the project ecologist and wildlife authority before any movement.
  • Take injured or distressed animals promptly to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian, using the authority’s transport and reporting requirements.
  • Do not use clearing methods that bury or crush animals, destroy escape routes or isolate wetland and riparian refuge.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work and notify the project ecologist if a quokka is found in the active work area, a dependent young is detected, an animal is injured, a carcass is found or an animal is repeatedly displaced.
  • Stop work if works damage a retained habitat area, wetland, runnel, exclusion fence or movement connection identified in the fauna management plan.
  • Record every detection, non-target fauna interaction, handling event, relocation, injury, death, stop-work event and release location with date, time, GPS, photographs and names of people involved.
  • Record the machine, activity and habitat feature involved in each incident so that the clearing method can be changed before work resumes.
  • Report deaths, injuries, unapproved handling, escaped animals and breaches of approval conditions to the project manager, ecologist and relevant authority within the timeframe set by the approval or fauna management plan.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work must confirm that no quokkas remain in the disturbed area, that retained habitat is still connected and that temporary controls have not created new risks. Use monitoring results to change the work method where animals or signs persist.

  • Inspect the cleared area, retained vegetation edges, wetland margins, trenches, pits, fencing and access routes at the end of each clearing stage and again before the next stage.
  • Search for live animals, fresh scats, runnels, tracks, hair, carcasses and signs of predator activity, and investigate any new sign before machinery returns.
  • Remove or cover trenches, pits and other fauna traps as soon as practicable, and inspect them daily while they remain open.
  • Repair exclusion fencing and remove temporary barriers when they are no longer needed, unless they are part of an approved protection design.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Useful monitoring signs: Fresh scats, runnels, tracks, hair, carcasses and camera detections

Monitoring condition measure: Tail circumference can indicate quokka condition where authorised live capture is undertaken

  • Monitor retained habitat for quokka presence, habitat condition, connectivity, vegetation recovery, predator signs and changes caused by altered drainage, fire or construction.
  • Use repeat sign searches, fresh pellet counts, cameras or other methods selected by the project ecologist; use the same locations and methods where results need to be compared over time.
  • Include quokka records, survey effort, incidents, mitigation performance, habitat loss, rehabilitation areas and any residual impacts in the project completion report.
  • Submit confirmed records and significant incidents to the relevant state wildlife database and approval authority, and retain raw GPS, photographs and field sheets.

After habitat disturbance: Residual impacts and offsets

  • Recalculate the area and quality of quokka habitat lost, degraded or fragmented after final design and construction changes.
  • Apply any offset, restoration or compensatory measure required by an EPBC Act approval, Western Australian approval or project condition.
  • Do not treat an offset as a substitute for retaining dense refuge, wetlands, movement connections and suitable fire-age mosaics at the project site.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure and water

Rehabilitation should restore the dense, connected vegetation and wetland functions that quokkas use for shelter, movement and feeding. Success should be measured by habitat condition and quokka use, not only by the number of plants installed.

  • Re-establish local native sedges, rushes, shrubs and wetland vegetation appropriate to the site, including species and vegetation structures associated with quokka swamps such as dense Lepidosperma, Taxandria and paperbark communities where they naturally occur.
  • Restore creek lines, swamp edges, riparian vegetation, permanent or seasonal water features and natural drainage patterns where construction has altered them.
  • Create connected patches of dense understorey and retain woody debris and structural complexity where these features occur naturally in the southern forests.
  • Reinstate logs, rocks and other ground cover removed for construction only where they are natural site features and can be placed without creating fire, access or fauna entrapment hazards.
  • Do not introduce vegetation, soil, sand or mulch that could spread Phytophthora cinnamomi, and apply site hygiene controls during rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation actions: Predator, weed and fire management

  • Control weeds so that planted and regenerating native understorey can develop into dense shelter and food habitat.
  • Coordinate fox and feral cat control with the land manager, particularly after fire or other habitat disturbance, because predators can restrict quokkas to dense refuge and threaten small isolated populations.
  • Manage fire to retain a patchy mosaic of young food-producing vegetation and mature dense refuge, rather than burning the full habitat area or creating intense, uniform burns.
  • For large fire mitigation areas, treat small sections over several years and allow habitat to recover before treating nearby quokka habitat again.
  • Prevent roads, tracks and cleared corridors from providing predator access through restored habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

  • Set measurable rehabilitation targets for native plant establishment, dense understorey cover, wetland and creek function, connectivity, weed cover, predator activity and fire impacts.
  • Inspect rehabilitation after construction, after major rainfall, before and after fire management and at the intervals specified in the approval or rehabilitation plan.
  • Use repeat searches for fresh quokka scats and runnels, cameras or authorised population surveys to test whether quokkas use restored habitat.
  • Compare results with baseline survey locations and methods, and change planting, weed, predator, drainage or fire treatments when habitat is not developing as planned.
  • Maintain rehabilitation and monitoring until the agreed success criteria are met and provide results to the land manager, approval authority and relevant wildlife database.

Sources