Governments move to save Victoria's Leadbeater's possum from extinction

Victoria's state animal emblem, the Leadbeater's possum, is set to be formally recognised as being on the brink of extinction, with the Victorian Government fast-tracking a program to identify more colonies of the species.

While the Victorian Government has announced a raft of new measures to help secure the long-term survival of the Possum, it has again stopped short of backing a new national park to protect the Leadbeater's habitat, which conservationists and many scientists say is crucial to ensuring the species' survival.

However, Victorian Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water Lisa Neville has announced measures to find more Leadbeater's through surveys, including infrared aerial mapping of habitat and remote camera surveys in planned logging areas.

It is understood Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt will declare next week that the Leadbeater's formal national threatened species status has deteriorated from "endangered" to "critically endangered", considered the last step before extinction in the wild.

Minister Neville’s announcement included the following measures:

• Fast-tracking targeted surveys to accelerate the identification of up to 200 new Leadbeater’s possum colonies, ensuring new colonies are identified and protected more quickly than originally planned
• VicForests commencing a program of remote camera surveys to look for Leadbeater’s Possum colonies in targeted areas planned for harvest that will complement existing measures such as the protection of habitat and retention harvesting in forest outside of the reserve system
• Undertaking infrared aerial surveys to identify old trees and map habitat within the Leadbeater’s Possum range, to capture new information that will lead to better forest management planning and regulation
• Involving the community in the protection of colonies, through the purchase and loan of additional survey equipment to complement the surveys in targeted areas planned for harvest

The Victorian Government is implementing the recommendations from the independent Leadbeater’s Possum Advisory Group and will support the establishment of an Industry Taskforce that aims to bring a consensus, best practice approach.

Commenting on the moves, Minister Neville stated “these new initiatives are already a success, with a number of new colonies recently identified through camera surveys – most recently in a State Forest near Powelltown, east of Melbourne.

“It confirms there are populations of Leadbeater’s across a wider area than previously thought.”

Numerous conservationists and scientists – including Sir David Attenborough and Dr Jane Goodall – have supported a campaign to set up the ‘Great Forest National Park’ in the region, which would encompass much of the highlands forest.

But the area is also one of the Victoria's primary native forest logging areas.

During last year's Victorian election campaign Labor had been expected to support a new national park in some way, but reportedly dumped the policy at the behest unions representing forestry workers.

12th November 2014 - DAVID ATTENBOROUGH AND JANE GOODALL BACK CAMPAIGN FOR A NEW NATIONAL PARK IN VICTORIA

22nd March 2014 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTISTS CONDEMN AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER’S ‘NO MORE PARKS’ PLEDGE