Lotterywest grants to boost Western Australia conservation

Two Lotterywest grants have been awarded to assist with conservation efforts in the Western Australia South Coast Region with South Coast Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Bush Heritage Australia being awarded $2,694,367 and $775,762 respectively.

South Coast NRM works to protect and enhance the natural assets of the South Coast Region. The Lotterywest grant will go towards the Restoring Noongar Boodja Project, which aims to build the capacity and capability for Aboriginal people of the South Coast Region to preserve Noongar heritage, while restoring and protecting culturally significant locations.

Bush Heritage Australia will be putting the grant towards its five-year fauna restoration project, aimed at restoring native fauna species between the Stirling Range National Park and Fitzgerald River National Park. The project includes landscape-scale feral animal control intended to protect and increase the populations of native fauna.

Western Australia Environment Minister Stephen Dawson advised that the South Coast NRM and Bush Heritage Australia both make valuable contributions to Western Australia’s environment and the State Government, through Lotterywest, sees these as important projects to support.

Minister Dawson added "through site restoration and feral animal control, these projects are expected to assist with the protection of threatened species like the Australasian bittern, western ringtail possum and chuditch.

"The groups and volunteers behind these projects do some incredible work to preserve and enhance Western Australia's diverse environments and we commend and appreciate their efforts."

Image of the Western ringtail possum courtesy of the University of Western Australia.