Vote #1: Brush-tailed Phascogale
Brush-tailed Phascogales are nocturnal and rarely seen. However, numbers are declining and threats such as habitat loss, fragmentation and feral predators, are putting it at risk.
Eight years have passed since Bush Heritage purchased Red Moort Reserve, the last within the South West Priority Landscape, so it’s extremely exciting to announce the acquisition of the latest Fitz-Stirling Reserve known as Ediegarrup.
Ediegarrup is a 1,067-hectare former farming property on Noongar country in the Fitz-Stirling region of Western Australia, an area between the Stirling Range and Fitzgerald River National Parks.
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Moort woodland will be protected on the new reserve Photo Angela Sanders
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Malleefowl laying an egg Captured on a monitoring camera
It contains over 300 hectares of critical habitat for Malleefowl, Tammar and Black-gloved Wallabies, and the nationally threatened Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo.
The acquisition of Bush Heritage’s fifth reserve in the region is part of our local vision to create what’s known as ‘conservation corridors’ connecting large remnant bushland areas such as Red Moort Reserve, nearby Corackerup Creek and partner conservation property Chingarrup Sanctuary.
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Fitz Stirling Conservation Properties
Ediegarrup Reserve brings Bush Heritage’s total reserve network managed locally to 6,300 hectares and will protect native vegetation, cultural heritage and provide habitat for animals in the Fitz-Stirling.
It’s really exciting for the team at Bush Heritage, as it creates an opportunity to connect large and important bushland areas, to create a resilient and connective landscape.
The Fitz-Stirling landscape is one of the oldest on the planet. It’s a global biodiversity hotspot with exceptionally high floristic diversity but has also become heavily fragmented since widespread land clearing began in the 1960s.
Bush Heritage has been working in the Fitz-Stirling since 2003 and is contributing to delivering the vision of the Gondwana Link partnership – to connect the forest of the Southwest capes across the south coast and up into the Great Western Woodlands of the Goldfields.
We are committed to working alongside Traditional Owners to see the land restored, enhancing refuge for native species and, importantly, protecting cultural sites for Noongar people.
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A Tammar Wallaby on adjacent Red Moort Reserve
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Another Tammar Wallaby captured by a remote monitoring camera
Undertaking cultural heritage assessments and restoration activities on the 600 hectares of farmland on Ediegarrup together will strengthen our partnerships with the Noongar community, support shared management of land and deepen the connection to country that has existed here for thousands of years.
The purchase of Ediegarrup continues this work and supports the organisation’s broader mission: to deepen and double our impact by the end of this decade. Ediegarrup is a really important purchase for us and for the incredible animals that call this area home.
A massive thanks to our supporters who have helped us to be able to make this acquisition a reality. We couldn’t do this work without your generous support and energy.
