Wildlife corridors
Introduction
Wildlife need to move across large areas of bush searching for food, nesting sites and mates. Corridors of vegetation linking areas of bushland are valuable as they allow movement of wildlife and also provide useful habitat in themselves. Corridors are often used by young animals moving out seeking new territories. This avoids overcrowding of existing habitats and allows recolonising of areas from which animals have disappeared.
Community members are volunteering to assist on working days with fencing, planting and mulching to assist the creation of wildlife corridors across private and public land.
Landholders are accessing financial and technical support from the QPWS, including Extension and Bushcare Officers, as well as support and labour from other organisations like local government, Greening Australia, Trees for the Atherton and Everton Tablelands (TREAT) and Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA).
Donaghy's corridor
Grazier John Donaghy lends his name to the world's first reconstructed tropical wildlife corridor. The corridor following a creek across his property links the World Heritage reserves of Lake Barrine Section Crater Lakes National Park and Gadgarra State Forest. John has allowed permanent exclusion of stock, and re-vegetation of, a 1.2 km section of Toohey Creek, also signing a conservation agreement with the QPWS to establish the area as a nature refuge.
Parties involved in this internationally renowned project include, QPWS, Wet Tropics Management Authority and Trees for the Evelyn and Atherton Tableland (TREAT).
Over 100 species of rain forest plants were established, all propagated and maintained with the assistance of TREAT members at the QPWS Centre for Tropical Rehabilitation at Lake Eacham. Plants are grown from seeds collected from the local area and feature species known to be particularly important in sustaining wildlife on a year round basis.
Volunteers are involved in working days, planting and mulching trees. Students and researchers access the site to carry out monitoring of plant growth and colonisation by animals across the corridor. These studies provide important information for the future design and placement of corridors, as well as answer questions about the effectiveness of corridors in reversing the impacts of forest fragmentation.
Bridled nailtail wallaby
Bushcare funding has been provided to the Duaringa Central District Landcare Association Inc. to fence, retain and regenerate bridled nailtail wallaby Onychogalea fraenata habitat, such as Poplar box and Brigalow.
The project will create predator free wildlife corridors along a creek and between vegetated areas on privately owned properties and the Taunton National Park. The bridled nailtail wallaby is one of our most endangered mammals.
This project demonstrates how private landholders, Landcare groups and QPWS can work together with Bushcare support.
Thanks to the successful QPWS captive breeding program, you might be able to see a bridled nailtail wallaby at Idalia National Park, west of Blackall. You can also see them at David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast
Pinbarren corridor
The Pinbarren Wildlife Corridor in the Noosa Shire represents the best in landholders getting together to provide linkages between patches of vegetation that would otherwise have remained isolated on different properties. These landholders have also banded together to join Land for Wildlife.
Around 22ha of previously cleared land has been revegetated with native plant species to create wildlife corridors across property boundaries linking ridgetop vegetation with riparian zones and other areas of wildlife habitat. Additional planting has occurred within existing vegetation to improve species richness. Regular working bees have also built a community spirit around the corridor and the evidence for wildlife habitat improvement is seen in increased bird numbers, echidnas moving about and tortoises in the creek.
The Pinbarren Wildlife Corridor project has brought together neighbours for a common purpose, to provide wildlife with a linked network of bushland, from ridgetop down to creek.
Cassowary corridor
The southern cassowary is an endangered species that needs our help to survive in the wild. One of the threats to its survival is the fragmentation of its habitat, which leaves small populations of birds isolated from other birds and food sources by cleared land for agriculture or urban development. Roads across the landscape also create risks to birds when crossing.
A Bushcare project in cane country which is endeavouring to make it safer for cassowaries to move between areas of their habitat is the Massey Creek project, this is a part of the larger Walter Hill Ranges Corridor Project.
The Massey Creek project aims to plant 12,000 trees to allow cassowaries to move between habitat that is divided by a sugarcane farm and a main road. These trees will provide safe passage for cassowaries as well as some of their favourite food.
Local cane growers and school students have participated and assisted with plantings. Students from El Arish have also planted trees on their school grounds which are part of the corridor.
The project is run by Trees for the Atherton Tablelands (TREAT) with support of landholders, community groups and the QPWS Centre for Tropical Rehabilitation.
Cassowaries are an endangered species who need to move across large areas. Wildlife corridors and road crossings will help ensure their survival in the wild. In captivity, you can see them at David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast.
Last updated: 28 November 2003