TSN Community Grants - Examples
Below are snapshots of some of the really exciting projects funded by the Threatened Species Network Community Grants in recent years.
The projects cover a huge range of land and seascapes, and a breadth of species and ecological communities. They reflect hundreds of hours of work by tireless volunteers across the country to help save our threatened species and ecological communities.
Each project application was assessed by an independent panel of scientific experts to determine its eligibility for funding. If you would like to know more about any of these projects, please contact the Program Officer Grants.
NSW: Increasing the uptake of de-hooking and line-cutting devices in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) and Southern and Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery (SWTBF)
Ocean Watch Australia's SeaNet Program, in partnership with the East Coast Tuna Boat Owners Association, aimed to give threatened marine species caught in the tuna and billfish fisheries the maximum chance of post release survival through promoting the use of various de-hookers and line-cutters when removing non-target species from fishing lines. Ocean Watch set out to identify and document the most effective release devices and practices; and to promote their uptake by training an initially small number of fishers in the use of the devices.
NSW: Managing fire regimes for brush-tailed rock wallabies at "Currawinya"
Brush-tailed rock-wallabies along the Clarence River have suffered from habitat fragmentation and an improved understanding of their distribution in the region was thought to be beneficial to the recovery effort. The project aimed to monitor known colonies of brush-tailed rock-wallabies using scat searches and sightings; to map active refuge areas and connecting corridors and incorporate this information into a fire management plan for the property; and to conduct a vegetation survey to assess habitat changes in response to burning.
Northern Territory: Monitoring and managing the great desert skink at Nyirripi
Previous work in the southern Tanami Desert indicated that several threatened fauna species were surviving better near the Indigenous community of Nyirripi than in more remote areas, and it was thought that this might be as a result of traditional hunting practices such as patch burning still regularly used in this region. Tangentyere Council Inc, in partnership with the Central Land Council and Birds Australia and with the assistance of a Threatened Species Network Community Grant, aimed to examine the distribution and abundance of great desert skink (warrarna) in relation to the fire history of the area, and to facilitate the transfer of Traditional Knowledge about warrarna to younger generations of Nyirripi residents.
Queensland: Cascades Gardens flying-fox colony enhancement & management
Cascades Gardens on the Gold Coast is an important roost and maternity site for grey-headed flying-foxes and the colony consists of a substantial number of grey-headed, black and occasionally nomadic little red flying-foxes. The Cascade Gardens site however is small and degraded and there was concern that the animals might disperse into neighboring urban habitat and cause conflict with the residents. Bat Rescue Inc aimed to stabilise the existing roosting site at Cascade Gardens and to introduce an ongoing education program to enhance the image of flying-foxes.
Queensland: Management of yellow chat (Capricorn subspecies) - habitat and identification of range on the mainland
Birds Australia in partnership with Central Queensland University and with the assistance of a Threatened Species Network Community grant, aimed to build on previous conservation and research activities for the critically endangered Capricorn subspecies of the yellow chat. The Capricorn subspecies was thought to survive only on Curtis Island, until during a previous TSN-funded project, BA and CQU discovered six additional mainland sites and increased the estimated total population from forty birds to around three hundred. This project aimed to identify the subspecies' mainland range and distribution, their habitat preferences and management needs; and to raise community awareness and involvement in the monitoring of yellow chat populations and habitat.
Southern Australia: Urgent recovery actions for threatened flora, Yorke Peninsula
The Nature Conservation Society of South Australia (NCSSA) aimed to implement a range of recovery actions that were urgently needed to sustain and enhance small, fragmented populations of highly threatened plant species on the Yorke Peninsula. This project was undertaken with the assistance of a Threatened Species Network Community Grant and several project partners, including the Threatened Plant Action Group, Native Orchid Society of South Australia, Australian Plant Society/COOTS, National Trust of South Australia, Trees for Life, SA Department for Environment and Heritage and Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, the District Council of Yorke Peninsula and several landholders.
Victoria: Black range bandicoot recovery project
Anecdotally and from trapping results, bandicoot numbers in the Black Range have plummeted over the last ten years. The Black Range Bandicoot Recovery Team in partnership with Project Platypus, representatives from Victorian government departments and other project partners and with the assistance of a Threatened Species Network Community Grant, aimed to address the serious decline in the Black Range bandicoot population by promoting community awareness of bandicoots and their threats, surveying and monitoring bandicoot populations, increasing bandicoot habitat by revegetation in key areas and establishing a coordinated pest control program.
Western Australia: Recovering the malleefowl in the northern WA Wheatbelt
Malleefowl have disappeared from much of their former range in southwest Western Australia as habitat has become increasingly fragmented and degraded, and fox numbers have risen. There was an urgent need to review the status and conservation requirements for this species in the northern wheatbelt where malleefowl had not yet been properly studied. The North Central Malleefowl Preservation Group (NCMPG) worked with local farmers, NRM groups, the CSIRO, Birds Australia (WA) and the WA Department of Conservation and Land Management to determine the abundance, distribution, habitat use, movement and management actions needed to recover malleefowl in this landscape.
Western Australia: Encouraging community involvement in the recovery of the Margaret River Marron
Endemic to the Margaret River, the range and distribution of the critically endangered Margaret River or 'hairy' marron has declined dramatically in the last 20 years, and there is widespread concern about sustainability of this species.
The Cape to Cape Catchments Group in partnership with the WA Department of Fisheries, local landholders and other members of the Margaret River Marron Interim Recovery Team used a Threatened Species Network Community Grant to implement priority actions of the Margaret River Marron Interim Recovery Plan. These included increasing public awareness of the species, reducing competition from the introduced smooth marron, and monitoring hairy marron habitat and distribution.
Tasmania: King Island Cat Control Project
Feral cats are believed to be a major threat to critically endangered orange-bellied parrots during their stop over on King Island. With the assistance of a Threatened Species Network Community Grant and in partnership with the Parks and Wildlife Service, King Island Council, community groups and landholders, the King Island Natural Resource Management Group conducted cat control to reduce and quantify the suspected impact of cats on the parrots and to determine additional priority sites for future control. A community education program was also initiated to encourage the responsible ownership of domestic cats.
