Recovery plan for the brush-tailed rock-wallaby - Department of ...

Approved NSW Recovery Plan Brush-tailed rock-wallaby
11 Species’ ability to recover
The long-term objective of the recovery program is to halt the decline of the BTRW and to
recover the species from its status as endangered. However, this objective is not believed to be
achievable within the five-year timeframe of this plan. ‘Recovery’ through this plan will
therefore focus on increasing recruitment at priority sites, and halting or decreasing the rate of
decline of BTRW populations regionally and within each ESU. It will not be possible to recover
the species’ former distribution and abundance, given the degree of habitat modification and the
fragmented nature of the species’ distribution. In fact, unless actions are taken to reduce threats,
the BTRW will continue to decline in its current locations and the species will become locally
extinct in some areas. Given the large percentage of small and fragmented sites, and the number
of threats on sites, the continued local extinction of this species is likely unless adequate
resources are directed towards abating threats.
The species could recover if the actions listed in section 12 are implemented. This assessment is
based on:
• the ability of BTRWs to breed rapidly under favourable conditions
• the extent of suitable habitat in their extant range, particularly in the north
• community support for protecting the BTRW in the state and nationally.
Large populations have been successfully bred from a few animals, for example, in Hawaii
where a colony grew from just two animals. The development of a strategic captive breeding and
translocation program to supplement small colonies has been identified as a priority for this
species once predators and competitors have been controlled in such colonies.
A focus of this recovery plan is the control of predation by foxes, undertaken in conjunction with
the fox threat abatement plan (see section 10.3). Actions will be undertaken to gain more
information on fox predation and the effectiveness of control measures, and to implement control
measures more effectively. Fox removal is likely to increase competition among herbivores,
including other macropods. Therefore, in areas where fox removal can be demonstrated,
herbivore monitoring and control are recommended.
BTRWs have coped with close settlement and a degree of human disturbance, for example, in
the Shoalhaven (Short and Milkovits 1990). However, the type, intensity and location of the
disturbance probably determine the degree of threat. The attitudes, understanding and awareness
of people are critical factors in the long-term recovery of the species in settled areas. The
involvement of local communities is a vital component in this species’ recovery.
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