*Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby Survey

We were awarded a contract to examine the status of threatened Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (BTRW) populations in parts of the Ipswich LGA, our work involving a review of historical BTRW records to examine possible changes in the two key range parameters Extent of Occurrence and Area of Occupancy, working with Council officers to develop a field-based monitoring protocol, implementing a trial monitoring program and designing a BTRW database.

Our capacity to undertake this work was assisted by 2019 project work we undertook on BTRW population monitoring in NSW as part of the NSW Government's Save our Species (SoS) program, the results of which resulted in development and trialling of a novel scat-based survey methodology that is capable of informing on changes in BTRW activity. A manuscript outlining this approach is currently in press with the leading journal, Australian Mammalogy.

Outcomes of historical records analysis for Ipswich indicate that BTRW are largely confined to the forested areas in the central-south of the LGA, with relative stability in the proportional area which is occupied by BTRW. Nine monitoring locations were selected and assessed, revealing a contemporaneous BTRW occupancy estimate of 22% of the available habitat. This data represents a baseline from which a long-term BTRW monitoring program can be implemented.