Restoring landscapes across the Mount Alexander Region

Looking for landholders: Habitat trees for Phascogales

Posted on 22 October, 2024 by Lori

Do you have trees but not many hollows on your property? Are you in the Mount Alexander region? Do you want to increase habitat for local fauna?

Connecting Country has been successful in securing additional funding for our project ‘Habitat Trees for Phascogales’. Working with private landholders, we are offering property visits, ecological advice and installation of Phascogale nest boxes to increase habitat for this species in the region. 

A Phascogale resting in a Connecting Country nest box. Photo Connecting Country

The Mount Alexander Shire is home to many threatened species that survive in the fragmented woodlands across our region. Large old trees and the hollows they provide are vital habitat for many of these species. One of these is the Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), also known as the Tuan. The Phascogale is a small, nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial, a little larger than a black rat and with a very distinctive bushy black tail.

In Victoria, the Brush-tailed Phascogale was once widespread, but now has a fragmented distribution. It is a threatened species listed under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and considered Vulnerable in Victoria. One of its strongholds is in Central Victoria and the Mount Alexander region. 

Looking for local landholders 

We are looking for landholders in the Mount Alexander Shire area who are interested in participating.

Appropriate candidates will have:

Large old tree - Bonnie Humphreys 2023

Large old trees are important habitat for Phascogales. Photo Connecting Country

  • Eucalyptus trees with reasonably large trunks for installation of nest boxes.
  • A willingness to retain fallen limbs, leaf litter and areas of intact habitat. 
  • A commitment to ongoing low-level maintenance of nest boxes, weed and pest animal control.

If your property is suitable for the project, we will: 

  •  Conduct a site assessment to identify potential Phascogale habitat.  
  • Provide and install Phascogale nest boxes using a qualified contractor. 
  • Provide additional advice and support as required. 

Priority will be given to properties that contain, or are connected to, the most suitable Phascogale habitat. 

The iconic Brush-tailed Phascogale, rarely seen but never forgotten. Photo by Geoff Park

Landholder expressions of interest

If you meet the criteria above and are keen to protect and restore Phascogale habitat on your land, please complete our expression of interest form –EOI Click Here 

Return it to Connecting Country via email (bonnie@connectingcountry.org.au)

Expressions of interest close on 25 November 2024. 

To learn more about the Brush-tailed Phascogale, click here

The Habitat Trees for Phascogales project is supported by the Victorian Government through the Nature Fund and the Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation. 

 

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