Celebrating sightings of the rare Spot-tailed Quoll
Two Victorian Government grants, Nature Fund and Icon Species Funding Program, with co-investment from the Rendere Environmental Trust and support from Biodiversity Legacy, form the basis for a multi-partnership approach to the recovery of two nationally endangered species: the Spot-tailed Quoll and the Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby (EPBC & FFG listed).
Found in the remote East Gippsland wilderness in the rugged Snowy River catchment, the secretive quoll and the rare rock-wallaby are best surveyed using remote cameras. Wildlife Unlimited, a major partner, is leading recovery efforts alongside the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and Parks Victoria.
It is worthy of celebration when a Spot-tailed Quoll is captured on camera!!! This is a rare event due to low population numbers and large home range sizes (can be up to 2,000 ha for males), combined with the difficulty of deploying cameras in their refuge habitat of complex cliffs and rugged and steep terrain.
Cameras deployed to monitor a population of Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby in Little River Gorge in the Snowy River National Park have captured this curious quoll investigating hay nets of lucerne set up to lure rock-wallabies to the cameras. This is a fantastic start to survey efforts now underway as part of Wildlife Unlimited’s Spot-tailed Quoll Recovery Program.
The secretive quoll investigating the hay nets used for luring the rare Rock-wallaby. Images with thanks to the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Change.
The nationally threatened Glossy Black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) feeds almost exclusively on the seed cones of Allocasuarina species. In eastern Victoria, Black Sheoaks (Allocasuarina littoralis) are the predominant feed tree species.
From a group of Sheoaks, Glossy Black-cockatoos will choose only specific individual female trees to feed on. It is not known if genetic, social or environmental factors (or a combination of all three) lead to an individual becoming a preferred feed tree for a group of Glossies. Glossies will revisit select feed trees year after year to feed on seed cones.
If genetic factors play a part, collecting and growing seed from feed trees may help increase the number of favoured Sheoaks in the landscape. Misty Anderson from the Moogji Aboriginal Council Nursery, an important project partner, has collected seed from the Sheoaks that the Glossies have been observed feeding at.
Misty Anderson, Moogji Aboriginal Council Nursery and Esther Gatnau, Project Officer, Wildlife Unlimited, with Sheoaks grown from seed collected from Glossie feed trees.
Misty has propagated them with great care in the Moogji Nursery, ready for planting through this project. Hopefully, by planting seeds from known feed trees, we may gain more insight into genetic factors that will improve revegetation efforts for the future.
Sheoaks may take up to 10 years to produce cones and even longer to have branches thick enough to support the weight of Glossies feeding on them. This project is a powerful investment into the future of the Glossy Black-cockatoo population in eastern Victoria.
This project continues the recovery of valuable Sheoaks, building on the Landcare, Birdlife and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action Sheoak recovery works that were undertaken as part of the 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires response. Project sites range from Lakes Entrance and Marlo through to Wangarabell and Genoa in the east.
Banner photo: Glossy Black-cockatoo feeding on a Sheoak, with thanks to Peter Murrell.
Landholders and nature lovers across South Gippsland Victoria are being encouraged to contribute to a biolink map being developed by the South Gippsland Landcare Network (SGLN) to give landholders and the broader community a bird’s eye view of the ‘patches, stepping stones and habitat links’ that need to be strengthened to create more effective wildlife corridors and protect native and threatened species.
The map is a key action of the SGLN’s 10-year Biodiversity Protection Plan developed in 2024 with cross-sector input, including from our Ecolands Collective colleagues, Prom Coast Ecolink, which sits under the umbrella of the SGLG, and the Gippsland Threatened Species Action Group, which aims to connect remnant patches of native vegetation, initially across the Bass Coast and now extending eastwards to South Gippsland.
Conservation action across this vast 262,000 ha region, which stretches from the steep Strzelecki Ranges in the north to the lowland coast in the south, is becoming increasingly urgent as just 22% of South Gippsland’s native vegetation remains, and 10% of all native species are now threatened.
After securing funding for two key phases of the mapping project, SGLN appointed mapping experts who, as a first step, are gathering base data via a ‘Habitat Near You’ website that asks landholders and community members to identify habitat hotspots, sightings of key species and key areas of interest (this phase will run from May to June 2025, so please contribute if you can).
Biodiversity Legacy South Gippsland Biolink Coordinator, and local community member, Stuart Inchley, will contribute data about remnant patches of vegetation north of Foster and contribute in other ways.
It will take about nine months to gather the foundational data. From here, the team will use the General Approach to Planning Connectivity from Local Scales to Regional (GAPCLoSR) GIS method to analyse landscape conditions and determine the best possible pathways for recreating or enhancing habitat for 4-6 target species.
The whole process will take a community-led, tenure blind approach and consider all environments across the region, not just those where larger patches of bushland exist.
Biodiversity Legacy welcomes this biolinking initiative, which reflects our long connection to the region and our commitment to engaging property owners and communities in conversations about the need to secure land and connect it to adjacent properties and/or state and national parks.
The map will also provide a well-informed basis for regional planning processes and inspire more investment in the natural values of our landscape.
Via our association with the Rendere Environmental Trust and Ecolands Collective, Biodiversity Legacy has strong ties to and supports the efforts of Land Covenantors Victoria (LCV), which is activating the private land conservation movement in Victoria and bringing communities together to take action on the ground.
The following editorial, published by the International Land Conservation Network (ILCN) in March 2025, is by LCV president Peter Mulherin and Australian Land Conservation Alliance Permanent Protection Method Project Manager, Cecilia Riebl, who also acts as Australia’s ILCN Regional Representative
In the face of unprecedented biodiversity, climate, and geopolitical challenges worldwide, grassroots networks are increasingly critical to conservation outcomes. In Australia, the independent not-for-profit member organisation Land Covenantors Victoria (LCV) demonstrates this by empowering private landowners to take meaningful, local conservation action.
“We are living in a time of great challenge, with biodiversity loss, global warming, political instability and the relentless advance of extractive industries compounding these threats,” said LCV President Peter Mulherin.
“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, local action provides a path forward.
“Taking action within our own communities restores a sense of control and optimism. It is work that stands in contrast to greenwashing and political posturing.”
Paving the way as a first-of-its-kind organisation
Launched in 2021 with the support of the Rendere Environmental Trust, EcoLands Collective and Trust for Nature, LCV quickly gained momentum, establishing itself as a model for locally-driven conservation. It is the first formal network to unite Victoria’s more than 1,900 landholders who have adopted conservation covenants and other on-title agreements on their land.
The group volunteers their time to build networks, share knowledge and advocate for reforms to strengthen private land conservation. One of LCV’s key successes early on came in 2023, when the group provided critical advocacy to reform land-tax laws for conservation covenants, enabling an automatic land-tax exemption to any landholder with a Trust for Nature covenant.
Modelling peer-learning
The LCV leverages a peer-based learning model. It brings together people and organisations with varying levels of experience and areas of expertise to share ideas and success stories and to develop new tools and best practices. Peer-based learning can happen on many scales, across different timeframes and can be driven by a range of priorities. However, human connection is at the heart of all approaches, serving to deepen trust and relationships to catalyse on-the-ground action.
“One of the most rewarding aspects [of this work] is being part of a local network of landholders, feeling connected to a community of like-minded individuals making tangible changes to benefit local biodiversity and future generations,” said Mulherin.
Tracking impact
Measuring the LCV’s outcomes is not as straightforward as counting funds raised or material outputs. But these social aspects – learning, sharing knowledge and passing it on to future generations – are the foundation of healthy communities.
“Traditional Owners have been doing this on the same land for tens of thousands of years – we have much to learn. As trust in traditional institutions declines, community-driven efforts are more critical than ever,” said Mulherin.
Engaging across communities
LCV is busy across the state. It hosts field days in northern Victoria (photo top shows landholders attending LCV’s first field day, held at Wirra-lo, a 180-hectare private property in Murrabit that has been transformed into a wildlife haven), Landcare events in Western Australia and community gatherings on local farms. These events bring together volunteers, families and networks to share knowledge and experiences. At one event in Gippsland, Victoria, Landcare, Trust for Nature, philanthropists, farmers and local politicians gathered in a town hall to hear stories and case studies of conservation initiatives led mostly by not-for-profit volunteers and local landholders.
Mulherin acknowledged the challenges these organisations take on to care for nature on behalf of society. He said, “Their work provides immense social and environmental benefits, with no financial reward but enduring value for their communities”.
By fostering collaboration and raising awareness about conservation covenants, LCV is making significant strides toward its vision. That is, a future where private land conservation is the norm, not the exception.
“We need to make this vision widely understood across the state,” said Mulherin. He added that their work must also influence and support similar movements in other regions across Australia, “It is urgent, logical and immensely rewarding.”
A biodiversity legacy for Victoria’s southeast coast
The Nature Recovery Foundation (NRF) is a bold initiative committed to reversing biodiversity decline on Victoria’s Bass Coast and protecting the natural environment for future generations. The NRF is a partnership between Bass Coast Shire and Biodiversity Legacy, with each organisation having two directors on the board.
The Foundation’s initial focus is on tracts of land within the Bass Coast Shire, where the aim is to protect and enhance existing habitats while accelerating large-scale landscape restoration. As the Foundation grows, there may be opportunities to expand our impact beyond this region, most likely into South Gippsland.
The NRF is currently working towards Deductible Gift Recipient status, which will strengthen the Foundation’s legitimacy and open opportunities for tax-deductible donations, further supporting our long-term goals.
The Foundation’s Mission
To achieve lasting environmental restoration, the NRF will:
Protect priority areas of remnant biodiversity.
Secure and restore land with high ecological potential.
Create viable habitat refuges connected through biolinks.
Leverage partnerships and green investment for long-term sustainability.
Build a lasting legacy for future generations.
Next steps
This is an exciting step for Biodiversity Legacy, as several members of the team live in the adjacent shire of South Gippsland and, as a group, we have deep links to other environmental non-profits via our connection to the Ecolands Collective.
Stay tuned for more updates on the NRF in the coming months (as at March 2025).
How to ensure the family farm can continue to thrive and prosper for generations to come
Biodiversity Legacy Director and active land covenantor, Jim Phillipson, is a strong advocate for succession planning to ensure that landholders and families can stay connected to the land.
Jim was one of 40 speakers invited to present at the GROUNDED farming festival in Tasmania, where he provided practical tips and advice on succession planning for farming families – a critical yet challenging conversation.
Modelled on the UK’s Groundswell festival, GROUNDED was established by the renowned Australian chef turned farmer Matthew Evans and partner Sadie Chrestman. It is a unique platform created ‘by farmers, for farmers’ allowing them to share knowledge about regenerative farming practices, food systems, soil and much more. Over 6,000 people attended the event.
Heather and Jim Phillipson on their family farm in East Gippsland.
Approaching challenging conversations
Jim highlighted the fact that, while these conversations can be difficult, if neglected they can jeopardise the future of the farm.
He emphasised a structured approach to these discussions, highlighting several key strategies, including the engagement of a neutral facilitator to guide discussions.
“This third party provides an objective perspective, helping to manage emotions and ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of the farm,” said Jim.
“Their role includes communicating with title holders and formalising agreements, which can lead to more productive conversations.”
Jim advises starting initial discussions with a small group, specifically those listed on the property title. This approach minimises complications and allows for clearer decision-making.
“Once a foundational framework is established, broader family discussions can take place.”
Establishing a defined timeframe for succession planning is also crucial, said Jim, who recommends a seven-year window, broken down into three, five, and seven-year goals. This timeline encourages structured planning while preventing procrastination, making the process more manageable and focused.
A significant shift in mindset is also necessary when prioritising the farm over individual family members. By treating the farm as an independent entity, families can foster long-term viability and avoid the pitfalls of dividing the farm or selling it off. This perspective encourages discussions that focus on the farm’s future rather than individual interests.
Jim also urged the audience to consider alternatives to equal shares among children.
“Placing the farm into a protected legal entity can ensure its sustainability while providing income for retiring parents. This method can often yield better financial outcomes than traditional equal division,” he said.
Finally, he stressed the importance of acting while there is still control over decision-making. “Delaying the succession planning process can lead to a loss of influence over the farm’s future. By starting early and setting clear goals, families can create a succession plan that benefits both the farm and its family members.”
