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Conservation of threatened
mammals at Shark Bay
The Heirisson Prong project involves
scientists working in partnership with a local community and a mining company
to help conserve Australia's
precious wildlife in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia.
In 2001 the Heirisson Prong project won the
prestigious Banksia
Gold and Community awards for “leadership,
commitment and excellence in protecting and/or enhancing the
environment”. Earthwatch volunteers were fundamental to the success of the project for
many years, assisting with fence construction monitoring of mammal
species, and the monitoring of predator activity.
This is an ongoing project (see Overview), previously supported by CSIRO. The current emphasis is on developing
the second 5-year plan (the 1999-2004 Heirisson Prong Management Plan is
available as a pdf), providing support to the Useless Loop Community
Biosphere Project Group, monitoring the recovery of threatened mammals
following a major build up in cat numbers in 1999-2003, and assisting
with control of feral cats in a buffer zone beyond the barrier fence.
The focus of the project is the conservation
of reintroduced populations of three native mammal species - the burrowing bettong, the western
barred bandicoot and the greater stick-nest rat.
Client: Useless Loop Community Biosphere Project Group,
Inc. with funding from Shark Bay Salt Joint Venture
>> Project overview
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