Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01713:body:0:p5
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01713
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 11245–14368

and island areas from the Coomera River to the Whitsunday coast in eastern Queensland. There are sporadic records along coastal areas of the Northern Territory, including the Tiwi Islands, and the far north Queensland coast from Cairns to the Hinchinbrook channel.
The water mouse is predicted to occur in additional unsurveyed areas of potential coastal and subcoastal habitat in Queensland, the Northern Territory, and New Guinea. It may also occur in unsurveyed potential habitat in Western Australia and New South Wales, beyond its current recorded range.

1.3                  Threats
The primary threat to the survival of the water mouse is loss and fragmentation of habitat and adjacent areas due to coastal development, particularly along the central and southern Queensland coast. This will be exacerbated by sea-level rise causing coastal squeeze as climate change progresses. Coastal developments also increase the risk of water mouse habitat degradation from altered hydrology, exposure of acid sulfate soils, recreational activities (e.g. water vessel wash, quad bikes, four-wheel drives), excessive groundwater extraction, chemical leaching, and insecticide spray for mosquito control.
Other significant threats to the water mouse include damage to critical shelters and predation by European red fox and feral pig, mangrove dieback and saltwater intrusion, loss of cover and damage to critical shelters by large herbivores and fire, cropping and aquaculture, cat predation, and oil spill. As climate change progresses, the water mouse may also be threatened by prolonged inundation from severe cyclone and storm tidal surges and extreme seasonal flooding across its range. The risk level for these threats varies significantly across the water mouse distribution.

1.4                  Recovery plan vision, objectives and strategies
The long-term vision for the water mouse is that its distribution, population trends and threats are understood, and threats are effectively addressed to ensure the ongoing decline in the national population is stabilised and shows recovery despite anticipated future impacts of climate change. This water mouse recovery plan sets out objectives and actions that will ensure significant progress towards this goal over the 10-year life of the plan.
Recovery Plan objectives
    * Significant impacts on the water mouse from coastal development and sea-level rise are effectively mitigated through sustainable development and habitat restoration initiatives.
    * Current and potential future threats to water mouse are better understood and mitigated through research and adaptive management.
    * The distribution and ecology of the water mouse is clarified, with effective management and monitoring actions implemented where it occurs. This includes areas primarily focused on conservation as well as locations with alternative primary objectives.
The following strategies are designed to meet these objectives within the 10-year lifespan of this recovery plan:
    * Strategy 1: Ensure activities and developments in coastal areas within the current and future modelled