Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00270:body:0:p12
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00270
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 32365–35423

approach for estimating the area of potential habitat has been undertaken by the University of Melbourne through detailed modelling of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to identify and map large old trees across the full extent of the Central Highlands (both montane ash forest and mixed species forest) and to model the understorey density and connectivity. This has identified a large number (over 1.6 million, with 95% confidence intervals from 1.2–2 million) of large hollow-bearing trees across this area, comprising 819,000 live and 822,000 dead hollow-bearing trees. Incorporating these data with presence and absence records of Leadbeater's possums suggests there are currently 28,000 ha (95% confidence interval of 17,000–40,000 ha) of potential Leadbeater's possum habitat across the Central Highlands (R. Jiang, C. Nitschke and P. Baker, pers. comm.).
The divergence between estimates of potential habitat and currently occupied habitat, and variability in both, are indicative of the specialised habitat requirements of Leadbeater's possums and the complex dynamics of tree hollow development and decay and midstorey growth and senescence (see Section 3.4 Habitat). Any such estimates will vary in response to disturbance events (such as fires) and ongoing pressures such as climate change.

Implications for conservation management
    * Given the current state and prognosis of Leadbeater's possum, all sites at which the species has recently been recorded are important and merit protection; as do all areas at which there is a reasonable likelihood of its occurrence as indicated by occupancy and population viability analysis (PVA) modelling.

Priority research needs to enhance management
    * Precision in local and regional scale conservation planning will be enhanced with evidence from additional distributional surveys and analysis to further improve the refinement, resolution, complementarity and testing of occupancy and other distributional modelling, predictions of the area of suitable habitat, and improved understanding of why different modelling provides markedly different estimates.

3.2.3             Tenure and land use of the current distribution
Native timber harvesting will cease on 1 January 2024 but it is yet to be determined how that will affect the reserve system or other subsequent land use or tenure changes. Habitat modelling that currently captures tenure breakdown will need to respond to any proposed changes so current analyses will need updating to potentially inform any differing management intent.
As part of the transition, the Victorian government will be required to deliver a program of land management works to manage the 1.8 million ha of public land currently subject to the timber harvesting allocation order. Currently, the Victorian government proposes to establish an advisory panel to consider and make recommendations to Government on the areas of forests that qualify for protection as National Parks, the areas of forests that would be suitable for recreation opportunities, and