Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00270:body:0:p61
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00270
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 167987–171032

become a more significant issue following major fires, given these predators may target recently burned sites.

Action 2.8 – Priority: Essential
Where research on habitat augmentation (Action 5.4) (including the provision of nest boxes, artificially excavated hollows, and manipulation of midstorey) demonstrates that benefits can be obtained effectively, strategically implement these mechanisms to enhance the current and future extent of suitable habitat in the Central Highlands.
This action relates to all land tenures in the Central Highlands and is based on the premise that the current and projected extent and quality of suitable habitat is a major limiting factor, and that active management may be able to support the persistence of colonies where den sites are declining and provide some increase in the extent of suitable habitat. Note that this action should be recognised as complementary to, and not a substitute for, the protection of existing habitat, especially hollow-bearing trees. This management is a short- to medium-term bridging action to enhance the availability of suitable habitat (particularly hollows) over the future decades in which shortage of natural hollows is predicted to be a major factor limiting population size and recovery. Maintaining den availability through the provision of nest boxes and artificially excavated hollows in recently burnt forest, where suitable foraging conditions exist but hollow-bearing trees may be limiting, may provide an important component to maintaining population size.
The manipulation of vegetation structure to enhance a dense midstorey layer to improve foraging and movement habitat may be beneficial in some situations (for example, 1939 regrowth or older forests). However, there are currently extensive areas with a dense midstorey in fire and timber harvesting regrowth, therefore this approach is considered a lower priority than enhancing hollows. In addition, any action to increase midstorey density would need to consider the habitat requirements of co-occurring species.
Note that this action links also to research Action 5.5, that seeks to assess the benefit, practicality and cost-effectiveness of such habitat augmentation measures.

Action 2.9 – Priority: Urgent
Maintain the current and continuing supply of denning habitat for Leadbeater's possum as much as possible by retaining all live and dead trees that are either large (over 150 cm DBH) or hollow-bearing (where over 80 cm DBH) in montane ash forests within the distribution of Leadbeater's possum.
Large hollow-bearing trees (live or dead) are a fundamental defining feature of suitable habitat for Leadbeater's possum, but are a rapidly declining resource (Lindenmayer et al. 2012). At present, old, live trees (pre-1900) and all live trees greater than 2.5 m DBH are offered some, but not necessarily effective, protection under timber harvesting prescriptions (Department of Environment and Primary Industries 2014c). However, other hollow-bearing trees fall outside this definition and are