Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00031:body:0:p8
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00031
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 19752–22717

to have significant benefits for native species such as reversing local population declines (Mutze et al. 2008; Bird et al. 2012; Pedler et al. 2016). Management actions for invasive species should therefore focus on removing these threats, as well as other threats to the threatened species or ecosystems, to enable the persistence of threatened native species and to support well-functioning ecosystems. Species identified (as at 2016) as being impacted by rabbits are outlined in Appendix A.
In addition to the above factors, prioritisation of control for pest species such as rabbits has been found to be more useful at regional scales e.g. catchment or national resource management levels. Planning at this level enables a more holistic approach to rabbit management across regions, particularly in dividing and allocating resources (Murray et al. 2014). Regional areas are also likely to share the same or similar threatened species and ecological communities.
The actions under this objective therefore seek to assist land managers with information to support strategic rabbit management programs and to focus abatement on priority areas. The actions are envisaged to not only lead to better environmental outcomes such as species and ecological community protection, but to a more efficient and effective use of limited resources.

Key actions for Objective 1 include identifying priority areas for rabbit control on a regional scale, implementing and supporting regional control programs, and promoting and maintaining control programs in areas adjacent to priority areas. In particular, actions will seek to support control of rabbits to threshold levels of less than 0.5 rabbits per hectare.

Action 1.1 seeks to determine regional priority areas for rabbit control by focussing effort on areas where rabbits have the greatest impact on threatened species and/or ecological communities. This includes identifying priority islands for eradication efforts in each state. It also focuses on determining areas where the regeneration capacity of plants and the recovery of threatened species show the greatest potential. This will help obtain the greatest benefit for the amount of effort and resources put in. Aerial surveying using videos and GPS can be a cost-effective method for surveying and mapping regional areas to assist with prioritisation of management activities across a landscape. Economic decision models will also be useful to help determine how these efforts can be prioritised and the best combination of control methods (see background document for further information on economic decision models (Department of the Environment and Energy 2016a)). Control programs need to be implemented or continued in the identified priority areas.
Action 1.2 follows on from action 1.1 by ensuring that control efforts are focused on a wider and more holistic landscape-scale, rather than on small patches of land and including all land tenures such as