Researchers knew from areas burnt by the 1939 and 1983 fires that Leadbeater’s Possum eventually returns after fire, provided large old trees are present within that regrowth. However, one of the key unknown questions relating to Leadbeater’s Possum was how long after the fires would it be until the possum began returning to burnt areas? In January 2016, after seven years of surveying for Leadbeater’s Possum in burnt forests around the Central Highlands without success, that question was finally answered.
Read MoreFact checking a fact sheet
Researchers at The Australian National University, led by Professor David Lindenmayer, have published more than 200 peer reviewed scientific articles and 8 books on the Victorian Central Highlands and Leadbeater’s Possum since 1983. As such, we have provided a scientific response to an Institute of Foresters Australia pamphlet on Leadbeater's Possum and the proposed Great Forest National Park.
Read MoreAre nest boxes an effective management tool for Leadbeater’s Possum?
The large old trees that Leadbeater’s Possum use to den in are critically important for their survival, but are being lost to fire and forestry. Investing time, money, resources and energy into installing nest boxes to secure the possum’s survival is a theory that has already been tried, tested and disproved as a management tool. Ultimately, it is a distraction from the main game of habitat identification and protection.
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