The ACT Government has announced three new projects to protect and preserve threatened species and their habitat in parks and reserves across the Canberra region.  

The three ecologically significant sites chosen for special restoration are Urambi Hills and Bullen Range, Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie, and Namadgi National Park.

The projects target critically endangered yellow box and red gum grassy woodland and natural temperate grassland, of which less than 10 per cent remains in the ACT.

The projects are funded in the 2023 ACT Budget under the ‘Conserving Canberra: Habitat Restoration’ program. 

Rebecca Vassarotti, ACT Minister for the Environment, Parks and Land Management, said the three project sites were chosen due to their high environmental value, with a focus on protecting and preserving nationally endangered plants and animals at risk of extinction.  

“When just one of our beautiful native species are endangered, we put our entire environment at risk,” Ms Vassarotti said. “The extinction of just one species sends small ripples through our ecosystems, which can eventually have a big impact in the years to come…

“Over the coming months, our environment team will be hard at work alongside the Ngunnawal community to boost and improve our land management practices by planting more trees, removing more weeds, and undertaking prescribed burning to revitalise plants in the area.  

“This program will seed native plants to make endangered woodlands healthier, and it will return important natural elements like logs and rocks to the ecosystems, creating homes for threatened species like the pink-tailed worm-lizard and woodland birds. These projects are really important in a climate crisis.”

In the last five years, Ms Vassarotti said, the number of listed threatened species has grown from 34 to 53. However, the ACT Government is trying to protect the biodiversity of species in temperate grasslands.

The Conserving Canberra: Habitat Restoration project strengthens government partnership with the Ngunnawal community; recognises and embeds Ngunnawal knowledge, values and cultural practices into restoration; and supports the community to reconnect with Country, Ms Vassarotti said.  

“The government is pleased to be delivering on this important conservation initiative, and is currently analysing and prioritising other important conservation areas across Canberra for targeted restoration,” Ms Vassarotti said.