- The Palaszczuk Government has signed a collaborative deed with Save the Bilby Fund for the next ten years
- The partnership to-date has helped the bilby population at Astrebla Downs ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park now reach more than 5,000 with hundreds more at Currawinya ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park
- It builds on a $40 million commitment by the Palaszczuk Government in last year’s budget to protect threatened species
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Queensland’s long-standing partnership with the Save the Bilby Fund will continue for another 10 years after both parties today – in the lead up to Easter – signed a new collaborative deed to protect the iconic Bilby.
The collaborative deed includes a captive breeding program at Charleville, management of bilbies and their predators in and around the enclosure at Currawinya ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park building on populations at Astrelba Downs ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park, a stronghold for the marsupial.
The population on Astrebla Downs ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park is currently in excess of 5000 bilbies due to a combination of good seasons, habitat protection, and pest control programs.
This included Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers removing 64 feral cats and 28 wild dogs from the national park in 2022.
Bilbies can be found in several locations across western Queensland, but the population on Astrebla Downs ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park is the most significant wild population.
They play an important role in the ongoing health of our outback environments, and an individual bilby can turn over up to 20 tonnes of topsoil annually as they forage for food and build burrows, which creates the perfect conditions for plants to germinate.
Quotes attributable to Environment Meaghan Scanlon:
“Bilbies are often front of mind around Easter when we see the famous chocolates hit our supermarket shelves, but for our rangers and Save the Bilby Fund – bilbies are the priority every day.
“Bilbies aren’t just incredibly cute – they play a vital role in the local ecosystem, and this partnership is just one example of the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to protect our threatened species.
“The Queensland government and the fund have collaborated for 20-years, and together not only are they protecting and growing bilby populations but also getting a better understanding of their distribution.
“Our rangers do amazing work on Astrebla Downs ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park, which can be so hot at times that they have to sleep during the day and work at night.
“The Save the Bilby Fund have also been conducting broad-scale surveys of wild bilbies in western Queensland to complement the surveys by rangers at Astrebla Downs.
“It was estimated that there were more than 450 bilbies inside the enclosure in Currawinya ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park during the latest population survey last year.
“That number is expected to increase significantly again with the next annual population survey scheduled to occur in the coming months.
“The Palaszczuk Government is taking on-ground action to protect our threatened species, and we’re backing it in with $40 million for more action and more research.
Quotes attributable to Kevin Bradley – CEO Save the Bilby Fund:
“The Save the Bilby Fund has made some incredible achievements over recent times through our long standing conservation partnership with DES.
“Our intensive bilby breeding program in Charleville has produced over 70 healthy young bilbies in the last few years and our bilby population on Currawinya ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park is booming with the favourable environmental conditions we have had there over the last 2-3 years.
“We look forward to continuing our important work with DES to support recovery of the Greater bilby as an important flagship for Threatened Species in Queensland.
“We are also incredibly thankful to our many financial supporters that have made our work to Save the Bilby over the last 20+ years possible.
“We simply could not do what we do, or achieve what we have achieved without them.”
