In between the madness of state election organising, our citizen science team has been hard at work surveying for threatened and endangered wildlife in forests scheduled for logging. A few weeks ago folks visited the incredible forests of Mt Delusion and Mt Baldhead near Swifts Creek on Gunnai Kurnai Country.
It was a great trip with the crew finding plenty of endangered greater gliders. While the Gippsland Environment Group court case continues any areas with gliders found are temporarily protected by the case. On top of gliders, surveyors also found an abandoned emu egg and beautiful bird orchids!
Just after the trip we celebrated the incredible results from the Environment East Gippsland and Kinglake Friends of the Forest, who WON their cases against VicForests, giving the greater glider and yellow-bellied glider much better protections from logging.
It shouldn't be up to community groups and citizen scientists to do this work, but until we see an immediate end to logging, our program will continue to survey for and protect these species, including the critically endangered Leadbeater's possum.
A huge thanks to Gippsland Environment Group and Friends of Bats and Habitat who we work closely with to survey these areas. See you in the forests very soon!