2022: A Year in Review

Thank you for your incredible support of Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) over the course of 2022. It’s been a challenging year, underlined by the release of the State of the Environment Report and its assessment of the country’s deteriorating biodiversity. But there is a clear path forward. By removing pressures and measuring and reporting on outcomes – actions embedded in AWC’s model of conservation – we can restore our biodiversity and ecosystems.

Conservation starts with you. Your support – through donations, volunteering, sharing stories, facilitating introductions, providing strategic advice, attending events or in any other form – is deeply appreciated. You are enabling the delivery of effective conservation and investing in Australia’s threatened animals and plants for the future.

AWC has scaled up conservation efforts this year, establishing significant new projects and delivering positive outcomes for wildlife.

This year has seen AWC’s delivery and influence of effective conservation expand to cover more than 12.9 million hectares. For scale, that’s almost 2% of Australia’s landscape. In 2022 AWC has been:

• Carrying out inventory and Ecohealth surveys across sanctuaries and partnership areas. Substantial survey effort by the team in the Kimberley has resulted in more than 50 species being added to the lists of vertebrates known to occur across partnership areas.

• Contributing to a landmark partnership established between the Traditional Owners of Ngalurrtju Aboriginal Land Trust, the Central Land Council (CLC) and AWC to enhance conservation and promote cultural values across 323,000 hectares in Central Australia.

• Establishing an innovative partnership with North Australian Pastoral Company that provides an exciting pathway for catalysing positive change and deploying conservation on a massive scale.

• Building a brighter future for the Northern Bettong, with the first post of the 13-kilometre fence installed at Mount Zero–Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary (QLD). The fence gates have now been closed and feral predator eradication and monitoring are underway.

Brad Leue/AWC

In 2022 AWC has been:

• Continuing important research including modelling the impacts of climate change on mammals in our reintroduction program and optimising genetic management of threatened species.

• Working to secure the future of one of Australia’s most endangered mammals, the Central Rock-rat, at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary (NT). Excitingly, the rock-rats appear to be settling in well and are being consistently detected on camera traps across the release area along with other species reintroduced this year.

• Building new infrastructure at Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary (WA) to promote collaboration and strengthen the delivery of leading conservation land management and research.

• Establishing Gorton Forest Sanctuary, a new sanctuary just north of Sydney (NSW), that will protect critical forest habitat for the Endangered Koala and a suite of other species.

You can read more about our progress in edition 44 of Wildlife Matters.