Best-practice fox control in Booderee National Park

Project start date: 01/09/2023
Project end date: 31/03/2027
NESP funding: $830,733 (GST exclusive)

Booderee National Park (BNP) has been controlling foxes in the park for 25 years. In that time, several attempts have been made to reintroduce locally extinct species. These include the eastern quoll – a priority species under the Australian Government’s Threatened species action plan 2022–2032, southern brown bandicoot and potoroo However, the success of these reintroduction programs has been repeatedly hampered by fox incursions and subsequent predation.

A red fox strolling through Booderee National Park. Image: Parks Australia.

An eastern quoll on the lookout. Image: Dion Maple, Parks Australia.

We are providing a review of management actions, recommendations for future fox control and monitoring and broader ecological knowledge about foxes on Bherwerre Peninsula and Isthmus. We are also expanding fox monitoring across the park to support early detections and GPS fox tracking to close critical knowledge gaps about how foxes move through the Bherwerre isthmus and vacant territories within BNP. This will help park managers and local Traditional Owners develop tailored management interventions for the park and apply best-practice fox management for long-term planning.

This is a collaborative project, involving on-ground work by hub researchers, national park managers and local Wreck Bay Bherwerre Rangers. As part of the project, rangers will be trained in the use of VHF telemetry equipment, animal handling and camera trapping. The involvement of Bherwerre Rangers will link to other hub initiatives, including the ‘Indigenous monitoring platform’ project.

Key research areas

To address the challenges of fox predation preventing the reintroduction of native species, this project is:

• reviewing fox management efforts within BNP
• using satellite-enabled telemetry collars fitted to local foxes to understand their behaviour
• measuring the success of local control programs
• designing and implementing refined camera-trapping designs
• training local managers and Traditional Owners in key management activities relevant to the research.

Pathway to impact

This project will:

• improve fox control by revealing how foxes move through the landscape, where they invade, and which areas pose the highest risk
• validate a cutting-edge camera-trap system that detects incursions early and tracks the success of control efforts.

These insights will benefit not only Booderee but also coastal conservation areas across southern Australia facing similar predator challenges.