Best-practice fox control in Booderee National Park

Project start date: 01/10/2023
Project end date: 30/06/2027
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, fox incursions and predation continue to pose a significant challenge to successful reintroductions.

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This project is helping improve long-term fox management at BNP by bringing together 25 years of management experience with new monitoring, GPS tracking and modelling.

Researchers are reviewing past fox control and monitoring, tracking how foxes move through Booderee and the surrounding landscape, and improving methods for detecting fox incursions. The research will help park managers and Traditional Owners identify where foxes are entering the park, understand how they use the landscape and make informed decisions about future control.

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.

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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.

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Pathway to impact

Better information about where foxes occur, how they move through the landscape and how effectively they are detected will help BNP make more targeted and adaptive management decisions.

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
• support stronger monitoring of control outcomes.

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

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  An eastern quoll on the lookout. Image Dion Maple
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  A European red fox in Booderee National Park. Image: Paul Meek.
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  Booderee National Park near Jervis Bay in New South Wales. Image: Resilient Landscapes Hub.