A pair of malleefowl on breeding mound (© Lochman Transparencies)

The sheer determination of landholders and a number of NSW government agencies has paid off  with a sharp decline in fox numbers around the   Goonoo community conservation  area near Dubbo. So much so, that the program has been recognised with an  impressive national award for its effectiveness.

Forests NSW Dubbo senior forester Matt  de Jongh was in Darwin in June to receive the award from Animal Control  Technologies Pty Ltd at the 14th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference.

Major players  in the program were Forests NSW, NSW Department of Environment and Climate  Change and Rural Lands Protection Board.

“This is a  national award and was given to the group for our Goonoo community-based fox  control program, which is centred on the Goonoo Community Conservation Area and  surrounding forests,” Matt said.

“The former  Goonoo State Forest is now managed by the Department of Environment and Climate  Change (DECC), while we at Forests NSW are still heavily involved in the  program as there are a lot of small forests in the area in which we bait for  foxes.”

The award is  the culmination of a coordinated fox control program that began in the late  1980s.

The program was  developed to protect the endangered malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata).

“The program  progressively evolved and in 2001 an effort was made to establish a much  broader community-based fox control program with the Goonoo forest as its focal  point,” Matt said.

“This program  has enjoyed success before, with the group receiving an award at the NSW Pest  Animal Control Conference in July 2005 for Excellence in Regional Control  Programs.

“It is  primarily based around the baiting programs which are run by the three agencies  which target foxes for different reasons.

“Forests NSW  and DECC fox baiting programs are primarily aimed at protecting malleefowl  within Goonoo forest; however it also provides benefits for adjoining  properties within a 20km radius of the forest by reducing the predation of  foxes on livestock.”

The broader  program has a wide range of environmental and agricultural benefits and there  are up to 200 landholders involved.

In July 2007,  280000 hectares of private and public land were baited.

“Landholders in  the area report positive benefits from the baiting program,” Matt said. “Data  indicates that lambing percentages are 20 per cent greater within the baited  areas.

“Community  volunteers have conducted ground surveys for malleefowl mounds within a small  portion of the forest and uncovered an additional 53.”

Matt said the  program has been so successful it has been used as a model program in the book  ‘Improving Fox Management Strategies in Australia’ by Saunders and McLeod.*

The program  boasted an 88 per cent reduction in fox numbers in the agricultural area  treated.

“There is a  great deal of research and monitoring taking place as well,” Matt said. “This  is a vital component in that it aims to gather objective scientific evidence  which the Vertebrate Pest Research Unit has included in its fox baiting and  lamb production survey research project.

“The results  from this show the effectiveness of the baiting program in preventing fox  predation on lambs.”

Staff from  Forests NSW and NSW Department of Primary Industries Science and Research  Division are conducting a study to determine the habitat preferences of foxes  in the landscape and their response to predator control events.

The  distribution and abundance of the European red fox is difficult to measure, but  useful for effective management of their impact on native forest fauna and  livestock.

“The fox  movement study aims to fill this gap in our understanding of fox activities and  behaviour in the Goonoo landscape as they move within and across tenure  boundaries (conservation reserves, State forests and private land),” Matt said.

“This study  involves trapping and releasing foxes which are attached with radio and GPS  tracking devices.

“This program  is a great example of the success that can be derived from getting the  community involved.

“Having so many  landholders baiting at the same time provides a saturation effect where a large  area is covered in one go.

“The program  has continued to grow in size due to the feedback that is provided to the local  landholders through regular meetings and information sessions.

“They are not  only interested in the agricultural benefits of the program but also the  environmental benefits this program provides to the malleefowl population.”

Much of the  work on the program was undertaken by Alison Towerton, who is in the final  stages of a Masters of Science (Research) degree at Sydney University.

“My role as a  scientific technical officer at the Forest Science Centre, within NSW DPI,  involves working with wildlife ecology, GIS and databases,” Alison said.

“Foxes cause  damage to native fauna and livestock throughout much of Australia with an  estimated cost of their impacts in excess of $200 million annually.

“The research  study began in 2005 looking at fox movements, habitat preferences and bait  uptake in the Goonoo State Forest.

“Foxes were  trapped and collared, initially with VHF radio transmitters, but then with GPS  satellite collars.

“The GPS  collars were set to collect location fixes every hour and for certain periods  of the day, every 15 minutes, allowing us to analyse the fox’s movements in a  way that has not been possible in the past.

“The map  displays the fixed locations and traverses of one male fox over a period of two  months during winter.

“With this kind  of information we aim to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of current  control programs.”

Information on  fox baiting across the landscape during the control programs is also being  collected from agencies and landholders.

“The organised  activities of the inter-agency and community based group has enhanced the  research study, enabling communication and data gathering to take place on all  aspects of the project,” Alison said.

“Involvement  and interest by the members has been invaluable during the study period.”

This article appears in the Spring 2008 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.