38 | LANDCARE IN FOCUS MAY 2026
cross Australia, many of our most
threatened species now persist in
landscapes shaped by people, including
grazing country, fire-managed savannas and
mixed-tenure regions where conservation must
work alongside production. Two Forever Wild
projects, one in Western Australia’s western
deserts and the other in Far North Queensland’s
tropical wetlands, show how practical,
landscape-scale action can deliver meaningful
biodiversity outcomes while strengthening the
resilience of working landscapes.
In Western Australia, the Malleefowl is one of the world’s few
remaining mound-building birds and has declined dramatically
over the past century. Once widespread across southern
Australia, the species has disappeared from much of its former
range and is now listed as Vulnerable. In the vast grazing
landscapes of the western deserts, little was known about
remaining Malleefowl populations until recently.
“Large parts of Australia’s grazing country have received
very little focused biodiversity survey effort,” says
Misty Neilson, Director of Strategy and Finance at the
Forever Wild Initiative. “That does not mean they lack
conservation value. In fact, it often means the opposite.”
Through a partnership between Forever Wild and Samphire
Wild at Narndee Station, this knowledge gap is beginning to
close. Early surveys across more than 10,000 hectares have
documented a surprisingly widespread Malleefowl presence,
including active breeding mounds and extensive signs of
feeding and movement. Initial mapping suggests the area
may support one of Australia’s more significant remaining
Malleefowl populations.
“Finding breeding activity at this scale in a working grazing
landscape challenges the idea that important threatened
species can only persist in formal reserves,” Neilson says.
“It reinforces how critical landholder partnerships are to
effective conservation.”
Forever Wild Shows
How Working
Landscapes Can
Support Threatened
Species for Local Farmers
For more information: www.foreverwild.com.au
Words by Misty Neilson, Director or Strategy & Finance |
Forever Wild Initiative
Monitoring has also revealed threats operating at scale,
particularly high feral cat activity, alongside gaps in
understanding fire history and habitat condition. The project
has delivered broader biodiversity gains as well, including the
discovery of a rare plant previously known from only one other
site nationally, and the collection of extensive acoustic and
ecological datasets.
“These outcomes highlight why monitoring matters,”
Neilson says. “Good data does not just tell us what is
there. It tells us how the system is functioning and where
management effort will have the greatest benefit.”
Further north, in Queensland’s tropical savannas, a different
threatened species story is unfolding. Northern Quolls
were once common across northern Australia but are now
Endangered, with populations impacted by cane toads, invasive
grasses, altered fire regimes and feral predators. At Forever
Wild’s Tropical Wetlands Shared Earth Reserve near Mareeba,
however, quolls are performing strongly compared to many
other regions.
The Tropical Wetlands reserve sits within a large, connected
landscape of savanna woodland, wetlands and permanent
water, adjoining national park and linking into surrounding
cattle country. Connectivity and structural diversity play a key
role in supporting quolls, providing refuge from intense fires and
access to food and shelter.
“Functioning landscapes give species options,” Neilson
explains. “Connectivity, habitat structure and water
availability all increase resilience, but those values only
persist if they are actively managed.”
At Tropical Wetlands, Forever Wild is working with Gulf Savannah
NRM to control invasive grasses such as Gamba grass, manage
feral cats using AI-enabled Felixer® traps, reduce pig impacts
in wetlands and apply strategic fire to manage fuel loads.
Monitoring by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy has shown
increased quoll detections and activity in 2025 compared to the
previous year, alongside reductions in several key threats.
“For Landcare groups and landholders, the takeaway is
clear,” Neilson says. “Conservation and production are
not mutually exclusive. With the right information and
partnerships, working landscapes can play a leading role in
threatened species recovery.”