REPORT INTERIM CLOSURE OF KAURI CREEK ROAD TO ESTABLISH ROAD USAGE IMPACTS DURING THE BREEDING CYCLE OF THE NORTHERN SPOTTED-TAILED QUOLL (DASYURUS MACULATUS GRACILIS)
Compiled by Alberto Vale and Luke Jackson 2017© No reproduction or excerpts are allowed in any form or media, unless written authorisation by co-writers is obtained
INTRODUCTION In response to concerns by the Australian Quoll Conservancy (AQC) that the population of Spotted Tailed Quolls on the Lamb Range was disappearing, the AQC requested that QPWS close Kauri Creek Road (which straddles the core habitat of possibly the only two remaining quolls in the area) during the core breeding season being primarily winter months (June – September). QPWS and WTMA approved the request as detailed below in italics. The approval specifies what is required of the AQC by the QPWS. QPWS APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS QPWS recognises information from a number of sources, including AQC, that quoll populations on the Lamb Range are low and probably have declined over recent years. The direct cause of such decline remains unknown but has been suggested as being due to a range of factors including, but not limited to, reducing food resource, increasing numbers of cane toads and potentially other threats, and as you have outlined, the 1