By Tyler Wright
Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater is thrilled to hear of the expansion of the Liwik Barring Landscape Conservation Area in Yellingbo after the land was purchased by the Victorian Government.
41 hectares of what was private land will now be used to extend the critical habitat for the Helmeted Honeyeater and Lowland Leadbeater’s Possum – both faunal emblems of Victoria.
“The major cause for the decline of the Helmeted Honeyeater and Lowland Leadbeater’s Possum has been loss of habitat – and therefore, any addition to the existing habitat that supports these species is greatly welcomed,” Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater President Alan Clayton said.
“For more than 30 years, we’ve been working in cooperation with the experts in the area and the Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Team contains a huge range of experts whose expertise and knowledge has assisted in quality habitat restoration,” Mr Clayton said.
Due to the work of environment bodies and Healesville Sanctuary, the population of the Helmeted Honeyeater has risen from 50 in the wild ten years ago to more than 250 currently.
“It needs a critical mass of suitable habitat, particularly for the plant species that support the Helmeted Honeyeater to thrive in the wild – it’s finding the suitable habitat area, protecting and enhancing that habitat so that Helmeted Honeyeaters are able to have a home that allows them to not only survive, but thrive,” Mr Clayton said.
The Lowland Leadbeater’s Possum is currently only found within the Liwik Barring Landscape Conservation Area.
“We’re working with regional communities, private landholders and Traditional Owners to create new habitats and bring our state emblems back from the point of extinction,” Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio said.
Not-for-proft organisation Trust For Nature brokered the deal.
“After working with this landholder, the protection of this property for conservation will serve as a bridge between other areas of habitat in the region,” Trust for Nature Area Manager Ben Cullen said.
