Measuring the impact of managing invasive species

Abstract

This study was commissioned by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPAC). Schedule 2 of the Head Contract frames the study as being to provide research-based intelligence to assist in shaping government investment in control of invasive animals to: Contribute to determining whether the five year Caring for our Country outcome for reducing the impact of invasive species has been achieved; Identify lessons learnt from on-ground experiences of managing pest animals; Aid the decisions and assumptions used to fund on-ground vertebrate pest animal control; Potentially lead to improvements in the design of future NRM program policies and strategies in relation to vertebrate pest animal. There are three interrelated aspects of the Project Plan: 1. Identify the methods of vertebrate pest animal control used in the Caring for our Country projects and evaluate if these have been effective methods for control for the particular project in that particular area. 2. Draw together the on-ground experiences of land managers who received funding under Caring for our Country to evaluate the assumption that best practice management is widely known and applied for rabbits, foxes, feral pigs and wild dogs through effective on-ground management and estimate the benefits of reducing these pest animal species through a series of selected case studies. 3. Assess the legacy of the investments by evaluating the extent of community engagement and practice change for the management of rabbits, foxes, feral pigs and wild dogs.