SDG Detail

Beating Back the Browsers

Case study

Project description

The levels of browsing pressure by animals, particularly Sambar Deer on newly-planted Landcare revegetation sites in East Gippsland, is resulting in very high mortality rates of new seedlings. So, last year, when the East Gippsland Landcare Network (EGLN) received the inaugural Sure Gro Tree Max Landcare Grant, they named their project, �Beating Back the Browsers�. EGLN is an umbrella organisation that supports 24 local Landcare groups and assists in region-wide environmental works. Their goal for this project was to reduce the pressure of browsing animals by utilising the specially designed Sure Gro Tree Max Beast Guards and therefore increase the survival rates of newly planted native seedlings on Landcare revegetation sites of their participating members. Feral Sambar and several other species of deer are well established in Victoria and populations are continuing to increase, causing damage and spreading to new areas across the State at a rapid rate. Deer pose a significant risk to biodiversity, causing both direct and indirect impacts on native flora and fauna.