The once fragmented populations of Pink-tailed Worm-lizards in the ACT have been reconnected following habitat restoration activities by the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD).
Welcoming the news, Minister for the Environment, Rebecca Vassarotti said EPSDD’s Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Action Plan Implementation Progress Report 2022 showed the globally threatened species was benefitting from the Directorate’s 2017 action plan which outlined conservation and protection requirements for the species.
“[The] five-year Implementation Progress Report shows that our action plan is helping the Pink-Tailed Worm-lizard and that our hard work is slowly paying off,” Ms Vassarotti said.
“The species is a small, worm-like, legless lizard which lives in ant burrows under rocks and can be difficult to find,” she said.
“The Molonglo River Reserve established in 2019 protects the largest known population of Pink-tailed Worm-lizards in Australia, with approximately 6.5 hectares of Pink-tailed Worm-lizard habitat created across the reserve.”
Ms Vassarotti said the restored habitat had improved connectivity between previously fragmented populations of the species.
The Minister said EPSDD monitoring across 30 sites indicated that the Worm-lizard population was stable, with 74 animals detected in 2019 – an increase from 61 animals in 2014.
“The current monitoring method involves rolling habitat rocks, which has a negative impact on habitat condition, so we are currently undertaking trials to develop a low impact monitoring method that will allow for more frequent monitoring,” she said.
EPSDD’s 15-page Implementation Progress Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
