FIRES have torn through some of the last "strongholds" of vulnerable native species in the New England.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
While the full effect of the fire on these populations mightn't be known for some time, researchers say it's time to have serious conversations about land management and invasive pest control.
In the region, there are particular concerns for the brush-tailed rock wallaby and the spotted-tail quoll, but many conservation areas remain inaccessible after the fires.
READ MORE:
Guy Ballard - a researcher with the Department of Primary Industries and the University of New England (UNE) - said there was definitely going to be a broad impact from the fires.
"The specific effect on each species we don't know yet, the birds, lizards, frogs and insects," Dr Ballard said.
"The tiny insects which drive the whole system, they're food for other animals and they decompose organic matter, so they're very important."
Dr Ballard, along with National Parks and Wildlife crews, has been feeding rock wallabies with sweet potatoes and carrots dropped in parts of the region for the last two-and-a-half months to help sustain the remaining population.
The species was already listed as vulnerable before the fires and now food scarcity will be the wallabies' next imminent threat.
It is an issue which has been compounded in the midst of an intense drought.
The future might be more hopeful for the spotted-tail quolls who Dr Ballard said had survived the fires in surprising numbers after finding refuge in rocky habitats and scavenging after the blazes.
The plight of native animals has been a prominent issue through the nation's bushfire crises in recent months.
It's hoped it will provide an impetus for change.
"We, the community, need to have a broader conversation about where we want to go with land management," Dr Ballard said.
"There's lots of agencies and universities able to support the discussion with facts.
"We need to think about drought, bushfires, agricultural land management and conservation together, across boundaries, because the fires don't care about boundaries."
He said pest management would be primary issue going forward as well, with foxes, cats, feral goats and horses posing concerns to threatened native species.
"If we start managing invasive species well now, we can help the landscape recover much better."
UNE ecologist Karl Vernes said it was a difficult road ahead for local populations and hosed down fears of extinction.
"I doubt any species has been wiped off the landscape," Professor Vernes said.
"However, it is yet another factor which has pushed them even further ... on top of drought, land-clearing and predation."
It was estimated more than one billion animals have been affected by bushfires.