Perspectives about Stewardship, Land Management and Reptiles Conservation in the Darling Downs

Our Projects

Coexisting with Wildlife

Perspectives about Stewardship, Land Management and Reptiles Conservation in the Darling Downs

This project gathers information from local landholders to obtain their broader, unguided perspectives around stewardship, land management and conservation monitoring in this environment.

About this project

The black soil plains of the Darling Downs in southeast Queensland is an extensively modified, productive, and economically valuable agricultural cropping landscape, while also being home to the Condamine Earless Dragon (Tympanocryptis condaminensis), a cryptic threatened reptile species that was re-discovered in the early 2000’s. No formal conservation program or best management practice for supporting the earless dragon currently exists in this setting, and university researchers would like to establish ongoing monitoring of earless dragons on private lands in the region.

Our approach

There are a  few key landholders already engaged with the research, and as a next step we would like to understand perspectives that exist in the wider community, with a goal of finding ways to increase stewardship and support for dragon conservation. We will be conducting semi-structured interviews with local landholders to obtain their broader, unguided perspectives around stewardship, land management and conservation monitoring in this environment, We are also looking to collect further local community data around earless dragon distribution to assist with the wider ecological research.

Goals/key achievements

Key goals are:
  • Ongoing monitoring of Earless Dragons on private lands in the region.
  • Collection of further local community data around Earless Dragon distribution to assist with the wider ecological research.
  • Building an understanding of local landholder perspectives around stewardship, land management, and conservation management in this environment.
  • Finding ways to increase stewardship and support for dragon conservation in the wider community.

Status

Ongoing.

Project Partners

Understanding People and Nature

Research That Makes a Difference

We explore how people connect with the environment from urban green spaces to ocean reefs, and develop strategies to promote conservation stewardship and meaningful engagement with the natural world. Through citizen science, community partnerships, and innovative communication strategies, we’re working to strengthen the connections between people and nature for lasting conservation impact.