Executive Summary

The National Recovery Plan for the Pookila (New Holland mouse) Pseudomys novaehollandiae is the first recovery plan to be developed for this Vulnerable listed threatened species. The plan guides conservation management across its range and identifies actions necessary to slow the decline and support the recovery of the Pookila so that its chances of long-term survival in nature are maximised.

The Pookila has a fragmented distribution across southern Queensland, northern and central coastal areas of New South Wales, central southern coastal Victoria, and north-eastern Tasmania including Flinders Island. Populations are typically coastal but in Queensland and New South Wales can occur up to 300 km inland. Habitats occupied include open heathland, tall open forest with a grassy understorey, open woodland with a grassy or heathy understorey, and vegetated sand dunes.

The principal threats to the Pookila are:

 Loss, disturbance and modification of habitat

 Inappropriate fire regimes (too frequent, too large, too severe, or poorly timed)

 Climate changes causing:

 mortality from increasing frequency and intensity of extreme heat events

 habitat loss through increasing intensity and frequency of drought and/or flood events

 Excessive predation by invasive fauna species

 Loss of genetic diversity from having small and fragmented populations, and

 Increased exposure to novel disease.

Interactions between threats must also be considered in managing the recovery of the Pookila.

The objectives of this plan are that within 10 years:

• area of occupancy has increased
• national population size is stable or increasing
• genetic diversity is improved
• First Nations people are collaborators in management and recovery, and
• community awareness and engagement with recovery efforts have increased.