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Threatened mammals airlifted to make way for Gorgon gas project
Threatened mammals are being airlifted from Barrow Island where the massive Gorgon gas project is under construction in a bid to establish new populations, West Australian Environment Minister Donna Faragher said.
Up to 500 golden bandicoots, 170 boodies, 140 spectacled hare wallabies and 140 possums would be airlifted from Barrow Island, 50km off WA's Pilbara Coast.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett gave environmental approval to the project in August last year, imposing 30 conditions on the joint venture partners involved in the $50 billion project.
Barrow Island, an A-class nature reserve, is home to the endangered flatback turtle species and a number of other endangered species endemic to the island.
Natural historian Harry Butler has worked on the island for decades, researching the species on the island and advising Chevron on environmental issues.
Ms Faragher said it was one of the biggest translocation projects ever undertaken in Australia.
The animals will be transferred to the Montebello Islands, 30km north of Barrow Island, the Cape Range National Park near Exmouth or Lorna Glen, a former pastoral station, about 800km away in central WA.
Ms Faragher said the transfer of the animals was part of an offset program managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation, funded by Chevron and linked to the environmental approvals of the Gorgon project.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to translocate animals from Barrow Island where there are currently healthy populations of about 40,000 to 60,000 golden bandicoots, 5000 boodies, up to 10,000 spectacled hare wallabies and 10,000 possums," she said.
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