Greenspots Conservation Project

Local Land Services is working with landholders across the Western region to create greenspots to improve resilience during dry times.

Last updated: 13 May 2025

Listen

A vast, arid landscape with sparse vegetation, red soil, green shrubs, dry grass, a dirt road, and a clear blue sky.

On this page

Project overview

Status: In progress

Local Land Services Greenspots Conservation project will see our skilled rangeland rehabilitation practitioners design and layout works to create 'greenspots'.

Greenspots are areas that retain moisture for longer during dry times.

Project background

Greenspots are important to the environment as they are the locations that threatened species retreat to during dry times.

Dry times are more frequent in Western NSW due to its ‘boom and bust’ seasons.

Severe erosion and sedimentation in the arid landscapes of NSW in the last circa 200 years has impacted greenspots, reducing their size and extent.

Project objectives

This project will create greenspots on landholders' properties to provide threatened species with refuges to better withstand dry times.

Some of the threatened species that will benefit from this project include:

Long-haired Rat (Rattus villosissimius)

Stripe-faced Dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura)

Forrest’s Mouse (Leggadina forresti)

Sandy Inland Mouse (Pseudomys hermannsburgensis)

Bolam’s Mouse (Pseudomys bolami)

Dusky Hopping-Mouse (Notomys fuscus).

Project delivery

Local Land Services Greenspots conservation project involves six landholders from the Packsaddle - White Cliffs areas.

The project delivers:

soil erosion works (rangelands rehabilitation)
monitoring of works.

Information sharing will continue with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment to support ongoing research into the benefits this project will bring.

Work underway

Project update

2025

The rangeland rehabilitation phase (design and implementation) of the project has now been completed.

In the final year of the project, activities will focus on monitoring change in vegetation condition on these sites and documenting the outcomes of the project.