Through the Saving our Species program, the NSW Government is working with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) to reintroduce bilbies into the Pilliga forests in northern NSW by the end of 2018.
As part of the project, a specially designed 32-kilometre feral cat and fox-proof fence will be built.
The fence will create a secure, feral predator-free area where the bilbies will be reintroduced. It will include 6500 fence pickets, 300-kilometres of plain wire and 96-kilometres of netting.
Once the fence is complete, work will start to remove all the feral cats and foxes from across the 5800 hectares of forest.
Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton said this is a historic step for bilby conservation.
“The NSW Government is investing over $40 million through the Saving our Species program to reintroduce native species to NSW.”
“Bilbies became extinct in NSW over 100 years ago and for the first time they will be back in the wild,” Ms Upton said.
At least five other regionally-extinct mammals will be introduced to the Pilliga State Conservation Area and National Park in the next few years, including the bridled nail-tail wallaby, the brush-tailed bettong, the western barred bandicoot, the plains mouse and the western quoll.
Find out more about the Saving our Species program