Media Room
New Pygmy Possum Crossing at Blue Cow
26 February 2008
As part of Perisher Blue’s summer environmental projects, the resort has created a new crossing for the threatened Burramys parvus (“Mountain Pygmy Possum”) at the bottom of Road Runner (ski and snowboard trail) in Blue Cow Mountain within the Kosciuszko National Park.
The Mountain Pygmy Possum, the largest of Australia's five species of pygmy possum yet weighing just 45 grams, is a threatened species that is found only in Australia’s snow-covered alpine and sub-alpine region above 1400m in New South Wales and Victoria.
The crossing has been created to provide a safe underground passage for the Pygmy Possum and other fauna like the Broad Toothed Rat to safely cross the area in both summer and winter.
After consultations between Perisher Blue General Manager of Operations Michael Fearnside and Dr Linda Broome from the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (“DECC”), the area was identified as a possible secondary habitat for the Pygmy Possum, who are primarily tracked higher up the slope on Mount Blue Cow.
To create the crossing, several services were required to be excavated around to allow the concrete culverts to fit beneath them. The culverts were half-filled with rock and covered with a concrete lid. Steel mesh was then placed at either end of the culvert to prevent feral cats or foxes from entering. Larger rock was then used to join the culvert exits to the surrounding heath. Finally, the road was reinstated to its original condition.
In order to keep the road open during the week for maintenance crews to access Blue Cow, the Perisher Blue summer slopes department worked over a weekend to undertake the job.
Perisher Blue has also been working with the DECC to help restore an important population of Podocarpus lawrencei (Mountain Plum Pine) at Blue Cow that was damaged during the 2003 bushfires. The Mountain Pygmy possum relies heavily on Mountain Plum Pine for protection from predators as well as for its seeds, which provide a rich source of nutrition.
Perisher Blue’s support in generating food, protection and habitat for the Pygmy Possum demonstrates its strong commitment to protecting and encouraging Indigenous biodiversity within and surrounding all of Perisher Blue’s operational areas, consistent with the aims and objectives of its Environmental Management System (EMS).
Other initiatives undertaken by Perisher Blue to meet the EMS objective regarding protecting Indigenous biodiversity include the closure to skiing and snowboarding of approximately five hectares of Mountain Pygmy possum habitat at Blue Cow in 2002.
For further information, please contact Perisher Blue marketing at pr@perisher.com.au or call 02 6459 4526.