Indigenous-led conservation confirms return of guraban (koala)
An Indigenous-led conservation project has confirmed the return of koalas across Wadbilliga National Park, showcasing successful First Nations land management.
On the far South Coast of New South Wales, Gadhu Bagan, the Southern-Yuin Firesticks team, is celebrating the persistent presence of Guraban (koala) across multiple locations in the park, following on-Country survey and monitoring work undertaken in partnership with the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
This work forms part of the Southern-Yuin Koala Project, led on Country by Cultural Fire Practitioners Koorin Campbell and Durramah Parsons Campbell of Gadhu Bagan, whose care for Country is reshaping how koala conservation is understood and delivered across the Murrah-Biamanga-Kooraban-Gulaga and broader Wadbilliga landscape.
The acoustic monitoring survey represents the most comprehensive koala survey ever undertaken in the park, generating new insight into a population that has long been difficult to detect across this rugged and remote landscape.
Survey design and site selection were led by Gadhu Bagan, drawing on local cultural knowledge of Country, fire behaviour, ecology and species movement alongside contemporary monitoring tools.
Koala detections were confirmed across several locations, including Green Hills Fire Trail, Jillicambra Fire Trail, the western end of Wadbilliga Road and Razorback Fire Trail. An additional detection in Wandella State Forest near Kooraban aligns with known activity across the broader landscape.
Historically, koala records in Wadbilliga have been scarce, with most detections previously concentrated along the park’s western fringe. These new results confirm Guraban are still present across Country – an encouraging sign following the significant impacts of the 2019–20 bushfires.
For Firesticks and Gadhu Bagan, this is a powerful sign that caring for Country supports the persistence of culturally significant species.
At the heart of this work is the return of Cultural Fire back to the landscape.
Through carefully planned Cultural Burns led by Koorin and Durramah, the team aims to restore forest structure, encourage the regeneration of key feed trees and reduce the risk of high-intensity bushfires across koala habitat.
While call rates recorded through Song Meter acoustic monitoring were low, suggesting a low-density population, the findings are significant.
Habitat areas remain intact
They confirm the continued presence of koalas in a landscape where they were previously thought to be rare and reinforce the need for ongoing, culturally informed monitoring to better understand population distribution and habitat use. Firesticks and project partners are committed to continuing this work into the future.
Importantly, none of the sites where koalas were detected were impacted by the Brassknocker fire in December, providing reassurance that key habitat areas remain intact and continue to support Guraban.
The work demonstrates the strength and effectiveness of Indigenous Knowledges for conservation. By pairing this knowledge with tools such as acoustic monitoring, this work is revealing what has long gone undetected – quietly reshaping the understanding of koala presence in places like Wadbilliga.
