Close to 300km of old barbed wire fencing within the Diamantina National Park has been removed to protect native animals, including the rare night parrot.
Queensland's Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said rangers and conservation groups have been able to progressively de-fence the former cattle station because it posed a threat to low-flying birds, gliders and bats.
The fencing was installed by graziers to manage livestock before the park in the state's Channel Country was purchased by the government in 1992.
"It's been close to 30 years since the land was transformed into a 507,000 hectare national park, and in that time we've seen many resident and migratory bird species return to the local wetlands, which act as a haven in an otherwise arid region," Minister Scanlon said.
"Resident birds, such as the critically endangered night parrot, first spotted in 2016, are famous for flying low and fast - and this leaves them very little time to avoid fences."
Ms Scanlon said rangers enlisted the help of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy during the first phases of fence removal on the park, plus Bush Heritage Australia to remove fences partitioning the Pullen Pullen Nature Reserve and Diamantina National Park.
"The initial focus of the project was to remove fencing from areas of known night parrot habitat and likely flyways, with much of the early work being done by hand.
"That was hard, arduous work, so a tailor-made tractor was purchased with a wire winder on the front rolling up the fencing."
With grazing now ceased on the site, the fencing was no longer serving a purpose and significant amounts of it had fallen into disrepair.
"Removing the fencing from this location will play an important role in protecting the local populations of rare species of birds that have been found there since the national park was declared," Ms Scanlon said.
"These populations face a range of threats and birds can sometimes be injured on fencing, so initiatives like this one can only help with their long-term survival.
"I'm thankful for the efforts of the rangers and conservation groups, because it plays an important role in the Queensland government's commitment to protecting and conserving the rare and threatened species that call Diamantina National Park and Pullen Pullen Nature Reserve, home.
"It's a unique way we've been able to help the environment alongside other major projects as part of our record $1.4 billion investment to support conservation and create jobs during our COVID-19 economic recovery."
Money earmarked for the state's COVID-19 economic recovery plan was used to do the work.
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