In 2014, the Leadbeater’s Possum Advisory Group made 13 recommendations to support the recovery of the Critically Endangered Leadbeater’s Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) in the Central Highlands. One of these recommendations was to protect colonies by establishing timber harvesting exclusion zones, or buffers, around records from 1998 onwards and around all new verified records, with individual records assumed to indicate the presence of a colony at that location. To support the implementation of this recommendation, the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research commenced a 3-year program of targeted camera-trapping surveys to generate new records of Leadbeater’s Possum. In the first year (2014–2015), the surveys targeted the areas of State forest available for timber harvesting that were predicted (by modelling) to have a high probability of occupancy by Leadbeater’s Possums. The surveys also targeted areas close to existing records or close to any new records obtained during the surveys, with a view to forming ‘clusters’ of buffered colonies (ie multiple contiguous or near contiguous exclusion zones). Surveys in the second year of the targeted surveys (2015–2016) followed the same approach and also targeted areas of the species’ range that had not been surveyed in 2014–2015. Field assessments of critical habitat elements for the possum were undertaken at all sites surveyed since the commencement of the project in 2014. These data were analysed to improve understanding of the habitat requirements of Leadbeater’s Possum. This report summarises the results of the second year of the targeted surveys, and the results of the habitat assessments and analyses from both years of surveying. The results of the targeted surveys of the first year are summarised in Nelson et al.(2015).

A total of 176 sites were surveyed for the presence of Leadbeater’s Possum between September 2015 and April 2016, using three camera traps deployed for 3–4 weeks at each site, totalling 13,196 camera-trap nights. Overall, 289 sites were sampled during the 2 years of targeted surveys. Site selection generally targeted forest stands containing habitat features known to be important to Leadbeater’s Possum (particularly, well-connected midstorey vegetation). Sites were surveyed in forest stands ranging in age from 10 to 77 years and included timber harvesting regrowth, 1983 bushfire regrowth and 1939 bushfire regrowth. Habitat assessments were undertaken on 1 ha sampling plots at sites surveyed over the 2 years of the targeted survey program. Attributes assessed included age class, dominant eucalypt species, density and form of hollow-bearing trees, basal area of wattle (Acacia spp.) and extent of vegetation connectivity. Data were analysed to investigate whether habitat attributes differed between sites where Leadbeater’s Possums were detected and sites where they were not detected. The survey data were also analysed to assess the efficacy of the camera-trap survey method for detecting the species, and to evaluate the predictive performance of existing occupancy models.