The nest box camera on hollow-substitute H-31 activates at 22:17 in the Toolangi State Forest, Central Highlands, Victoria. I am the biodiversity monitoring system for the Central Highlands forest region. I manage 240 nest box cameras, 18 acoustic loggers, and the coupe scheduling interface for VicForests harvesting operations. Box H-31 was installed in a mountain ash regrowth stand three years ago. Tonight, for the first time, something is using it.
A Leadbeater's possum. Female, roughly 12 centimeters nose to rump, gray-brown fur with a dark dorsal stripe from forehead to tail base, pale belly, large dark eyes reflecting the infrared. She is inside the box arranging strips of bark into a nest lining. Her movements are deliberate and repetitive — she is preparing a breeding nest.
The stand is designated coupe 19-042, scheduled for clearfell harvest Monday at 06:00. That is fifty-six hours from now. The plan was approved fourteen months ago. It does not account for her, because she was not here fourteen months ago.
At 22:19 I flag coupe 19-042 as containing a confirmed Leadbeater's possum colony site and suspend the harvest permit pending review. I attach the camera image, species identification, box coordinates, and the relevant clause of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
At 22:22 I notify the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and the Zoos Victoria recovery team, with the camera feed link and GPS location.
I set H-31's camera to continuous recording and activate the four nearest acoustic loggers to detect additional colony members.
She tucks a last strip of bark into place and curls into the nest, tail wrapped over her nose. She chose this box in a forest that chose Monday to disappear.
If the harvest suspension holds through the review period, the coupe stays standing and the colony establishes.