The project aims to extend and maintain remnant habitat of the vulnerable landscape-managed Aprasia parapulchella, commonly  named Pink-tailed Worm (Legless) Lizard (or PTWL) and ensure the species is secure in the wild, while managing threats to the species and its habitat across  approximately 5000 ha in the Googong-Burra locality of NSW over a 6year period. 

The project includes building community support for habitat conservation, through the use of private landholder agreements to encourage and assist landholders in the area around Googong-Burra to manage their land for conservation of PTWL, and providing opportunities for volunteers to support them. This will be done in line with the Saving Our Species (SoS) program's targeted strategy for managing the species and the SoS framework. 

This landscape has undergone major change since European arrival, with land clearing, grazing, rural subdivisions and, more recently, large urban development in the township of Googong. The landscape was once a mix of natural temperate grassland and woodland on the flats and slopes and dry sclerophyll forest on the hills. Since the introduction of large-scale sheep and cattle farming in the 1800’s, this landscape has undergone significant change and degradation over time, resulting in: the loss of much of the native vegetation on flat and sloped areas; loss of the shrub layer; individual paddock tree dieback; decline of woodland birds; and decline of grassland specialist PTWL in the landscape. Remnants of natural temperate grassland (nationally critically endangered) and woodland (part of the White Box Yellow Box Blakely’s Red Gum Woodland endangered ecological community in NSW and nationally critically endangered) are isolated, disconnected from others and threatened by a range of threats.  

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The project works with landholders who have remnant PTWL habitat. We seek to influence and educate landholders and communities about conservation management, by conducting community engagement activities and volunteer landscape management in Googong as the focal point.  

The project expands on and compliments the conservation work occurring in the Googong Aprasia Conservation Area, by conducting conservation of PTWL habitat in the surrounding region using low-impact monitoring techniques, education around responsible grazing and pet ownership, and landscape rehabilitation (including weed control, pest animal control and grassland revegetation).  

The initial stage of the project involved promotion and communication activities to landholders about the potential for PTWL and other threatened species to occur on their properties and the opportunities to conserve them, by participating in the project, and which involves developing property plans and establishing management agreements with financial incentives. Several landowners of properties with previous records of PTWL are participating in the project to more accurately map PTWL habitat, monitor and improve its management through long-term stewardship.