This species has been assigned to the
Landscape species management stream under the
Saving our Species (SoS) program.
Justification for allocation to this management stream
This species is distributed across relatively large areas and is subject to threatening processes that generally act at the landscape scale (e.g. habitat loss or degradation) rather than at distinct, defineable locations.
Conservation status
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Status in NSW:
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Vulnerable
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Commonwealth status:
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Not listed
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| NSW Final determination: |
Listed prior to 1996 |
Management objectives
The SoS strategy aims to secure the species in the wild for 100 years and maintain its conservation status under the BC Act.
The SoS strategy aims to secure the species in the wild in NSW for 100 years and maintain its conservation status under the BC Act. The SoS strategy also aims to engage local communities in the species' conservation and to encourage the NSW community to identify with it as a flagship for threatened species conservation.
This SoS strategy aims to secure this population in the long-term and maintain its conservation status under the
BC Act.
This SoS strategy aims to ensure the security of this species in the long-term and maintain its conservation status under the
BC Act.
This SoS strategy aims to ensure that the species is secure in the wild in NSW and that its NSW geographic range is extended or maintained and maintain its conservation status under the
BC Act.
This SoS strategy aims to secure critical populations of this species in NSW in the long-term and maintain its conservation status under the
BC Act.
The SoS strategy aims to secure this population in the long-term.
The SoS strategy aims to maximise the viability of the ecological community and maintain its conservation status under the
BC Act.
The SoS strategy aims to minimise current and future impacts of the key threatening process on priority biodiversity values, including threatened species and ecological integrity. This objective aligns with the
BC Act legislation.
Species sightings and management sites across NSW
The map below displays the species’ distribution in NSW, based upon the species’ geographic range, habitat distribution or area of occupancy (to as high a resolution as available data allow, using a range of data sources).
Information about the species’ habitat and ecology is available here.
The map may also display one or more management sites where management of important populations is underway. More information is available in the tables below.
Your search returned one or more sites that are restricted due to the sensitive nature of either the species or the site. Individuals involved in management on these sites can access detailed information via the database.
IBRA
The species occurs in the following IBRA (Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia) regions in NSW:
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| New England Tablelands |
| NSW North Coast |
| South East Corner |
| South Eastern Highlands |
| South Eastern Queensland |
| Sydney Basin |
Proportion of the species' distribution on reserve
28% of the species' distribution occurs on reserve (within NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service estate).
Critical actions for this species
The key threats to the viability of landscape-managed species are loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitat, and widespread pervasive factors such as impacts of climate change and disease. Many of these threats are addressed by NSW planning, native vegetation, and biodiversity legislation, policy and programs including the offsets program (BioBanking, NSW Biodiversity Offsets Policy for Major Projects), Biodiversity Certification, management of environmental water and reservation under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
Threats to this species are outlined here.
The actions listed in the action toolbox are supplementary to NSW legislation, policy and programs and can be used by stakeholders, where applicable to guide management at a site, regional or state scale.
Action toolbox
| Develop management arrangements with landowners/managers at known nest/roost sites that aim to protect nest/roost trees and recruitment nest/roost trees (i.e. trees with large hollows), as well as cave nest/roost sites. Management agreements should include a miminum protection zone of 100m around nest/roost trees and protection of breeding habitat from destruction by fire, firewood and timber harvesting, heavy grazing by domestic stock and/or feral mammals, and fencing that may cause a collision risk. Nest/roost site 'management sites' should aim to capture high quality habitats for nesting/roosting and foraging such as, old growth trees and riparian areas. Consider fire management to regenerate ground cover/understorey vegetation to maintain prey species populations. | Site |
| Identify areas where secondary poisoning from rodenticides is most prevalent. Use information on secondary poisoning events to target landowner/manager education and awareness raising actions. Education and awareness to include recommendations for the use of 'owl friendly' rodenticides. | Site, Area |
| Identify locations on roads where masked owls have been hit by vehicles. Use a targeted public campaign involving broadcast media to increase reporting of masked owls, and other owls, by the general public. Identify characteristics of roads at high prevalence masked owl roadkill sites and investigate physical engineering or vegetation modification measures to mitigate or prevent masked owl road deaths. Identify other strategies for mitigation of roadkill including driver awareness programs and road signage. | Site, Area |
| Trial camera traps at nest trees as a long term monitoring tool for assessing nest-site use and reproductive success. Apply this information to the development of nest/roost site suitability attributes that inform habitat management prescriptions. | Site, Area |
| Survey and map known nest/roost sites across the area to inform habitat mapping, which should include vegetation, floristic, structural and condition attributes. | Site, Area |
| Undertake strategic survey for the presence of masked owls within the species' core range to develop an accurate habitat model for NSW. | State |
| Develop educational media and activites in collaboration with relevant organisations such as environmental groups, local councils, Local Land Services and OEH to increase awareness and understanding by landowners/managers of important habitat of masked owls and current conservation management actions to conserve local masked owls. | Area |
| Provide mapping of known masked owl nest/roost sites to relevant land managers and fire management authorities for consideration in fire management and wildfire supression planning. Known active nest-sites should be pro-actively protected from wildfire and excluded from any prescribed burn areas. | State |
| Supplement hollows to support prey species in localities where natural hollows have been depleted. While providing refuge hollows specifically for masked owls is desirable, it is difficult to create suitably large, thermally stable hollows for the species. Four options are available for potentially increasing the abundance of hollow-dependent vertebrates: nest boxes, recovered hollows (logs), chainsaw hollows and augered hollows. The latter shows great promise, and needs long term field assessment. Supplementation remains an experimental management action to benefit owls, and so should not be considered as adequately offsetting the destruction of natural hollows. | Site, Area |
How will this species be managed?
Key management sites for this threatened species are being identified by the NSW Government
and other program partners, where feasible, cost-effective and beneficial management actions can be undertaken.
Currently, 4 management sites have been identified for this threatened species.
Management sites