Eradicating pests and controlling invasive weeds on a large offshore island requires a commitment of significant resources over a long time to ensure 100% success and support ongoing management and monitoring. Otherwise the pests and weeds would simply regenerate. The length of the project, the number of staff with specialist expertise and types of equipment required e.g. helicopters and boats meant that the project was expensive. Therefore, sustained funding over the life of the project was needed to complete the project in stages. This was critical to the success of the project. After a three-year pilot project started in 2001 to identify the best method for restoration, full implementation began in 2004 with the support of NPWS, Charles Sturt University and external funding from the NSW Environmental Trust of $200,000 over four years.
Funding was obtained from the NSW Environmental Trust because the project was a high priority for NPWS, had a strong scientific basis for the work and built on existing partnerships with scientific experts. NPWS had a proven track record in effective and efficient use of funds from NSW Environmental Trust. Local managers built a strong relationship with the NSW Environmental Trust representatives leading to long-term funding for the project.
The Environmental Trust, which funds many NPWS projects, provided significant funding to this project over multiple grant cycles. External funding not only boosted the resources available, but also ensured milestones were set and tracked and NPWS reported on progress regularly. However, as donor priorities can change quickly, it is preferable to secure external funding for the entire duration of the project. This reduces the risk of not having enough funds to complete the project.