328 Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
program between Ranger groups (Fig. 25.2). For species that hold little cultural
significance, motivations to monitor can stem from the value derived from Ranger
work itself, the developing of new skills, and pride in management actions that care
for country and bolster conservation, as seen with the Slater’s skink.
When conf licts arise between Indigenous and western conservation priorities, it
may be challenging to find common ground, such as where threatened species
remain a valued food resource that Indigenous people continue to harvest in the
contemporary era. Although this is no longer an issue for the bilby or black-footed
rock wallaby, there remains a strong attachment to the harvest of great desert skinks
and malleefowl eggs, despite both species being nationally listed as vulnerable to
extinction. Under Native Title legislation, Indigenous people retain legal rights to
hunt their traditional foods regardless of their conservation status, and this has
become a contentious issue with the harvest of marine turtles and dugongs (Ross et
al. 2011). Although it is imperative that traditional rights are respected, the risk that
a comprehensive monitoring program could enhance a community’s collective
knowledge of threatened species locations and thereby result in increased harvesting
pressure on that species, can sometimes dissuade scientists or Ranger coordinators
from initiating monitoring programs. However, engaging the hunters in the
Fig. 25.2. Walimpirringa Tjapaltjari holding a great desert skink and the smaller night skink Egernia striata.
The great desert skink is an example of a threatened species that is still a favoured food source, and has very
strong Jukurrpa. Photo: R. Paltridge.