The Bounceback Project
The original goals and objectives of BouncebackExpanding into a more broadly integrated project in 1997/98 with support from the Natural Heritage Trust, Bounceback has in fact existed in some form since early 1992 when targeted fox control began around Rock-wallaby colonies in the Olary and Flinders Ranges. Additionally, feral goat control commenced in a coordinated manner in the Northern Flinders Ranges and one property in the Olary Ranges in response to substantial environmental damage from goat grazing and declining Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby populations.
The broad aims set the high level direction for Bounceback, with a series of objectives established based on more site-specific influences. These objectives operate at different scales depending on their nature. Each activity is planned and implemented at a scale broad enough to account for the ecology and movement patterns of particular threats such as foxes and goats. Most are also based on protecting specific biodiversity assets, such as recovery of the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby or the protection of threatened plant species such as the Spidery Wattle Acacia araneosa stands in the Northern Flinders Ranges or the condition of specific vegetation communities and habitat types. Some objectives refer to operational targets for threat abatement, where the adverse impacts of feral animals or pest plants are to be removed to provoke a broad-scale response in the system. Key issues
Project componentsThe Bounceback project is divided into six basic components, under which various objectives and associated targets are established, and subsequent on-ground programs are delivered. The terminology for these components tends to change over time, as new initiatives emerge, but the basics of what they are delivering stays fairly constant. These components, in no particular order, include: Restoration, repair and recoveryThis is the basis of the project, incorporating specific objectives such as chenopod recovery on the Pantapinna plain or more general objectives including the protection of native vegetation communities in the northern Flinders Ranges or Gawler Ranges. They are based on species, land systems, habitat types, communities and geographic areas and include functionality and viability components. Threat abatementThese are the activities that represent nearly everything Bounceback does on-ground to achieve an environmental response, as regardless of how scientific, specific or general the protection or recovery objective may be, or where it lies, it usually requires some form of intervention to achieve it. For much of the Bounceback operational area, this relates to managing the combination of threats from total grazing pressure, predation and pest plants, and the subsequent complex impacts that change how a natural system functions. In general terms, managing the impacts of the threats is the basis of triggering and maintaining a response. Monitoring and evaluationMonitoring and evaluation is a fundamental component of Bounceback, and is divided into two main streams:
Process monitoring is about tracking operational progress, relating more to the status of influences such as fox abundance and impacts, rabbit infestation or kangaroo density. All are important in assessing what's working, and linking cause to effect. Meanwhile, response monitoring provides the necessary information about the status of what it is land managers are trying to protect/recover/manage, and defines the bottom line of whether the project is working.
Of course, many of these questions are coupled with "Did it rain this year?" Threatened and Significant Species
Active and accelerated recoveryAs the name implies, this component refers to actively promoting recovery, as opposed to managing all the threats and waiting for the response. It can be as simple as introducing a viable seed source into an area where no amount of management of grazing pressure will produce the desired response, as no seedbank remains. Or it can be more ambitious, such as the reintroduction of a medium sized mammal back into a system that has historically seen these mammals disappear as the early indicators of adverse change. Both examples have been explored to date under the Bounceback project. Communication and extensionThis final component is highly varied in how it is delivered, but the focus is getting the information out of the project to increase participation, support or awareness. As Bounceback operates both on and off-reserve across varying land tenures, developing partnerships with other landholders is fundamental, so expertise is shared both ways along with resourcing. Communication is via a combination of direct participation, one on one dealings, and the traditional media, reporting and publication avenues. Project deliveryBounceback is managed and delivered by the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage in partnership with numerous individuals, agencies, organisations, volunteer groups and research institutions, as detailed throughout this document. Significant resourcing and support has been provided by the Natural Heritage Trust, most recently via the SA Arid Lands NRM Board who have incorporated Bounceback into their NRM Plan and Investment Strategy as a key initiative for conservation delivery in the region. Partners
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The initial focus for the project centred on Plumbago and Bimbowrie Stations and the Flinders Ranges National Park, where a combination of excessive grazing pressure over a long period, coupled with high numbers of introduced predators had lead to degradation. Active intervention was required if an improvement in biodiversity values was to be achieved, and as the range of land management activities grew, the Bounceback program evolved comprising the following broad aims:
Key issues that initiated the development of the Bounceback program include:
Across the project area, particular focus is directed towards threatened or significant species in terms of ensuring adequate information is gathered to allow for their protection or recovery as a priority. The highest profile example is the significant effort associated with the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby across its South Australian range, and a balance between the demands of priority species protection with the broader project aims and requirements must be achieved. 
Many partnerships have been developed to help implement, guide or resource the Bounceback project, including:
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