Project Eden 1616 - Denham

Project Eden is a conservation project with the aim of destroying ferral animals in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area and allowing the re-introduction of native plants animals. As you drive towards Denham you will notice a long double fence that stretches across the narrowest part of the Peron Peninsular. One of the fences is electrified and there is a gap before the other fence with a grid across the roadway to prevent access by large animals - you should stop and walk through the opening to see how they deter cats from entering (listen carefully).

Apparently they use poisoned baits within the fenced area, called 1080 to kill the feral animals. This is a synthetically produced compound called sodium fluoroacetate - several of the native species of plants have this occurring naturally and therefore the native animals have a high tolerance to this poison.  

Project Eden began back in 1991 with three key goals:

• bait and the removal of feral animals
• reintroduce native wildlife 
• research, tourism and education to improve knowledge and inform the public about the project.

By creating a safe haven for threatened native animals the project aims to return the local ecosystem to its former state. Foxes and cats, habitat destruction and competition for food by stock and rabbits had reduced numbers of many native animals and Project Eden is working towards their recovery on the Peron Peninsular.
 
The re-introductions to date have seen mixed success, some species becoming established and others failing. Dirk Hartog Island has been purchased for conservation purposes and is viewed as a potential site for total removal of feral cats, something that has restricted the success of the re-introductions on Peron Peninsula. 

We were very interested to read about Project Eden and hope it is successful in the beautiful World Heritage Area of Shark Bay.