Bush Heritage is a privately organized conservation group in South Australia with a 63 thousand hectare reserve for their efforts at helping beat threats of species extinctions. They have plants and animals in their reserve, many of them critically endangered.

Australia is known for having the most number of endangered species.  But with the efforts of local groups like the Bush Heritage, it is likely that they can make a big dent on wildlife preservation. One of the men behind the Bush Heritage is and ecologist, Jim Radford. For him, his time at the reserve is priceless especially when he sees animals previously at critical levels start to spread their wings and live a normal life.

It is a holistic approach that the group is taking, which means trying to set up an ecosystem where animals and plants can survive without the help of human intervention. For this they have been setting up small traps under ground to help the endangered flying mouse survive.  These are bush mice which make up the base of their ecosystem. They feed on seeds and when they fly, they fertilize the land. Seeing them flying freely is an excellent sign that there 20 year efforts are finally paying off.

The land that they own was previously pinpointed for destruction to make way for wood chipping. If it were not for Bush Heritage, this particular tract of land would have been desolate by now, void of any traces of animal or plant because of economics. Instead it is a flourishing reserve with 4700 plants, more than 800 animals which includes 73 endangered animals and 92 critically endangered plants.

There are other efforts being done all around Australia from small to medium-sized groups. Together, they vow to protect endangered animals and plants, especially those that are native to Australia. Some of these animals are the Greater Bilby, numbat, possum, and dugong. About 17 mammals in Australia have become extinct.
The native wild animals are vulnerable because of several reasons like new predators brought in such as cats, foxes, and dogs; loss of habitat; and destruction of habitat.

Reference: Illustrated Encyclopedia of endangered animals.