The vegetation community (known as Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodlands and associated Native Grassland) was listed as ‘critically endangered’ – that is, facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future – under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act in January this year. Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced the addition of the ecological community, as well as 18 new species and four more ecological communities, to the national threatened species list. "By placing these species and ecological communities on the national threatened list, I am giving them increased protection, ensuring that certain projects or activities which could significantly impact on them will now need to be thoroughly assessed and approved before they can go ahead. "It also raises awareness of their threatened status and encourages communities and natural resource management groups to develop conservation activities and projects to protect them for our future generations." Conservation advice is being prepared for each of the new listings to help landholders, natural resource management and conservation groups to identify where the species or ecological communities are found, what action should be taken to protect them and what people can do to help. A recovery plan will also be drawn up. "Although it is bad news that our woodlands face imminent extinction, the good news is that this listing raises their profile and makes us all realize just how precious they are," said Trish Fox, facilitator for the Gippsland Plains Conservation Management Network. "The CMN and all its partners across public and private land will continue to protect, manage and restore these woodlands and we hope one day they will no longer be classified as critically endangered." The woodland/grassland community was listed as critically endangered because they met several of the criteria laid down by the Australian Government, that is, because:

its decline in geographic distribution is very severe; •

its geographic distribution is very restricted and the • nature of its distribution makes it likely that the action of a threatening process could cause it to be lost in the near future; and  the reduction in integrity across most of its range is very • severe as indicated by degradation of the community.

The main threats to the community were identified as: vegetation clearing, consequent fragmentation of native vegetation remnants, invasion by weeds and feral animals, inappropriate management regimes (grazing, mowing or fire), tree dieback and timber harvesting and firewood collection.