The successful quest to find a species last seen more than 50 years ago has added to the urgency of protecting the vanishing grassland habitat of a lizard that had been feared extinct.

The Victorian grassland earless dragon, not seen since 1969, has been found in grasslands west of Melbourne.

The dragon has only ever been found in the critically endangered ecosystem known as the basalt plains grasslands.

Research tells us we need at least six independent, self-sustaining populations for the dragon to stand a chance of persisting for at least the next 50 years.

It’s time to use those funds to create the reserves the dragon and other endangered grassland species need to survive.

As a nation, we can afford to save the dragon and most of its endangered friends, as the law requires.

SMMRY