Amid the world’s highest rate of species extinction, most Australian wildlife reintroductions remain confined to fenced sanctuaries due to invasive predators. My Fulbright project will learn from decades of successful U.S. species reintroductions to help move rewilding ‘beyond fences’, translating proven ecological and management strategies into scalable solutions for predator-occupied landscapes.
Patrick Finnerty is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sydney, working at the intersection of rewilding and applied conservation ecology. His research focuses on developing scalable solutions to restore native wildlife beyond fenced sanctuaries, in landscapes where invasive predators persist.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Patt will work with world leading researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to learn from decades of successful species reintroductions in North America, combining long-term data synthesis with active field programs. By translating proven reintroduction strategies to Australian contexts, his project aims to support scalable, ‘beyond-the-fence’ approaches to biodiversity recovery and ecosystem restoration.