The Northern Bettong, a small gerbil like marsupial, is under threat from cats and feral animals and was recently identified as one of 20 Australian mammals most at risk of extinction within 20 years.

Constructing the fence will allow conservationists to reintroduce the creature to area are in which which has been locally extinct since 2004.

Private environmental group the Australian Wildlife Conservancy is behind the project, which will be installed on its Mount Zero-Taravale wildlife sanctuary next to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

While building the fence will take about three months, planning it has taken nearly three years as it needed to be strong enough stand up to cyclonic weather as well as feral predators.

Sanctuary manager Josh ‘Macca’ McAllister said the start of construction was a “momentous and critical” step towards protecting the Northern Bettong.

“We have waited three years and worked through a number of unexpected obstacles to get to this point,” he said.

“It’s a big operation for a relatively small fence with a lot of challenges but it will be worth all the effort.”

The field team on the project will clear the are of feral cats and other predators once the fence is constructed before reintroducing a local Norther Bettong population.

A recent survey on the Mount Carbine Tableland, west of Mossman, where one of the last two surviving populations of the mammals exist, detected Northern Bettongs just 26 times – a far cry from the 117 detections made during a similar survey two years ago.

“The results of the latest survey are sobering and a reminder of the urgent action needed to safeguard the Northern Bettong,” said AWC wildlife ecologist Dr Manuela Fischer.

The Mount Zero project will be the group’s ninth predator-free fenced area in Australia and the first in north Queensland.

Funding for the fence was sourced from a federal government Safe Haven grant as well as the philanthropic Oak Foundation and private international donations.