decline by more than 80% within the next three generations. It is listed as "Endangered" under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and "Rare" under Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. These acts provide legislative protection against a range of potential threats, including commercial harvesting of flowers and land clearing. Further statutory protection is afforded by the fact that populations occur within the Eastern Stirling Range Montane Heath and Thicket threatened ecological community, which is listed as "Endangered" under the EPBC Act, and the Montane Mallee Thicket of the Stirling Range threatened ecology community, which has been assessed as "Endangered" by the Western Australian government; and by the presence of northern population within the Stirling Range National Park. A five-year interim management plan was put in place by the Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation in October 2005. Actions under that plan include regular monitoring of populations, management of the threats of fire and P. cinnamomi, and the cold storage of seed. This was followed by a national recovery plan. A translocation project was begun in 2008. This has met with some success as one of three original sites established appears to have a viable reproducing population. Disease The main threat to B. brownii is dieback caused by the introduced plant pathogen P. cinnamomi, a soil-borne water mould that causes root rot. Studies of the effect of P. cinnamomi on B. brownii have found it to be "highly susceptible" to dieback, with specimens "frequently and consistently killed in the wild". As of 2007, all major populations of B. brownii, and all but one minor population, are suffering from dieback. Moreover, all populations are in an area vulnerable to dieback, so even the uninfected population is considered under threat. According to Western Australian botanist Byron Lamont, "the demise of this species in the wild appears imminent." A number of protective measures have been implemented, including site access restrictions, the collection and cold-storage of seed, and the treatment of plants with phosphite. Phosphite boosts the resistance of both infected and uninfected plants, and also acts as a direct fungicide. Aerial spraying of phosphite boosts plant survival and slows the spread of infection, but must be carefully managed as studies have shown that foliar spraying of phosphite adversely affects root and shoot growth. Direct injection of phosphite into the stem of each tree appears to lack this disadvantage,