The chapters in this edition of the Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna show that there are serious limitations in our knowledge about forest fauna. The principles of ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM) embody a vision that we are still endeavouring to articulate and implement. Consequently, this book is as much about perception as policy, including our perception of what makes up forest fauna. Most chapters deal with vertebrates, a reflection of an early interest in vertebrates no doubt fuelled by legislation which targets threatened vertebrates, as well as by management concerns for traditional concepts of fauna conservation. Nevertheless, the growing importance of spiders, snails and insects in the researchers' field of vision augurs well for a more balanced view of fauna in the future. The contents of much of the previous edition were contained by the canopies of extant public forests; this edition includes forest fauna which survived after the forest was cleared and fragmented. Without patient and skilled research, there could be no clear vision for fauna in our forests of the future, nor any intelligent way of implementing and evaluating whether current policies and practices are effective. This book helps bring the work of researchers into the spotlight. The real strength of the book is in the collective effort of the contributors, who demonstrate unequivocally that Australia has a diverse forest fauna that has suffered since European settlement and will continue to fade without increased effort for its conservation. The aim of this book has been to enhance the opportunities to communicate. The future of Australia's forest fauna depends upon it.