A previous study of the occurrence of carabid beetles in 2 – 25 year old regrowth and mature stands of wet eucalypt forest in the southern forests of Tasmania identified four species (Chylnus ater, Notonomus politulus, Pterocyrtus sp.n., and Stichonotus piceus) that were either restricted to, or had a marked preference for, mature forest. Two of these species (C. ater and N. politulus) were frequently captured in mature forest, whereas the other two were rare or uncommon. In this study we resampled carabid populations in the regrowth and mature stands, but in addition sampled five mature forest sites that were present as retained strips along rivers or smaller streams. These strips ranged from 59 to 121 m in width. The number of species and individuals was greatest in the one year old regrowth, with survivors of the logging and new invading species both present. Three main patterns of occurrence were found: species present only in young regrowth; species present in both older regrowth and mature forest; and species with a marked preference for mature forest. Classification of the sites on the basis of their carabid faunas produced groups that consisted of a mixture of mature stands, strips and regrowth sites. Very young regrowth grouped separately from other stands. All four of the mature forest species were found in the retained strips, suggesting that strips may be an effective way of maintaining carabid species in the matrix between reserves and ensuring dispersal between them. However, monitoring of populations in strips is required to ensure such systems maintain viable populations in the long term, particularly of the rare species.