Cravens Peak a Model for Nature Conservation

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Bush Heritage Australia’s Cravens Peak Reserve, in Queensland, is singled out as one of the nation’s top ten nature reserves, in a report released today.

The WWF report Building Nature’s Safety Net 2008: Progress on Directions for the National Reserve System is being launched at Parliament House at 11am on 12th March by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, the Hon Peter Garrett AM MP.

The report said that if Queensland is to get 10 percent of its ecological regions protected by 2015 it will have to fill a gap of 10 million hectares, the largest gap of all the states and territories.

Bush Heritage CEO, Doug Humann, said, “Bush Heritage has a key role to play in helping Queensland to achieve that 10 million hectare goal. Three quarters of the land currently owned and managed by Bush Heritage is in Queensland and we intend to protect significantly more high conservation value land, water and wildlife in that state.

I support WWF’s call for $250 million to be spent on the National Reserve System over the next 5 years to be matched by the states and non government partners on a two to one basis.

It is time we had more collaboration between the Federal and State Governments and the not for profit sector, to get more bang for our buck from the National Reserve System program (NRSP)”, Mr Humann said.

Bush Heritage Australia purchased the 233 000 ha Cravens Peak with support of the NRS in 2005.  The reserve is the size of metropolitan Sydney and supports the greatest diversity of reptile fauna of any desert in the world.

Its vibrant desert dunes, immense plains, worn and ancient mountain ranges, wetlands and channel country provide homes for an abundance of small mammals, reptiles and migratory birds. It contains 21 major plant communities and more than 220 species of animals.

The reserve also provides habitat for 16 threatened species listed under Commonwealth and State legislation, including the endangered Mulgara, a small but feisty carnivorous marsupial.

Bush Heritage Australia is a national non-profit organisation that strives to protect Australia’s unique and abundant diversity of life. It achieves this by using the best available science to acquire and manage land, water and wildlife of outstanding conservation value.

Bush Heritage currently owns 29 reserves across Australia, covering over 720 000 hectares.  More than 17 000 people have already provided support, as donors, volunteers or partners in our work.  Bush Heritage’s vision is to protect one per cent of Australia’s high conservation value land by 2025.

Contact: Alexandra de Blas, Bush Heritage Australia, 0427 545 834, www.bushheritage.org.au
Information about WWF and Building Nature’s Safety Net 2008 is available at www.wwf.org.au