Chereninup Creek Reserve (foreground) lies between areas of
agricultural land. After some revegetation work the Reserve will link
up with the Peniup Nature Reserve. The Stirling Ranges are in the
distance. PHOTO: BARBARA MADDEN

Lesser bottlebrush Callistemon phoeniceus PHOTO: BARBARA MADDEN

Gum blossom Eucalyptus sp.
PHOTO: PHIL CULLEN

Net-bush Calothamnus sp.
PHOTO: PHIL CULLEN

Gondwana Link is a visionary project initiated by five environmental organisations in Western Australia. These are the Fitzgerald Biosphere Group, Friends of the Fitzgerald, Greening Australia (WA), The Malleefowl Preservation Group Inc. and The Wilderness Society (WA). Bush Heritage is now a major stakeholder in this initiative.

Gondwana Link aims to secure and restore ecologically functional habitat links between the wet forests of the southwest of Western Australia and the woodlands of the Goldfields/Norseman region, via a series of interlinked reserves. Currently there is a chain of relatively large, privately owned patches of remnant bush and existing public reserves that will form the basis of Gondwana Link. Over much of its length this chain is unbroken. However, between the Fitzgerald River National Park and the wet forests, agricultural clearing has fragmented the landscape. Here habitats have been reduced to roadside strips and stream verges. In the worst cases, natural vegetation now exists as scattered remnants in paddocks or as regrowth on areas where land clearing initially extended over rocky or otherwise unproductive soils.

The purchase of Chereninup Creek is the first major acquisition for Gondwana Link. As well as reserving a large patch of bush, including near-pristine woodlands, mallee vegetation and heathlands, Bush Heritage will be regenerating around 80 hectares of paddocks. Once the vegetation is reestablished, this section will provide the initial link from Chereninup Creek to the Peniup Nature Reserve - a second foundation stone in Gondwana Link. Another positive step is that privately-owned bushland adjacent to the Chereninup Creek Reserve has recently been fenced to protect its conservation values. Land purchase for conservation, private conservation management and bush regeneration will be the core activities in the Gondwana Link project. The next Bush Heritage land purchase will help build on this progress.

The purchase of Chereninup Creek Reserve in southwest Western Australia is nearly complete. The survey, to enable the cleared land to be subdivided from the title, has been finalised. The contracts have now been exchanged and final settlement is likely before the end of the year.