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	Heathland at Monjebup. Photo: Jiri Lochman/ Lochman Transparencies.
	Monjebup is critical for establishing connectivity between the Fitzgerald Ranges and the Stirling Ranges (shown). Photo: Jiri Lochman/ Lochman Transparencies.

When Bush Heritage secured Monjebup North Reserve after eight long years of negotiation, it bought not just another important conservation reserve, but an important piece of a complicated jigsaw puzzle.

Combined with the original Monjebup property, which we purchased in April 2007, the reserve now protects a significant patch of bushland that is critical to restoring the heavily cleared landscape between WA's Stirling Range and Fitzgerald River national parks.

Our conservation work here is an important counterbalance to the ecological damage caused by decades of land clearing in the area.

It will also help secure the success of the Gondwana Link project, a plan to restore a 1000 km swathe of bushland from Western Australia's southwest to the edge of the Nullarbor Plain.

Excitingly, we are planning the ecological restoration of just over 400 hectares of cleared land in the north of the reserve. This will re-establish connectivity between remnant bush to the south and that in the Corackerup Nature Reserve immediately to the north.

The restored bush will add to the importance of Monjebup and Monjebup North reserves as havens for the vulnerable malleefowl and western whipbird, Carnaby's cockatoo and the Tammar wallaby.

All this has been protected thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

What this reserve protects Corackerup moort. Photo: Jiri Lochman/ Lochman Transparencies. Bushy yate. Photo: Jiri Lochman/ Lochman Transparencies. Monjebup protects the recently discovered Corackerup moort, a small mallee eucalypt that in early winter shows off stunning pendulous red flowers. The reserve also protects these significant species and communities: Animals Carpet python Crested bellbird Tammar wallaby Black-gloved wallaby Malleefowl Western pygmy possum Plants Feather -flowers Nodding banksia Corackerup moort Kangaroo paw Sandplain orchid Vegetation communities Mallet and moort woodland Mallee heath Flat-topped yate Proteaceous rich heath

What we’re doing on the property

	The future is looking brighter for tammar wallabies at Monjebup. Photo: Jiri Lochman/Lochman Transparencies.

In 2009, one of 20 infra-red cameras dotted across the area caught a species once thought nearly extinct in the region, a tammar wallaby.

This was a heartening find, and we are working to significantly enhance the prospects for the recovery of tammar wallabies in the area.

To this end, with our supporters' help we're controlling feral animals and restoring just over 400 hectares of cleared land in the north of the reserve.

Monjebup is part of the Gondwana Link Wallaby Project, which plans to increase tammar and black-gloved wallaby populations by 30 per cent by 2017.

Something lost, something found   Noongar man Eugene Eades led a group of Noongar youth to perform a cultural heritage assessment on Monjebup. Photo: Anne Sparrow.       When a bunch of city Noongar kids were taken out of Perth to help map Monjebup's Aboriginal heritage, they were returning to a land their ancestors have walked for thousands of years. Working with Noongar man Eugene Eades and local tribal elders, these kids spent five days searching Monjebup for Aboriginal artefacts and other clues about how this land was used by their ancestors. Archaeologist David Guilfoyle, who also took part in the cultural mapping project, says getting the teenagers involved helped give them a sense of identity by teaching them how to care for their country. During their time at Monjebup they found artefacts up to 3000 years old. ‘They were the first people to hold some of these artefacts in thousands of years,' says David. When talking about the work that needs to be carried out at Monjebup, David doesn't just focus on restoring the landscape. ‘Caring for country, you don't just plant trees and walk away,' he says. ‘You have to monitor and be in touch with ancestral connections to really care for it.'

Cultural values

Early survey work at Monjebup indicates that Aboriginal people used the area for a wide variety of activities, including gathering raw materials, food processing, hunting, gathering, camping, stone tool manufacture and seasonal movement.

Google Maps view

Quick facts

Established	2007
Area	2063 ha
Location	430 km SE of Perth

Fitz-Stirling scorecard

The Fitz-Stirling scorecard is a summary of the conditions of four reserve in the Fitzgerald and Stirling Ranges region, including Monjebup Reserve. It is based on ecological reviews conducted every 5 years.

News

Tammar wallaby caught on camera

Postcards from the Field: Which wallaby?

Statewide interview with Doug Humann

Land purchase to link SW forests with Goldfields

Visiting

Where we can, we offer opportunities for you to visit the places you've helped protect. We offer visits when conservation and safety considerations permit.

Unfortunately, it's not possible to visit Monjebup or Monjebup North reserves. Information on self-guided trips at other reserves is available here.

Thanks

Thank you to all our supporters, whose donations fund the day-to-day costs of managing Monjebup and Monjebup North Reserves.

Generous support for the acquisition of this property was provided by the Australian Government under the Natural Heritage Trust's National Reserve System Programme (Monjebup Reserve) and The Nature Conservancy's David Thomas Challenge (Monjebup North Reserve).