Saving Brigalow

Hope for the Brigalow biome can be found in the hearts of our supporters and the newly acquired Avocet Nature Refuge.

Standing in the shade of Brigalow trees, the air is dry and mostly still. A slight breeze gently animates their silvery-sage leaves. In the distance, dull thuds hint at wallabies nearby. Woodland birds chime from the canopy, high above blackened, fissured trunks. It’s easy, in this rare remnant patch of bush at our Goonderoo Reserve on Western Kangoulu Country 275 km west of Rockhampton in Queensland, to understand why the term ‘Brigalow’ refers to more than a single tree.

“The namesake species – Acacia harpophylla – dominates the Brigalow ecosystem,” explains ecologist Dr Stephen Kearney. “But within the canopy lies a rich diversity of plant life.” False Sandalwood (Eremophila mitchellii) and Currant Bush (Carissa ovata) form part of the understorey, while Brigalow Burr (Sclerolaena tetracuspis) and Blue Trumpets (Brunoniella australis) carpet the woodland floor.

Once stretching from Townsville in the north, Tambo in the west, Dubbo in the south, and Warwick in the east, Brigalow woodlands defined the Brigalow Belt bioregion. Their beauty has captured humanity’s imagination since the dawn of time, from Traditional Custodians, to bush poets, musicians, artists, farmers, and travellers who marvelled at the trees and how moonlight shimmers on their silver leaves.

But today, the Brigalow Belt is one of the most heavily modified landscapes in Australia. In Queensland alone, between 1962 and 1985, an estimated 4.5 million hectares of Brigalow vegetation were cleared. What remains – just 5% of its original extent, with only 2% protected – is vulnerable.

“For example, introduced grasses bring about a mix of challenges, including creating a high biomass – and therefore a high fuel load – and a really high risk of bushfires.” Brigalow doesn’t tolerate fire like some of our other native plants. Intense or frequent fires can remove the protective litter and canopy cover, increasing evaporation and erosion in their fertile clay soils, and kill their roots preventing regrowth. But there is a future for these woodlands – and it can be found in the hearts of dedicated Bush Heritage supporters.

Thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to purchase, protect, and begin managing Avocet Nature Refuge, another 1,207 hectares which is home to large stands of remnant Brigalow. We now manage Avocet and its neighbour Goonderoo as one connected landscape totalling 1,800 hectares, truly deepening our impact.

“Avocet Nature Refuge protects a patch of remnant Brigalow and is home to a number of other threatened ecological communities, including Poplar Box woodland and Eucalypt-dominated communities along drainage lines,” says Stephen. “To begin with, a lot of work will go into monitoring the flora and fauna on Avocet Nature Refuge. This will include mapping and monitoring all vegetation communities, and setting motion-sensing wildlife cameras to understand the species that are here and how we can best conserve them.”

Protecting, understanding, and restoring this biome will take decades – but this long-term work is possible because of our supporters. Species that live here such as the endangered Bridled Nailtail Wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata), Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), Squatter Pigeon (Geophaps scripta) and Painted Honeyeater (Grantiella picta), now have a more resilient future. •

We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of all our supporters who donated to help us protect and manage Avocet Nature Refuge.