Australia Program- Places We Protect Through Partnerships

Gondwana Link, Western Australia

Gondwana Link, Western Australia
The Nature Conservancy is working with six grassroots Australian organizations to connect existing parks and reserves. The goal is to create an unbroken belt, stretching more than 620 miles across Western Australia from the Indian Ocean to the Red Center. Once completed, the region's rare fauna and over 12,000 species of plants will be able to evolve and migrate freely across the rolling terrain.
To Learn More:
The Nature Conservancy's role in Gondwana Link
Gondwana Link

Taravale's key location nestled in other conservation sites.
Map courtesy of Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Taravale, Queensland
In the often harsh environment of the North Queensland outback, Taravale is a remarkable 50,000-acre concentration of 21 ecosystems, home to 70 mammal species-more than Kakadu National Park. The Nature Conservancy is contributing over $350,000 toward the acquisition of Taravale by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

Two hours northwest of Townsville, Taravale is a key parcel in a much larger 875,000-acre conservation landscape including the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area to the east and the Australia Wildlife Conservancy's existing Mount Zero sanctuary on the west. Together with Mt. Zero, Taravale protects one of the last three populations of the endangered northern bettong, a small nocturnal kangaroo weighing just two pounds and thought to number only about 750 in the wild. The property is also significant for its rock wallabies, platypus, bats, 20 frog species and more than 180 species of fish.
To Learn More:
Go to Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Ethabuka, Queensland
An unusual 528,000-acre assemblage of desert and wetlands forms Ethabuka Station in western Queensland near the town of Bedourie. It is one of the several properties the Australian Bush Heritage Fund is working to acquire in in order to establish a new 1.6 million-acre reserve in the region.

The Conservancy is contributing over half of the purchase price for the outback ranch. Ethabuka contains the Milligan River-Wheeler Creek Junction wetland complex, a nationally significant wetland recognized for its important ecological and hydrological role and importance as habitat for a number of migratory species. It is also considered to have one of the most diverse arrays of reptilian fauna in Australia and possibly the richest assemblage of lizards of any desert in the world. Historically conservative stocking and sympathetic management have kept Ethabuka Station in very good condition.
To Learn More:
Go To The Australian Bush Heritage Fund

Ned's Corner, Victoria

The Murray River is arguably Australia’s greatest waterway, forming most of the boundary between the states of Victoria and New South Wales. Recently, the Trust for Nature (Victoria) acquired the 74,000-acre Ned’s Corner Station, which includes nearly 22 miles along the Murray corridor.

The Nature Conservancy provided over $350,000 toward the purchase of Ned's Corner Station, which is part of a larger nature conservation zone of more than 1,270,000 acres and will become part of the proposed Barkindji Biosphere Reserve. Within this area is the confluence of the Murray and Darling Rivers, which together drain approximately one-seventh of the country. A high number of rare flora and fauna depend on habitat within the project area, including 36 threatened bird and 82 plant species. At Ned’s Corner Station earlier this year, the Conservancy conducted a five-day Efroymson Site Conservation Planning workshop for Australian partner organizations.
To Learn More:
Go To Trust For Nature