We are proud to announce that our property is now a Nature Refuge, the highest conservation status for private land in Queensland (comparable to National Parks).
Future owners (hopefully in the far distant future!) will be bound by this conservation agreement.between the QLD government and ourselves.
With increasing average and extreme temperatures, the Herberton Range is, together with the tops of Mt Bellenden Ker and Mt Bartle Frere, a most important refugium for many heat-sensitive species in the Wet Tropics (e.g. Lemuroid and Green Ringtail Possums, Golden Bowerbirds).
Professor Steve Williams of James Cook University has undertaken intensive studies over many years in that regard. You can listen to his talk on “Climate Change and Biodiversity of the Wet Tropics” by visiting the “Tree-kangaroo and Mammals Group” website: https://www.tree-kangaroo.net/documents or youtube:
We harbour a faint hope that local councils will eventually awake to the fact that efforts like ours should be encouraged.
