Cow Bay is a known hotspot for endangered southern cassowaries, but it's still exciting whenever we see one!
So I was thrilled to capture a curious cassowary on a trail camera at Lot 93 Cape Tribulation Road following a recent tree planting (watch the video by clicking the picture below).
Thanks to our incredible donors, Lot 93 was purchased for conservation under our Save the Daintree program in March 2022, but I'm now working hard to save Lot 93's neighbour, Lot 92 Cape Tribulation Road in Cow Bay.
A haven for threatened species
Set over 8.9 hectares of Daintree Lowland Rainforest, the ecosystem and vegetation on Lot 92 Cape Tribulation Road is mapped as essential habitat for the endangered southern cassowary.
During a vegetation survey on the property in August, botanist and ecologist Kristopher Kupsch recorded evidence of their presence by way of scats and seedlings. Even aged cohorts, germinating from previous scats, was noted.
The sighting on neighbouring Lot 93 just confirms how valuable the area is to this iconic endangered species.
The China camp laurel (Beilschmiedia castrisinensis), a threatened species occurring on Lot 92 Cape Tribulation Road.
Lot 92 Cape Tribulation Road is also home to at least seven threatened plant species, and more than 180 native plants.
Despite this, it was zoned for rural residential development by the Douglas Shire Council. The conservation value of this rainforest block is too high for it to be developed.
Lot 92 shares a boundary with the Daintree National Park.
An important link to the Daintree National Park
Lot 92 adjoins the Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area on two boundaries, offering significant habitat linkage across the landscape between the coast and the mountains.
Development for housing in the Daintree results in fragmentation and degradation of the rainforest, while settlement brings domestic dogs that attack wildlife and exotic plants that become environmental weeds.
Fragmentation occurs when forests are reduced in the area through deforestation, road building or other developments, dividing the forest into smaller blocks and creating what is known as the edge effect. The impacts of the edge effect have been thoroughly documented over several decades and show the significant detrimental effects on biodiversity.
With the purchase of this property, we will prevent further fragmentation of the Daintree Rainforest.
Lot 92 provides a haven for the butterflies of the Daintree.
Why is buyback needed?
The Daintree Lowland Rainforest is the oldest rainforest on Earth, having existed continuously for over 120 million years. It holds exceptionally high biodiversity and conservation value and is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest remaining in Australia.
In 1982, the Queensland Government approved a rural residential subdivision of 1,136 properties in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. As a result, two-thirds of the lowland rainforest (between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation) was excluded from protection in the Daintree National Park and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area that was declared in 1988.
Through land buyback, we’re turning the tide towards conservation in the Daintree Rainforest and protecting the biodiversity of this incredible ecosystem.
Daintree land buyback works, and we can purchase and protect Lot 92 Cape Tribulation Road for a cost of just $5 per sqm.
The cost to purchase and protect this block is $445,000.
With an incredible $193,245 raised already, there's just $251,755 to go. We're almost halfway there!
It's my hope that with your help, this property can be protected forever by Christmas.
Please, act now and donate to help us purchase Lot 92 Cape Tribulation Road for conservation.
A donation of $25 will purchase and protect 5sqm of the Daintree Rainforest, $50 will purchase and protect 10sqm, and$250 will purchase 50sqm of precious rainforest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.
