PROJECT SNAPSHOT
Action: Purchase, Protect and Restore.
Location: Lot 265 Silver Ash Road (Lot 265 RP738997), Cow Bay, in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest, Far North Queensland, Australia.
Property size: 1.063 hectares (10,630 square metres).
Fundraising target: $124,100.
Vegetation type: Includes Regional Ecosystem 7.3.10a, mesophyll vine forest on moderately to poorly drained alluvial plains, listed as Endangered.
Threatened species: Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii), Bennett's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus), Spectacled Flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus), Noah's Walnut (Endiandra microneura), Daintree Gardenia (Randia audasii).
Threatened ecological community: Lowland tropical rainforest of the Wet Tropics ecological community is listed as Endangered under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Please donate now to help purchase, protect and restore Lot 265 Silver Ash Road.
Background
Two-thirds of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation was excluded from the Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area declared in 1988. In 1982, a pro-development Queensland State Government rezoned leasehold and freehold land in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest, enabling a developer to subdivide it into 1,136 blocks. This resulted in the construction of more than 50 km of roads and the clearing and development of high-conservation-value rainforest for housing. The remaining undeveloped freehold land between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation has World Heritage values that deserve protection.
We are raising $124,100 to purchase, protect and restore Lot 265 Silver Ash Road and keep the momentum of our highly successful Daintree land buyback program going. This will add to the 36 properties donors have purchased since July 2019 and provide this property with the highest level of protection.
With your help, we can add Lot 265 Silver Ash Road to the growing network of rainforest properties protected for future generations.
Lot 265 Silver Ash Road at Cow Bay.
About Lot 265 Silver Ash Road
The Daintree Rainforest is a biodiversity hotspot. Lot 265 Silver Ash Road provides habitat for Threatened* species including the Southern Cassowary, Bennett's Tree-kangaroo, Spectacled Flying-fox, Noah's Walnut and Daintree Gardenia. A permanent creek crosses the property, fed by smaller streams emerging from the Alexandra Range to the south. This forms part of the Cooper Creek catchment that flows out to the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef.
The vegetation survey by our botanist recorded 216 native plant species that included:
- 8 species of native palms
- 15 species of native laurels
- 15 species in the Rubiaceae (coffee) family
- 7 species of native figs
- 12 species in the Sapindaceae family (Tuckeroos and Tamarinds)
- 5 locally endemic species, including the Daintree Satinash (Syzygium monospermum)
*Listed as Threatened under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) or the Australian Government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Donate now and help purchase, protect and restore Lot 265 Silver Ash Road.
The Bennett's Tree-kangaroo has been seen at Lot 265 Silver Ash Road.
The Problem
Fragmentation and degradation of the Daintree Rainforest threatens the ecological values of the world's oldest continually existing rainforest.
The Queensland Government has mapped the vegetation on Lot 265 Silver Ash Road as Regional Ecosystem 7.3.10a. This ecosystem is listed as Endangered. The Queensland Government has also described the vegetation on the property as possessing "Special Biodiversity Values," including centres of endemism, wildlife refugia, disjunct populations, high species richness and climate refugia.
A past failed attempt at settlement has left behind a small clearing, an abandoned vehicle and an outhouse. The property has no active management due to absentee landowners.
Along the creek grows a small herbaceous plant, Strobilanthes linearifolia, known from very few locations in Australia. Lot 265 Silver Ash Road is currently the southernmost known limit of this species' distribution. This population is at risk from disturbance by feral pigs. Lot 265 Silver Ash Road is the only property targeted for acquisition where this species has been found. It is known from very few locations in Australia, principally the Cow Bay to Cape Tribulation area and further north on Cape York, with the remainder of its range in Papua New Guinea.
An old vehicle left behind by a previous owner.
The Solution
The purchase of Lot 265 Silver Ash Road will enable it to be managed for conservation and assessed for inclusion in the Daintree National Park (CYPAL). Its acquisition will add to the 36 properties already purchased by donors through the Daintree land buyback program and continue our long-term commitment to protecting rainforest properties across the region.
What Your Gift Makes Possible
Your donation will help us purchase, protect, restore and plan for the future of the Daintree Rainforest.
Purchase, Protect & Restore
Funds raised will contribute to the purchase of Lot 265 Silver Ash Road and the costs associated with completing the acquisition. By purchasing the property for conservation, we can remove it from the private property market and ensure its future management is focused on protecting its rainforest and ecological values.
Once purchased, we will remove the old vehicle, dilapidated outhouse and other material left on the property, restore the small areas that have previously been disturbed and manage threats including weeds and feral pigs. The permanent stream and surrounding rainforest will also be monitored, with further ecological surveys helping us better understand and manage the property's wildlife and conservation values.
Your donation will help secure the strongest possible conservation protection for the property. This includes establishing legal protections and progressing Lot 265 through our Pathway to Protection, with the ultimate goal of seeing the property become part of Daintree National Park (CYPAL), subject to the relevant assessment, agreement and dedication processes.
By helping to purchase, protect and restore this remarkable rainforest, your support will ensure it is actively managed for conservation into the future. Your contribution will also support the review and prioritisation of future acquisitions, helping identify properties with important conservation values and opportunities to strengthen ecological connectivity. This work will help keep the momentum of the rainforest land buyback program going as we work towards our long-term goal of saving the Daintree.
Please donate now and help purchase, protect and restore Lot 265 Silver Ash Road.
Threatened species
Lot 265 provides habitat for threatened species such as the Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii), Bennett's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus), Spectacled Flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus), Noah's Walnut (Endiandra microneura) and Daintree Gardenia (Randia audasii).
This property is essential habitat for the endangered Southern Cassowary.
Species of regional significance
- Strobilanthes linearifolia. A small herbaceous plant found along the creek, at the southernmost known limit of its global range.
- Daintree Cleistanthus (Cleistanthus oblongifolius). Restricted to the area between the Bloomfield and Daintree Rivers, and parts of Southeast Asia.
- Daintree Foambark (Jagera madida). A single specimen recorded in the hilly portion of the property; occurs only in lowland rainforest between Julatten and Bloomfield.
- Cooper Creek Haplostichanthus (Polyalthia xanthocarpa). An understorey shrub restricted to the Daintree lowlands.
- Daintree Satinash (Syzygium monospermum). Endemic to the Daintree lowlands.
Please donate now and help purchase, protect and restore Lot 265 Silver Ash Road.
We've provided answers to other frequently asked questions about Lot 265 Silver Ash Road here.