New Project: Purchase of Lot 398 in the Daintree Rainforest

A large Hopes Cycad over 1,000 years old and an intact canopy of old-growth rainforest trees make Lot 398 Maple Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest an important acquisition for conservation.

On stepping onto Lot 398 Maple Road at Cow Bay my first observation was of a very large and obviously ancient specimen of Hope Cycad that was surrounded by beautiful tropical rainforest.

The impressive canopy of 60-metre-tall trees is intact, there is no evidence of past clearing or logging, and there are many old-growth trees with hollows that provide habitat for Birds, Snakes, Gliders, Possums, Bats, and other tree-dwelling animals.

This freehold property deserves the same level of protection as the adjacent Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area so we will now purchase Lot 398 Maple Road to ensure it will be managed for conservation.

The current owners contacted a real estate agent that we have been working with for some time. They informed them of our program of land purchase for conservation and a deal was struck. Lot 398 Maple Road at Cow Bay is 1.412-hectares in size and is completely covered by tropical rainforest. To purchase Lot 398 Maple Road, and transfer it into the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) estate, we are raising $28,240.

The cost is just $2 per sqm. We have exchanged a contract of sale and now we need your help.

Please, donate now and help purchase Lot 398 Maple Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Every $2.00 you donate will help save one square metre of the Daintree. If you donate $20 you will help purchase ten square metres of essential Cassowary habitat! A donation of $50 will help purchase twenty-five square metres and $100 will help purchase fifty square metres of the World Heritage value Daintree Rainforest.

Tropical Rainforest on Lot 398 Maple Road

The large specimen of Hopes Cycad (Lepidozamia hopei) on Lot 398 is over 5 meters tall. These cycads are very slow-growing and this specimen is estimated at over 1,000 years old. They are endemic to Queensland and are the world's largest species of cycad.

Also found on Lot 398 Maple Road was the Zamia Fern (Bowenia spectabilis) which is actually a species of cycad, a very ancient group of plants. They don't produce flowers and reproduce by means of cones borne on separate male and female plants. The cones of the Zamia Fern seem to pop out of the ground! The Zamia Fern is endemic to Queensland and they are the world's smallest species of cycad.

Zamia Fern (left) and Hopes Cycad on Lot 398

We are focusing our efforts on Cow Bay as scientists have identified this area as being the highest priority for conservation. The rainforest here has some of the highest levels of biodiversity and the highest densities of Cassowaries in Australia.

Two species found on Lot 398 are listed as Threatened in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. Noah’s Walnut (Endiandra microneura) is listed as Near Threatened and the Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) is listed as Endangered.

Scientists have identified the lowland rainforest in Cow Bay as providing an “Essential habitat for the Endangered Southern Cassowary” and the assemblage of plants on Lot 398 Maple Road has many species within the primitive plant family “Lauraceae”, all of which provide food for the Cassowary.

Cassowary at Cow Bay in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest

We are purchasing Lot 398 Maple Road in Cow Bay to fulfil our vision for the conservation of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. This requires the buyback of undeveloped freehold properties in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Buying and protecting this property will be a fantastic outcome for conservation as it connects to the Daintree National Park and is located at the very end of Maple Road. We have purchased 14 properties in Cow Bay in the last two years including Lot 390 Maple Road. This enables the implementation of an improved management regime for the conservation of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Fan Palms (Licuala ramsayi) on Lot 398 Maple Road

Buying land in this location helps us to wind back the negative impacts of the disastrous 1980s rural residential subdivision. In 1982 the Queensland government approved a 1,136-lot rural residential subdivision in the Daintree. This resulted in two-thirds of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest being excluded from protection in the Daintree National Park and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area that was declared in 1988. Lot 398 Maple Road is one of these properties.

Lot 398 Maple Road at Cow Bay is 1.412-hectares in size and is completely covered by tropical rainforest. For the purchase and protection of Lot 398 Maple Road, we are raising $28,240. At 1.412-hectares this is a cost of $2.00 per sqm.

Kelvin Davies at Lot 398 Maple Road at Cow Bay

The property is adjacent to the Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area and at the very end of Maple Road. Its strategic location makes this an important acquisition as we work towards reversing the negative impacts of the rural residential subdivision. Following the purchase of this property, we will begin the process of it being transferred into the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) estate.

Please join me and donate now to help purchase Lot 398 Maple Road at Cow Bay.

Thanks for everything you do to help Save the Daintree Rainforest.

Kelvin Davies

Founder, Rainforest 4 Foundation

P.S. If you have any questions about the purchase and protection of Lot 398 Maple Road please see our frequently asked questions page. You can also email me at [email protected] or call me during business hours at 0437 423 119.

BACKGROUND

In 1982 the Queensland government approved a 1,136-lot rural residential subdivision in the Daintree. This resulted in two-thirds of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest being excluded from protection in the Daintree National Park and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area that was declared in 1988. Lot 398 Maple Road in Cow Bay is one of these properties.

The Daintree Lowland Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests on Earth and provides a refuge for wildlife and ancient flowering plants. It holds exceptionally high biodiversity and conservation value and is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest remaining in Australia. With almost 200 undeveloped properties remaining in private ownership, the future of the Daintree is yet to be determined. Will it be increased development and urbanisation, or will it be the winding back of the disastrous subdivision to save the Daintree Rainforest.

Endangered Ecological Community

The Daintree Lowland Rainforest itself has now been identified as part of an Endangered Ecological Community. In November 2021 the Australian Government listed the lowland tropical rainforest of the Wet Tropics ecological community, in the Endangered Category under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The listing is effective as of Friday 26 November 2021 and includes the Wet Tropics of North Queensland, from near Ingham (just south of the Cardwell Range) in the south to north around Cape Tribulation. While now listed as Endangered the Daintree Lowland Rainforest is still not fully protected. The freehold properties in the Daintree lowland remain at risk from rural residential development.

STRONGER TOGETHER

The project to purchase and protect land in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest is a partnership involving the Rainforest 4 Foundation, Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, and fellow non-profit HalfCut. We recognise that we are Stronger Together and raise funds for the buyback of properties in the Daintree Rainforest and their management for conservation.

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Kelvin Davies published this page in Latest News 2022-09-19 11:30:21 +1000