Right now you can double the impact you make with a donation to purchase and protect Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. 

Christmas is next week! Fortunately, we've got some great gifts that you can order now!

Before we decide on the purchase of a Daintree Rainforest property for conservation we have our ecologist and botanist conduct a survey. A written report then guides our decisions on which property to acquire. We've published a summary of the survey report for Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road at Diwan below.  

We’ve provided answers to the most frequently asked questions for the purchase and protection of Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

PURCHASE OF LOT 398 MAPLE ROAD, COW BAY IN THE DAINTREE LOWLAND RAINFOREST

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Action: Purchase Lot 398 Maple Rd, Cow Bay (RP739004)

Area: 1.412 hectares

Location: Cow Bay, Queensland

Vegetation type: The vegetation on Lot 398 Maple Road is classified as 7.11.1a Mesophyll vine forest in lowlands and foothills on metamorphic soils. This is a very wet rainfall zone

Endangered Ecological Community: Lowland tropical rainforest of the Wet Tropics ecological community is listed in the Endangered Category under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Threatened Species: Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii), Noah’s Walnut (Endiandra microneura)

This project was completed in November 2022. Thank you to the hundreds of generous donors. 

Lot 398 Maple Road 

We purchased 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 and ensuring the land is included in the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) so it can be managed for its exceptional conservation values.

This freehold property deserves the same level of protection as the adjacent Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area. Its strategic location at the end of Maple Road makes this an important acquisition as we work towards reversing the impacts of the subdivision created in 1982. 

An intact canopy of old-growth rainforest trees made Lot 398 Maple Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest an important acquisition for conservation. There is no evidence on the property of past clearing and the canopy trees are 60 meters tall. There are also many old-growth trees with hollows that provide habitat for Birds, Snakes, Gliders, Possums, Bats, and other tree-dwelling animals.

Please make a donation to purchase and protect the next property in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Tropical Rainforest on Lot 398 Maple Road

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. 

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. We have been focusing on land acquisition in Cow Bay as scientists have identified this area as providing an “Essential habitat for the Endangered Southern Cassowary”. 

Please make a donation to purchase and protect the next property in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Cassowary at Cow Bay in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest

Another exceptional feature of the property is a large Hopes Cycad (Lepidozamia hopei). 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. 

Please make a donation to purchase and protect the next property in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Zamia Fern (left) and Hopes Cycad

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. 

Lot 398 Maple Road at Cow Bay

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.

Please make a donation to purchase and protect the next property in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Lot 398 Maple Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest has been purchased for conservation thanks to the generosity of hundreds of donors.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Location: Daintree Lowland Rainforest, Queensland, Australia

Action: Remove an old bus, rubbish, and environmental weeds from Lot 43 Cape Tribulation Road, Diwan

Threatened Species: Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii), China Camp Laurel (Beilschmiedia castrisinensis), Noahs Walnut (Endiandra microneura), Climbing Pandan (Freycinetia percostata), and Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi)

Habitat: Lowland Tropical Rainforest. Regional Ecosystem 7.3.17: Complex mesophyll vine forest on well-drained alluvium of high fertility is listed as “Endangered” under the Vegetation Management Act 1999.

Total Cost of Project: $7,250

Fundraising update on the 30th of January 2023

Financial need: $7,250

Amount raised: $200

Remaining target: $7,050

Please, make a donation now and help us remove the old bus and tidy up this part of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Donate now.

This old bus needs to be removed

Let’s tidy up the Daintree Lowland Rainforest by removing this old bus! It was left behind by a previous landowner along with a concrete slab, assorted rubbish, old bottles, and cans. They also introduced 25 species of exotic plants, so we'll remove them too. All we need is your help. 

Please, make a donation now and help us remove the old bus and tidy up this part of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Donate now.

We will engage local people living in the Daintree as contractors to do this work. They have a truck and equipment to take the bus, concrete, and rubbish away. We'll have another local person with experience in weed control take on that job. We need a total of $6,250 for the contractors, transport to the nearest town (Mossman), and the dump fees. 

Please, make a donation now and help us remove the old bus and tidy up this part of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Donate now.

The bus was used for a campsite

Helping Daintree landowners.

We are helping landowners in the Daintree lowlands manage their properties for conservation. Some landowners need assistance with the expense associated with restoration and others benefit from the help we provide in identifying weeds and understanding the best methods of control. We manage projects that are difficult for absentee landowners. 

Please, make a donation now and help us remove the old bus and tidy up this part of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Donate now.

The bus is located on Lot 43 Cape Tribulation Road at Diwan, an 8-hectare property that’s been purchased for conservation and is in private ownership. We began assisting the landowner by conducting a vegetation survey which identified a total of 221 native plant species and 25 exotic species.

Singapore Daisy is one of the 25 exotic species found on Lot 43

The vegetation on Lot 43 is significant, being: 

Regional Ecosystem 7.3.17: Complex mesophyll vine forest on well-drained alluvium of high fertility is listed as “Endangered” under the Vegetation Management Act 1999. “There is a high population density of Cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) listed as "Endangered" under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992) in this Regional Ecosystem. . . "

For this Regional Ecosystem, the Queensland government indicates a pre-clearing amount of 26,000 ha existed with 4,000 ha remaining in 2019. About 15% remains today. 

Four species found on Lot 43 are listed in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.

China Camp Laurel (Beilschmiedia castrisinensis) NCA: Near Threatened

Noahs Walnut (Endiandra microneura) NCA: Near Threatened

Climbing Pandan (Freycinetia percostata) NCA: Vulnerable

Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi) NCA: Vulnerable

Please, make a donation now and help us remove the old bus and tidy up this part of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Donate now.

There are 546 freehold properties with dwellings (2022 Census) in the Daintree lowlands (Daintree River to Cape Tribulation) and over 150 undeveloped freehold blocks in private ownership. Landowners interested in obtaining assistance with rainforest restoration can contact us at [email protected] 

Kelvin Davies with Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi) on Lot 43

Today we have announced one of our most significant achievements – the protection of Lot 93 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Thank you to everyone who donated to support the purchase of this special rainforest property. 

An outbreak of invasive Electric Ants in Cow Bay confirmed a significant threat to the Daintree Lowland Rainforest and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.