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. 

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.

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. 

World Cassowary Day is held on the 26th of September every year to celebrate the endangered Southern Cassowary and all efforts to prevent its extinction. For World Cassowary Day 2022 we've created four actions you can take to Save the Cassowary! 

PURCHASE OF LOT 34 CAPE TRIBULATION ROAD, DIWAN THE DAINTREE LOWLAND RAINFOREST

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Action: Purchase and protection of Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road (SP259951)

Area: 3 hectares

Location: Diwan, Queensland

Threatened Species: Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii), Climbing Pandan (Freycinetia percostata)

Vegetation type: Two vegetation communities exist on the property. Regional Ecosystem 7.3.10a: Mesophyll vine forest. Listed as “Of Concern” under the Vegetation Management Act 1999. And Regional Ecosystem 7.3.17:  Complex mesophyll vine forest. Listed as “Endangered” under the Queensland Vegetation Management Act 1999.

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

Fundraising update for the 31st of January 2023.

Target to purchase and protect this property: $300,000

Amount raised: $112,925

Remaining target: $187,075

Please, donate now and help purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Your donation will help purchase and protect essential Cassowary habitat.

Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road 

Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road is located at Diwan in the heart of the iconic Daintree Lowland Rainforest. This freehold property was created through a rural residential subdivision in 1982 and it is zoned by the Douglas Shire Council as being suitable for development.

The rainforest and the Threatened species found on the property deserve the same level of protection as the nearby Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area. That’s why we need your help to purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road, prevent it from being developed for housing and ensure it is managed for conservation.

We have purchased 3 nearby properties and 26 properties in the Daintree lowlands over the last 3 years. Through this, we are preventing the development of individual blocks and reversing the impacts of the subdivision of the Daintree in the 1980s that created 1,136 freehold properties.

Please, donate now and help purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Your donation will help purchase and protect essential Cassowary habitat.

Lot 34 in the landscape 

A vegetation survey of Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road by our ecologist identified 195 species of native plants. See a summary of the survey here.

The Endangered Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) was observed during the survey. There are only 4,400 of these amazing big birds remaining in Australia’s wet tropical rainforest.

We also saw an Orange-footed Scrub Fowl (Megapodius reinwardt) by its large incubation mound and nearby, a terrestrial termite mound with an excavated nesting tunnel presumably made by a Buff Breasted Paradise Kingfisher.

Please, donate now and help purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Your donation will help purchase and protect essential Cassowary habitat.

The endangered Southern Cassowary 

Threatened Species

Two species found on Lot 34 are listed as Threatened in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. 

The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) is listed as Endangered.  The vegetation for Lot 34 has been categorised as Essential Cassowary habitat. Many species of plant identified on Lot 34 produce food for the Southern Cassowary.

Lot 34 provides “Essential habitat for the Endangered Southern Cassowary”.

The Climbing Pandan (Freycinetia percostataI is listed as Vulnerable. This species restricted mainly to the Daintree lowlands and again on Cape York at Iron Range and overseas in Papua New Guinea. This climbing monocotyledon plant possesses unique leaves which the bases catch water and thus provide habitat for arboreal invertebrates and frogs.

Two other significant Daintree endemic plants occur on Lot 34: The Daintree Foambark (Jagera madida) only occurs in the lowland rainforests between Julatten and Bloomfield. The Cooper Creek Haplostichanthus (Polyalthia xanthocarpa) is an understorey tree less than 3m tall with small yellow fruit in clusters from the trunk and branches. It is restricted to the lowland rainforests of the Daintree Rainforest.

Please, donate now and help purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Your donation will help purchase and protect essential Cassowary habitat.

Kelvin Davies with Cooper Creek Haplostichanthus

The acquisition of Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road will prevent its development for housing and help reverse the negative impacts of the subdivision created in 1982. This will help to fulfil our vision for the conservation of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest which requires the buyback of all undeveloped freehold properties so they can be managed for its exceptional conservation values.

There is evidence on the property of past clearing. Natural regeneration has been occurring for 40 years however environmental weeds have filled the gaps in the canopy. We will address this problem by directing $60,000 of the funds raised for this project towards rainforest restoration.

Buying and protecting this property will be a fantastic outcome for conservation as it improves connectivity and enables an improved management regime for the conservation of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Following the purchase of this property, and its restoration we will begin the process for it to assessed for inclusion in the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) estate. 

Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road at Diwan is 3 hectares in size. We are raising $300,000 which is a cost of $10.00 per sqm. 

Please, donate now and help purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Your donation will help purchase and protect essential Cassowary habitat.

Incubation mound of the Orange-footed Scrub Fowl 

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, donate now and help purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Your donation will help purchase and protect essential Cassowary habitat.

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 34 in Diwan 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. 

Please, donate now and help purchase Lot 34 Cape Tribulation Road in the Daintree Rainforest. Your donation will help purchase and protect essential Cassowary habitat.

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.  

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. 

We’ve provided answers to the most frequently asked questions for the purchase and protection of Lot 398 Maple Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

PURCHASE OF CHEELONGA ON THE ATHERTON TABLELANDS

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Action: Purchase of Cheelonga Cloud Forest and protection through addition to the Misty Mountain Nature Refuge

Area: 18 hectares

Location: Millaa Millaa, Queensland

Vegetation type: Regional Ecosystem 7.8.4 high altitude cloud forest on basalt

Threatened Species: Cassowary, Lumhotz’s Tree-kangaroo, Lemuroid Ringtail Possum, Green Ringtail Possum, Northern Pygmy Possum, Golden Bowerbird

Fundraising for this project is now complete. Thank you to everyone who made a donation. An official announcement providing more information will be made soon. 

The purchase of Cheelonga will protect 18 hectares of high-altitude Cloud Forest and provide an essential refuge for endemic mammals that have nowhere else to go. 

Climate Change poses a threat to a range of endemic cooler climate Wet Tropics species. Without functional connections within fragmented habitat areas, it is feared that the long-term survival of a range of species will be at substantial risk. 

The Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo and the Lemuroid and Green Ringtail Possums are restricted to the cooler parts of the Atherton Tablelands and other higher areas of the Wet Tropics. Securing this important habitat is essential to support their long-term survival.

Please, donate now and help to purchase Cheelonga Cloud Forest. A $25 donation will save 50 sqm. A $50 donation will help purchase 100 sqm. A $100 donation will purchase and protect 200 sqm and a $250 donation will purchase 500 sqm. 

Lemuroid Ringtail Possum, Lumhotz’s Tree-kangaroo, Green Ringtail Possum.

One impact of Climate Change is the increasing number of days with high temperatures. On the 15th of January 2019, a record-breaking heatwave in Far North Queensland pushed temperatures to 42 degrees Celcius. This one event is estimated to have killed more than 23,000 spectacled flying foxes, or almost one-third of the species in Australia. Climate Change impacts on bats are highly visible as they often roost near urban areas and heat-stressed animals come to or fall to the ground, however, these extreme events also impact mammals adapted to live in the normally stable environment of the could forests. 

Please, donate now and help to purchase Cheelonga Cloud Forest. A $25 donation will save 50 sqm. A $50 donation will help purchase 100 sqm. A $100 donation will purchase and protect 200 sqm and a $250 donation will purchase 500 sqm. 

Tree ferns thrive in the cloud forest. 

The purchase of Cheelonga will ensure that 18 hectares of Cloud Forest are protected as habitat for specialist high-altitude species. As the impact of Climate Change increases this high-altitude habitat will provide an important refuge. 

Donations to this project will be used to achieve the purchase of land, a boundary adjustment (of Lot 303 NR4636), new fencing, and management of the process to include the land into the Misty Mountain Nature Refuge. 

The key species at Cheelonga Cloud Forest are the Southern Cassowary, Lumhotz’s Tree-kangaroo, Lemuroid Ringtail Possum, Green Ringtail Possum, Northern Pygmy Possum, and Golden Bowerbird.

Please, donate now and help to purchase Cheelonga Cloud Forest. A $25 donation will save 50 sqm. A $50 donation will help purchase 100 sqm. A $100 donation will purchase and protect 200 sqm and a $250 donation will purchase 500 sqm. 

Lumholtz Tree-kangaroo on the Cheelonga Cloud Forest property.

A key feature of the block is that it includes a significant section of the creek that starts at a spring on Misty Mountain and flows through to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The property is strategically located between the Malaan National Park and Herberton Range National Park. In addition, the block directly abuts the World Heritage Area. Besides its strategic corridor value also helps buffer the World Heritage Area.

Please, donate now and help to purchase Cheelonga Cloud Forest. A $25 donation will save 50 sqm. A $50 donation will help purchase 100 sqm. A $100 donation will purchase and protect 200 sqm and a $250 donation will purchase 500 sqm. 

Acquisition of the property will complete the Misty Mountain corridor.

Our project partners are South Endeavour Trust, a successful registered nonprofit organisation that acquires and manages land for conservation. We successfully partnered with them in 2021 for the acquisition of Oakey Scrub near Cooktown. They own and manage the Misty Mountain Nature Refuge which has been created through the acquisition of two other properties in the past decade.  

Please, donate now and help to purchase Cheelonga Cloud Forest. A $25 donation will save 50 sqm. A $50 donation will help purchase 100 sqm. A $100 donation will purchase and protect 200 sqm and a $250 donation will purchase 500 sqm. 

Purchasing Cheelonga will expand the Misty Mountain Nature Refuge.

The Cheelonga property will be protected through its inclusion in the Misty Mountain Nature Refuge. A declaration of a Nature Refuge requires gazettal through an act of the Queensland Parliament and provides the highest level of protection for land outside of a national park. 

If you have any questions about the purchase and protection of Cheelonga Cloud Forest contact Kelvin Davies at [email protected] or call during business hours at 0437 423 119.

Please, donate now and help to purchase Cheelonga Cloud Forest. A $25 donation will save 50 sqm. A $50 donation will help purchase 100 sqm. A $100 donation will purchase and protect 200 sqm and a $250 donation will purchase 500 sqm. 

PURCHASE OF LOT 197 QUANDONG ROAD IN THE DAINTREE LOWLAND RAINFOREST

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Action: Purchase Lot 197 Quandong Road (197 RP738167)

Area: 1.015 hectares

Location: Cow Bay, Daintree Lowland Rainforest, Queensland. 

Vegetation type: Regional Ecosystem 7.11.44 “Eucalyptus tereticornis open forest to woodland on coastal metamorphic foothills”. 

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), Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi), Noahs Walnut (Endiandra microneura), Daintree Gardenia (Randia audasii)

Lot 197 Quandong Road at Cow Bay

Lot 197 Quandong Road at Cow Bay is a freehold property in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest that provides habitat for the endangered Southern Cassowary and three plants listed as Threatened species.

The vegetation survey of Lot 197 Quandong Road, Cow Bay was undertaken on the 27th of July 2019 by ecologist Kristopher Kupsch. The most important habitat feature on lot 197 is the presence of very tall (35m high) Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis) as they possess large hollow-bearing limbs which are important habitats for Gliders, Possums, Snakes, Birds, and other tree-dwelling animals.

Fan Palms on Lot 197 Quandong Road in the Daintree Rainforest

Lot 197 Quandong Road provides habitat for the Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) which is listed as Endangered in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. This property shares a boundary with the Daintree National Park / World Heritage Area. Evidence of the Southern Cassowary using the property was confirmed by dung. Cassowaries are regularly sighted in the adjoining Daintree National Park and on nearby properties.

Lot 197 Quandong road is entirely vegetated. 170 plant species of native plants were identified during the survey of the 1-hectare property. Three are listed on the Nature Conservation Act 1992. Lot 197 has a high diversity of native Laurel species (Lauraceae) with 13 species identified, also the Mahogany family (Meliaceae) is well represented with 7 species of Dysoxylum, plus 8 species of Palms (Arecaeae) and 11 species of Myrtles (Myrtaceae). These species produce fruits for the endangered Southern Cassowary. 

Cassowary in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest

Lot 197 Quandong Road is located at Cow Bay in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Buying land in this location helps us to reverse the impacts of the disastrous 1980s rural residential subdivision and prevents another house from being built in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Lot 197 Quandong Road is a freehold property and subject to approval by Douglas Shire Council it could have been developed for housing just as nearby properties have been in the past. 

We have purchased two nearby properties, Lot 125 (2020) and Lot 176 Quandong Road (2021). Adding lot 197 increases the area of protected land in Cow Bay.  

Lot 197 Quandong Road at Cow Bay

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.