With development increasing in the Daintree there is an urgent need to buy back more at-risk rainforest land. Now, with two Daintree properties in Thornton Peak Drive already purchased and protected it's time for a third. Lot 6 Thornton Peak Drive is 3.75 hectares of critical habitat for native wildlife and plants. We must act now to protect this important property from development.  

The tropical rainforest on Lot 257 Silver Ash Road and the creek flowing through the property are exceptionally beautiful. This land was excluded from inclusion in the Daintree National Park when it was declared in 1988. Now the time has come to set this right. 

You did it! Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road will be protected from the threat of development!

Thanks to thousands of generous donors, we can today announce our fundraising goal has been reached and we can finalise the purchase of Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Action: Purchase and protection of Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road (Lot 11 RP 737398)

Area: 1.2 hectares

Location: Cow Bay, Daintree Lowland Rainforest, Queensland

Vegetation type: Lowland tropical rainforest classified as Regional Ecosystem 7.3.20a

Threatened Species: Southern Cassowary, China Camp Laurel, Gray’s Walnut, Noah’s Walnut

Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road in Cow Bay 

Thank you to everyone who contributed gifts to help raise the funds required for the purchase and protection of Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road. We are especially grateful to Little Locals - Early Learning who made saving this Daintree Rainforest property their community project in 2021. 

Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road at Cow Bay shares a boundary with the Daintree National Park. The property also has many of the natural values that supported the national park being declared a World Heritage Area in 1988. Our survey of Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road identified 185 species of native plants including three Threatened species listed on the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. They are the China Camp Laurel (Beilschmiedia castrisinensis), Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi), and Noah’s Walnut (Endiandra microneura). You can read information from the survey undertaken by our ecologist here. 

Lot 11 has also been mapped as essential Cassowary habitat by the Queensland Government. There are many species of native Laurels which provide fruits for Cassowaries. See photos from the property here. 

Kelvin Davies at Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road. 

The vegetation community on Lot 11 is Regional Ecosystem 3.3.10a. This forest type is listed as ‘Of Concern’ under the Vegetation Management Act 1999, which makes it extremely precious in our conservation mission.

The Queensland Government specifically states that this vegetation type has “Special values”, citing:

“Small areas on the very wet lowlands, especially between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation, harbour plant species which are extremely restricted and uncommon. Many areas of this ecosystem are considered refugial in nature and are local centres of endemism. Many representatives of primitive families of flowering plants are present, including the monotypic family Idiospermaceae. The ecosystem is the habitat for many threatened plant species.”

Lot 11 has also been mapped as essential Cassowary habitat by the Queensland Government. There are many species of native Laurels which provide fruits for Cassowaries and evidence of them using the property was confirmed by footprints and dung. 

The endangered Southern Cassowary

Vulnerable frogs found near Lot 11

The vulnerable Tapping Grey-eyed Frog (Litoria serrata) and the endangered Common Mist Frog (Litoria rheocola) have both been previously identified within 50 metres of Lot 11. These two threatened frogs favour fast-flowing streams and also spend a portion of their lives in trees. 

Three Threatened plants species

Three plant species found on Lot 11 are listed on the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. They are:

     1.     China Camp Laurel (Beilschmiedia castrisinensis) - NCA 1992: Near threatened

The China Camp Laurel only grows in the Daintree Rainforest between the Daintree River and the Bloomfield River, where it is locally common. 

The species was found on Lot 11 as a single seedling within Cassowary droppings. It is common within the surrounding forests of Cow Bay. The seeds are the largest of all native Laurels and rely on dispersal by Cassowaries and potentially very localised dispersal by Musky Rat-kangaroos. 

     2.     Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi) - NCA 1992: Vulnerable

Gray’s Walnut was found on Lot 11 as a single seedling. This is a large tree only found between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation in lowland rainforest below 40m above sea level (asl). Its large seeds are dispersed solely by the Southern Cassowary. 

As with all large fruiting Walnut (Endiandra) species, Gray’s Walnut is food for the Southern Cassowary. We must therefore preserve the habitat for both the tree and the bird.

Gray’s Walnut

     3.     Noah’s Walnut (Endiandra microneura) - NCA 1992: Near threatened

Noah's Walnut was found on Lot 11 as young seedlings germinating within Cassowary dung. 

This species is only found naturally within the Daintree Rainforest predominantly north of the Daintree River and south of Cape Tribulation.

This tree is noticeable in the forest as it produces a vibrant display of limp, new, red leaves. The large oblong yellow fruits often litter the ground beneath parent trees. Cassowaries, fruit bats and ground dwelling mammals such as Musky Rat-kangaroos (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) disperse the fruits.

Noah's Walnut

Other significant plants on Lot 11

     1.     Cooper Creek Haplostichanthus (Polyalthia xanthocarpa)

The Cooper Creek Haplostichanthus is common in the understorey on Lot 11. This species colonises regenerating forests following the establishment of a suitable shady humid understorey. Its occurrence on Lot 11 indicates good levels of natural regeneration. 

This is an understorey shrub of up to 3m in height. It is restricted to the rainforests of the Daintree lowlands, but is found as far south as the Daintree village. It is a recently described species formally recognised in 2007 as Haplostichanthus ramiflorus and then redescribed as Polyalthia xanthocarpa in 2012.

Kelvin Davies with Cooper Creek Haplostichanthus

     2.     Daintree Satinash (Syzygium monospermum)

The locally common Daintree Satinash was identified as seedlings on Lot 11, brought to the site by Cassowaries. The tree is ‘myrmecophilus’ in that the interior of its trunk is much like an ant plant with myriads of chambers that ants inhabit. 

This species is only found in lowland rainforests between Cape Tribulation and Julatten. The tree provides food for the endangered Southern Cassowary. Owing to the size of its large white fruit that it produces straight from the trunk, few other animals other than possibly fruit bats would disperse its seeds.

The cauliflorous showy flowers are produced immediately from the often-single trunk of the parent tree. As with most Australian flowering trees, nectar is produced from a stamen dense flower.

This type of flower is favoured by honeyeaters, marsupials and insects. 

Daintree Satinash

THANK YOU TO LITTLE LOCALS - EARLY LEARNING 

We are especially grateful to Little Locals - Early Learning who made saving this Daintree Rainforest property their community project in 2021. Thank you to the Little Locals families who helped to raise funds to purchase and protect Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road. 

We’ve provided answers to the most frequently asked questions for the purchase and protection of Lot 93 Cape Tribulation Road.

Protected forever! Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road will now be protected from the threat of development thanks to the generosity of hundreds of donors.

Let’s save two more Daintree properties before Christmas!

Until the 24th of December, all gifts will be matched to help us purchase and protect Lot 8 and Lot 11 Buchanan Creek Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

You did it... again! Lot 242 White Beech Road in the world’s oldest living rainforest will now be purchased and managed for its exceptional conservation values. 

PURCHASE OF LOT 242 WHITE BEECH ROAD IN THE DAINTREE LOWLAND RAINFOREST

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Action: Purchase and protection of Lot 242 White Beech Road (Lot 242 RP 740658)

Area: 1.33 hectares

Location: Cow Bay, Daintree Lowland Rainforest, Queensland

Vegetation type: Predominantly, regional ecosystem 7.11.44, described as Eucalyptus tereticornis (Forest Red Gum) open forest to woodland on coastal metamorphic foothills. This regional ecosystem is listed as a remnant regional ecosystem “of concern” under the Vegetation Management Act 1999. 

Threatened Species: Southern Cassowary

Lot 242 White Beech Road in the Daintree Rainforest

Purchase of Daintree's LOT 242 for conservation.

Lot 242 White Beech Road is a 1.33-hectare property at Cow Bay in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. It shares a boundary with the Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area and provides habitat for the endangered Southern Cassowary. The purchase of Lot 242 White Beech Road complements our efforts in Cow Bay where we have acquired multiple properties. This supports an efficient management regime for the conservation of the Daintree Rainforest Cow Bay. 

The vegetation on Lot 242 White Beech Road is intact with no evidence of past clearing. The regional ecosystem on the property is 7.11.44, described as Eucalyptus tereticornis (Forest Red Gum) open forest to woodland on coastal metamorphic foothills. This regional ecosystem is listed as a remnant regional ecosystem “of concern” under the Vegetation Management Act 1999. The dominant sclerophyll species of trees are all estimated to be 80-100 years old indicating the last fire occurred at that time. The majority of the vegetation is significantly denser being a diverse rainforest understorey. Since fire is now seldom experienced in the Daintree lowlands it is assumed that this forest habitat will omit Sclerophyll species as time lengthens. 

Tropical Rainforest on Lot 242 White Beech Road in the Daintree Rainforest

To fulfill our vision for the Daintree Lowland Rainforest requires the buyback of all undeveloped freehold properties in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest and their management for nature conservation. Not only do we want to see no further development, but we also want the negative impacts of the rural residential subdivision to be reversed. We aim to purchase as many properties as we can and see them protected in the Daintree National Park estate, as this will provide the highest available level of protection. 

Lot 242 White Beech Road in the Daintree Rainforest / Steven Nowakowski

A subdivision was carved into the Daintree Lowland Rainforest in 1982. This created Lot 242 White Beech Road and hundreds of other rural residential lots in Cow Bay. The houses that have been built here fragment the rainforest and occupation brings domestic dogs and exotic plants. This has damaged one of the most significant areas of tropical rainforests in Australia.

The purchased properties will be managed by the Traditional Owners, the Eastern Kuku Yalanji as part of the Daintree National Park Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land (CYPAL) estate. This includes the Daintree National Park. The Queensland Government provides funding to the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation to co-manage the Daintree National Park. See more information and answers to frequently asked questions here.  

The rainforest on Lot 242 White Beech Road is of equal value to the adjoining Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area. 

Lot 242 White Beech Road in the Daintree Rainforest

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

During our survey of Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road at Cow Bay we found two Threatened species of birds, the Macleay's Fig-parrot and the Southern Cassowary. A total of 176 species of native plants were found on the property including three Threatened species, the Noah's Walnut, China Camp Laurel, and Grey's Walnut.