Fundraising continues for proposed conservation purchase of Wooroora Station

What you need to know

• The proposed purchase is a fundraising effort, not a completed land transfer. Bush Heritage's reported target of $24.7 million covers both buying the property and its first five years of management; The Guardian reported that $5.3 million remained to be raised by 24 December. 1
• The ecological case rests on the property's habitats and recorded species. Reporting says at least 12 threatened species and more than 30 species of conservation significance have been recorded at Wooroora. 123
• The proposed acquisition is also framed around Jirrbal access and care for Country. Jirrbal Elders told reporters that access to the land had been restricted for generations, and described the purchase as an opportunity for renewed access. 12
• Wooroora is described as linking protected landscapes and waterways whose headwaters flow towards the Great Barrier Reef. Published reports differ in their estimate of the connected conservation area: The Guardian gives 429,000 hectares, while InDaily and SBS describe an area of more than 400,000 hectares. 123
• A wind farm proposal for Wooroora was withdrawn in April 2024, according to the Australian Government's record. The Guardian reports that the proposal had faced a proposed refusal over environmental impacts. 41

Why this matters

If completed, the acquisition would bring a large area of Jirrbal Country into a conservation partnership and could support protection of habitats where threatened and other conservation-significant species have been recorded. Those are intended outcomes, not yet demonstrated results. 12

What happens next

The immediate question is whether Bush Heritage can raise the remaining funds and complete the purchase by the reported 24 December deadline. The reporting also leaves open how Jirrbal participation in access, management and long-term care will be arranged. 12

What we know

• Wooroora is a cattle station on Jirrbal Country, around 100 kilometres south-west of Cairns, and covers more than 20,000 hectares. 12
• The reported $24.7 million target includes the purchase and an initial five years of management. 12
• Reporting identifies wet sclerophyll forest and savanna woodland on the property, as well as at least 12 recorded threatened species. 123
• The proposed purchase is intended to support conservation and Jirrbal access to and care for Country. 123

What we don't know

• The reporting does not establish whether the remaining funds will be raised or whether the purchase will be completed by the stated deadline. 123
• The sources do not set out the arrangements for Jirrbal participation in the property's management, access or long-term care. 12
• The reports give different figures for the proposed connected conservation area and do not reconcile which boundaries each estimate covers. 123
• The reporting describes intended conservation benefits but does not provide evidence of outcomes from a completed acquisition or subsequent management. 12

Read the reporting

This WildNews briefing synthesises and summarises reporting from the sources below. WildNews did not produce the original reporting. Learn more about how we use AI