Cravens Peak Reserve

Cravens Peak Reserve is a 233,000–hectare nature reserve in Central West Queensland, Australia, 135 km south-west of Boulia and 471 km south of Mount Isa. It lies at the northern end of the Simpson Desert and includes parts of the Simpson-Strezlecki Dunefields and Channel Country bioregions. Its western boundary borders the Northern Territory. It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia (BHA) which purchased it in 2005 following a generous bequest by Gay Bell.^[1] A reason for acquisition of the property was the need to help conserve the Mulligan River catchment.

History

Cravens Peak contains fish fossils from the Devonian period. The traditional owners of Cravens Peak are the Pitta Pitta and Wongkamala people. The area was at the heart of the trade route for the drug pituri. It later became a pastoral lease that was operated as a beef cattle station until acquisition by BHA.^[2]

Landscape

Cravens Peak is composed of rocky hills and plains, with the Toomba Range of the western section being the highest and most rugged, and the eastern section dominated by dunefields and the associated swales, with gibber plains in the south. There are ephemeral claypans and waterholes in the catchment of the Mulligan River important for waterfowl conservation. Vegetation communities include Mitchell grass plains and coolabah woodlands. Management needs to address previous overgrazing, control of introduced herbivores and predators, as well as fire ecology.^[2] The reserve is part of the Simpson Desert Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International for its importance in conserving suitable habitat for Eyrean grasswrens.^[3]

References

External links

• Bush Heritage Australia

Coordinates: 23°09′14.72″S 138°14′14.43″E / 23.1540889°S 138.2373417°E / -23.1540889; 138.2373417