Queensland’s Protected Area Strategy 2023–2024 Report Card

The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation reports yearly on progress towards implementing Queensland’s Protected Area Strategy 2020–2030.

The third report card, Queensland’s Protected Area Strategy 2023–2024 Report Card (PDF, 36.2MB) , outlines what has been achieved between 1 October 2022 and 30 June 2024, and measures progress made against the strategic priorities.

Key achievements include:

  • The department has continued to acquire land to grow the protected area estate, including:
    • a 2,800 hectare grazing lease over Powrunna State Forest, which has become a home for a third population of the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat
    • 8,000 hectares of Pretty Plains, which adjoins The Lakes property acquired in early 2022—these two properties will combine to create a new 43,500 hectare national park
    • the 138,139 hectare Tonkoro Station and adjoining 352,589 hectare Vergemont Station near Longreach—when these two properties are combined with the surrounding private and public protected areas, it will create a protected area corridor that conserves almost 1.5 million hectares of Channel Country bioregion
    • the 1,636 hectare Spadely Station on Curtis Island, including estuarine wetlands and habitat for migratory birds and threatened fauna species
    • 64,800 hectares of Melrose Station, for future addition to Bladensburg National Park.
  • Over 520,000 hectares were added to the private protected area network, including the new 244,000 hectare Abingdon Downs North Nature Refuge, north-west of Georgetown, and a 64,000 hectare extension to Crystalvale Nature Refuge, south-west of Coen.
  • The Queensland National Park Investment Prioritisation Framework was published in March 2023. The framework guides and shapes decisions by providing a consistent, transparent and evidence-based methodology for identifying, assessing, selecting and prioritising potential land acquisitions or transfers of new areas to the public protected area estate.
  • The department and First Nations groups reached agreement on key Queensland Ecotourism Trails projects, delivering short-term and long-term social, environmental and economic outcomes, including the Wangetti Trail in far north Queensland – which executed a Cultural Heritage Management Agreement with Djabugay Nation Native Title Claimant.
  • The Save The Bilby Fund and the department continued our long-standing partnership by signing a further ten-year collaborative deed to support the protection and recovery of the endangered greater bilby at Currawinya National Park.