COMPLETED PROJECT SNAPSHOT
Action: Purchase and protection of Oakey Scrub and declaration as a Nature Refuge
Area: 69 hectares (690,000 sqm)
Location: 11 km southwest of Cooktown, Cape York, Queensland
Vegetation type: Monsoon Rainforest (21 hectares of semi-deciduous notophyll vine forest) and savannah (48 hectares of mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem)
Threatened species: Northern quoll, Bennett’s tree-kangaroo, large-eared horseshoe bat, Semon's leaf-nosed bat
Outcome: The purchase of land occurred in September 2021 and it is now protected as the Oakey Scrub Nature Refuge. The property is owned and managed by our project partners, fellow non-profit organisation South Endeavour Trust. Thank you to our generous donors who helped to achieve this outcome.
Northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus).
The purchase of this property in September 2021 assists with the conservation of Northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus). This Endangered species is under threat from habitat destruction and poisoning from the introduced cane toad, which the quolls eat without realising the danger. Oakey Scrub and the surrounding area has the highest known population of Northern quolls on Cape York Peninsula, however, this important property was privately owned and not managed for conservation. Without our intervention quolls at Oakey Scrub would have remained at risk from fires and overgrazing.
Oakey Scrub provides habitat for numerous other species including estuarine crocodiles, lizards, frogs and marsupials.
A curious northern quoll is captured with a motion-triggered camera on Oakey Scrub.
Oakey Scrub ecosystems and biodiversity
Oakey Scrub is a of 69 hectares, 21 hectares of which is Monsoon Rainforest (semi-deciduous notophyll vine forest) the remaining are being savannah (mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem). In the canopy, dominant evergreen species are Black Bean (Castanospermum australe), Candlenut (Aleurites moluccanus), Milky Pine (Alstonia scholaris), Brown Tulip Oak (Argyrodendron polyandrum), Black Walnut (Beilschmiedia obtusifolia), Native Mango (Buchanania arborescens) and Buff Walnut (Endiandra longipedicellata). Figwood (Ficus albipila var. albipila) are an emergent tree species. Common deciduous species are Leichhardt Tree (Nauclea orientalis), Tar Tree (Semecarpus australiensis), Sovereignwood (Terminalia sericocarpa) and White Cheesewood (Wrightia laevis).
A sparse to very dense sub-canopy often includes Red Kamala (Mallotus philippensis), Kamala (M. polyadenos), Queensland Nutmeg (Myristica globosa subsp. muelleri), Rose Tamarind (Arytera divaricata), Cabbage Wood (Pisonia umbellifera), Cape Tamarind (Toechima daemelianum) and Ebony (Diospyros maritima). The sparse to mid-dense shrub layer can include Weeping Cleistanthus (Cleistanthus apodus), Glycosmis trifoliata, False Gardenia (Atractocarpus sessilis), Bandicoot Berry (Leea novoguineensis), Lunasia amara var. amara, Brown Ebony (Diospyros laurina) and Northern Laurel (Cryptocarya hypospodia). The ground layer is very sparse and composed mainly of seedlings. This mainly occurs in catchments on loamy alluvia, riverine wetland, or fringing riverine wetland.
White-lipped tree frog at Oakey Scrub.
Location
Oakey Scrub is located 10km southwest of Cooktown at the intersection of the Wet Tropics and Cape York bioregions in Far North Queensland and the Einasleigh Uplands. It has two adjoining ecosystems, Monsoon Rainforest (21 hectares of semi-deciduous notophyll vine forest) and Savannah (48 hectares of mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem). These two ecosystems provide habitat for a diverse range of flora and fauna including the endangered Northern Quoll and other Threatened species including the Bennett’s Tree-Kangaroo, Large-eared Horseshoe Bat, Semon's leaf-nosed bat.
The purchase of the property prevented it from being used for cattle grazing like so many other properties on Cape York.
Northern Spotted Velvet Gecko (Oedura coggeri).
The property has one kilometre of Oakey Creek frontage. As you can see from this aerial footage of a helicopter flyover.
Current condition
Fortunately, Oakey Creek Scrub is in good to moderate condition. It is recovering from past overgrazing and too frequent fire, with the vegetation showing positive signs. Overgrazing and fire have not been issues over the past three years but there is still much recovery to happen on this property.
Management
Our project partners are South Endeavour Trust, a successful registered non-profit organisation that acquires and manages land for conservation. They own and manage Oakey Scrub Nature Refuge which adjoins Caloola Nature Refuge (18,100 hectares).
We successfully partnered with South Endeavour Trust in 2022 for the acquisition of Cheelonga Cloud Forest and again in 2024 to purchase and protect the Maalan Cloud Forest (both properties are located on the Atherton Tablelands).
The Oakey Scrub Nature Refuge has been declared by the Queensland Government as a protected area. 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.
Focus of management:
- The exclusion of fire from the rainforest and the rainforest margin to provide continuous improvement in the condition of the rainforest and for an expansion of the rainforest area.
- The exclusion and/or active management of feral animals.
- Maintenance of strict weed quarantine to maintain its largely weed-free state.
Thank you.
Thank you to our generous donors who helped to achieve this outcome.
We successfully partnered with South Endeavour Trust in 2022 for the acquisition of Cheelonga Cloud Forest and again in 2024 to purchase and protect the Maalan Cloud Forest (both properties are located on the Atherton Tablelands).