Land for wildlife

Jane;
An interesting concept.
When you say "return to wildlife" do you mean rehabilitating the land in some way and then restocking with native animals, including fencing out ferals?

Or do you maybe mean buying the land and just watching the wildlife already there including the ferals.

Maybe you need some advice regarding what you are actually taking on - beware of land that may have feral animal overload, or worse still, infestation of introduced weeds and plants - you may have to pay dearly to eradicate them.

Good luck with your dream.

Stay safe out there
TJ

G'day Jane,
My wife & I have done just that in the West Wimmera. 1,600 acres with a National park on the East & South boundary fences.
Has a Trust for Nature covenant on it.
Trust for Nature

Revegetated 13 years ago by prior owner & was told it would be 25 years until we got Mallee fowl to return but in the past 2 years 2 birds have returned & nested successfully. Wildflowers galore in Spring & counted 12 species of orchids last year. One bonus is we can camp where we like & have the place to ourselves in busy holiday periods.

It's a great feeling to leave the kids something like this instead of material things.

Cheers
Stu

I hope your dream comes to fruition Jane. Here in WA the owner of Enniun station has done just that in that the station has been de-stocked and turned into "Land for Wildlife Voluntary Nature Reserve" and is registered with the Department of Environment and Conservation. The station is not only very pretty it is also the place where gold was first discovery in WA.

Hi Jane

Your dream is commendable and I think it is a wonderful concept but fraught with issues of supervision, protective fencing, ongoing management costs etc. that will blow out particularly if you are using loan funds for a purchase...

Potential neighbour issues if your concept and whatever chooses to populate or repopulate your piece of turf become an issue with adjoining landholders...(dingoes, kangaroos etc.)

Might I suggest looking at this link below. This is a serious, professional and very successful not for profit organisation that is doing exactly what your concept is but on a significant scale.....look at the ratio of funds used on admin etc. as against spent "on the ground"...very impressive.

http://www.australianwildlife.org/

They have some properties up your way and welcome visitors/ volunteers/donations et. Your energies and passion may be channelled into something like this for a huge personal reward without a financial drain and a management nightmare if funds are limited (which from your post appear to be)

I have visited a couple of their sanctuaries and am registered as a volunteer but sadly time has yet permit me to go back...but I will be......no affiliation whatsoever but a huge fan of what they achieved to date.

Hi Jane.
There is a big station for sale at Meecatharra. Around 500k.Not sure how big. Trouble is being lease hold i think the govt requires certain stocking rates etc but may be possible to get around that these days.

cheers Graeme.

It is a fantastic idea and great that so many people are doing this type of thing.

Rather than buy "land for wildlife" of my own I have donated to non-profits who purchase the land through their organisations. I can't give much but my contribution helps them achieve the same as I would want to do myself if I had the resources.

I have not donated to any desert groups so I don't know of any links you may be interested in.

here you go, just what the doctor ordered, 474 acres for $160k in good old SA near Truro ,so you're not even remote

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-lifestyle-sa-truro-7566435

Jane,

I had a property adjoining a national park in NSW, the idea being to help extend a wooded corridor through to the coast. I found that I was unable to spend the time needed for basic upkeep. But it was great to visit.

What I do, however, is contribute to Bush Heritage Australia who buy up marginal properties and rehabilitate them by destocking and feral eradication. They are able to afford big enough properties to make a worthwhile change. They are similar to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy mentioned above.

There are properties all over Australia, and they continue to acquire them. They plan to own 1% of Australia by 2025! I have visited several - contributors are always welcomed. I am visiting Naree to the north west of Bourke NSW in a couple of weeks.

I donate a fixed amount every month, but you can make bequests. I annoy friends and relatives (who mostly have everything they need already) by giving them trees, or a few hundred acres of bush instead of crap presents for Xmas, birthdays etc.

If you love deserts then you will love Cravens Peak and Ethabuka on the eastern edge of the Simpson. You'll see things there that you'll never forget.

Bob