Introducing Two New Parks – and Additions to Eighteen More…

Queensland’s National Parks grew by two today, with eighteen parks throughout Queensland also receiving a boost in size.

The new additions are:

• The Lakes National Park (Flinders Shire), new estate – 43,260 ha
• Malbon Thompson Range National Park (Cairns), new estate – about 620 ha Former grazing property

The Lakes was acquired by the government in 2022 through a partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which brokered contributions from international philanthropic organisations, the Wyss Foundation and the Art into Acres initiative through Re:wild (private US charitable foundations). TNC committed up to $US1.829 million (around $AUD2.7 million) to the purchase. Part of the estate covers a portion of Gudjala First Nations peoples’ traditional Country.

Malbon Thompson Range National Park (not pictured) is some 35km south-east of Cairns and covers 620 ha of undisturbed coastal lowlands, covered by rainforests interspersed with kauri pines and eucalypts. Eighteen other national parks have also been formally expanded, with the land expansions, including the two new national parks, totalling more than 59,000 hectares.

Read more at https://buff.ly/3W1LZ76

Expansions to existing parks include:

• Eurimbula National Park (Gladstone), estate expansion – about 6091 hectares
• Girringun National Park (Cassowary Coast), estate expansion – about 36 hectares
• Gulngay National Park (Cassowary Coast), estate expansion – about 60 hectares
• Homevale National Park (Isaac), estate expansion – about 4,530 hectares
• Hull River National Park (Cassowary Coast), estate expansion – about 0.1 hectares
• Japoon National Park (Cassowary Coast), estate expansion – about 26 hectares
• Kuranda National Park (Mareeba Shire), estate expansion – about 3,711 hectares
• Lockyer National Park (Lockyer Valley), estate expansion – about 500 hectares
• Macalister Range National Park (Douglas Shire), estate expansion – about 18 hectares
• Magnetic Island National Park (Townsville City), estate expansion – about 2 hectares
• Mount Coolum National Park (Sunshine Coast), estate expansion – about 2 hectares
• Paluma Range National Park (Townsville City), estate expansion – about 67 hectares
• Pioneer Peaks National Park (Mackay), estate expansion – about 65 hectares
• Russell River National Park (Cairns), estate expansion – about 12 hectares
• Tully Gorge National Park (Cassowary Coast), estate expansion – about 246 hectares
• Venman Bushland National Park (Redland City), estate expansion – about 8 hectares
• Wooroonooran National Park (Cairns & Tablelands), estate expansion – about 247 hectares
• Mouth of Baffle Creek Conservation Park 2 (Gladstone), estate expansion – about 82 hectares