Over a thousand donors have helped secure a safer future for some of Tasmania’s most iconic and threatened species – including the Tasmanian devil, eastern quoll and wedge-tailed eagle – the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC).
Both fauna and flora will benefit from the permanent protection of Pine Tier, a 1,880-hectare property in the state’s central highlands.
Thanks to community support, Pine Tier now forms part of a large and connected conservation landscape.
It adjoins both Aboriginal-owned Trawtha Makuminya (managed by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre), TLC’s Five Rivers Reserve and TLC’s Skullbone Plains, which sits within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Together, they create a 20,000-hectare reserve – the largest contiguous area of privately protected land in Tasmania – providing a lifeline for at least 16 threatened species and a diversity of habitats. More than 70% of Pine Tier is covered by threatened ecological communities.
“We’re humbled by the generosity of everyone who made this happen,” TLC CEO Dr Kath Tuft said.
“This was our most ambitious campaign yet. Together with the extraordinary support of the Elsie Flood and Elsie Cameron Foundations, a thousand donors who trusted us with this project, and the local community, we’re able to protect Pine Tier forever.”
The organisation said that Pine Tier’s patchwork of highland grasslands, eucalypt forests and rare sphagnum peatlands provides critical refuge for native species.
It also strengthens climate resilience by safeguarding intact ecosystems that support species movement and adaptation.
“Every visit to Pine Tier reveals something new – stringybark giants, highland tussock plains, blue-winged parrots lifting off the grass,” according to Dr Cath Dickson, TLC Conservation Science and Planning Manager.
“Knowing these landscapes are now protected gives Tasmanians real confidence that these species and habitats will still be here for generations to come.”
With the addition of Pine Tier, TLC now protects more than 100,000 hectares of habitat across the state through its permanent reserves and conservation partnerships with private landholders.
Pine Tier. Image courtesy Rob Blakers.
Featured image above of Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle courtesy Craig Greer.
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