816,000 Hectares of Land Will Be Added to WA’s Conservation Estate

Mount Augustus National Park is about to get a whole lot bigger with the WA Government pledging additional land to be managed by the Traditional Owners.

The Western Australian Government is set to add 816,000 hectares of land to the state’s conservation estate, expanding some of its northern national parks. This is around four times the size of the ACT.

The huge addition will be the largest single contribution of land under the Cook Labor Government’s ‘Plan For Our Parks’ initiative. It means 3.5 million hectares of new reserves will have been created across the state since 2019, closing in on the initiative’s 5 million hectare pledge.

The new reserves are planned for Burringurrah/Mt Augustus, as well as for the Muggon and Dalgaranga National Parks and the Lakeside Conservation Park, all of which fall within the Wajarri Yamaji conservation estate.

Mt Augustus is 1.5 times bigger than Uluru

Jointly Managed with the Traditional Owners

The State Government announced it will partner with Burringurrah and Minangu — two Aboriginal land groups within the Wajarri Yamaji native title determination area — to manage the new and existing national parks.

‘This is a significant milestone, not only for the Plan For Our Parks initiative but also for Wajarri Yamaji people’, said Western Australia’s Environment Minister, Reece Whitby.

‘It means Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation, in partnership with the State Government, will support efforts to manage cultural sites, create job and economic opportunities for Traditional Owners, and improve conservation efforts’, he added.

Under the joint management, 16 Traditional Owners will be employed as rangers, with eight rangers based at Burringurrah, six at the other parks, and two joint management support officers.

Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation CEO Jamie Strickland said this was what the Wajarri Yamaji People have wanted ‘for a long time’.

‘This ILUA provides Wajarri Yamaji People access to be able to manage Wajarri country.

‘While it is a partnership approach with the State Government through the joint management bodies, it is clear Wajarri Yamaji cultural knowledge and authority are critical elements to this’, he said.

Mt Augustus National Park from Emu Hill

The new reserves hold significant cultural value, incorporating waterways associated with the Aboriginal Dreamtime as well as being home to several threatened species of flora and fauna.

The WA Government said the expansion will also provide new opportunities for tourists visiting Mt Augustus – Australia’s largest monolith — measuring 1.5 times the size of Uluru.

Images thanks to @pelusey_life