Protecting South Australia

Ancient Myall on the edge of the Nullarbor Plain, SA. Photo: Bill Doyle

SA Campaigns

South Australia contains vast areas of wilderness and has some of the highest quality arid and marine wilderness anywhere. Sharing borders with all mainland states, SA is crucial to any vision of continent wide conservation. Protecting core areas and connecting processes in and between these areas is a key WildCountry goal and an aim of The Wilderness Society.

Our work in South Australia involves campaigning for:

• Better Nature Reserves - no mining in national parks
• Wilderness protection
• Marine Parks

Some issues run across many of these categories. The Nullarbor campaign is about protecting a great wilderness area, but because one of the major threats is the proliferation of tracks for mining exploration, it is also a campaign to stop mining in our nature reserves.The Nullarbor Plain is also a key area in the SA WildCountry Program, critical to the east/west connection of the southern Australian landscape. It builds on the tremendous success of our Yellabinna campaign, where half a million hectares of mallee wilderness was protected in 2005.

History

The South Australian Branch of the Wilderness Society was formed in the late 1970s to campaign to protect the Franklin River in Tasmania. After the Franklin River victory, attention turned to the arid wilderness of South Australia.

In 1992, after a community campaign spearheaded by The Wilderness Society, state parliament passed the /Wilderness Protection Act/ to provide high levels of protection for Wilderness Protected Areas and Zones. Five areas on Kangaroo Island were proclaimed as Wilderness Protection Areas in 1993.

The Great Australian Bight. Photo: Bill Doyle

Other significant victories for the South Australian Branch include:

• the proclamation of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park (1995), with further protection gained in 2000, and 2003
• the stopping of a mine proposal at Weetootla Gorge in the Gammon Ranges National Park (2000), and a permanent ban on mining in the Park in 2002
• Wilderness Protection Area at Memory Cove, lower Eyre Peninsula (announced 2003)
• protection of a core area of Coongie Lakes in a National Park, and petroleum excluded from an area surrounding it (announced 2003)
• the state government promoting a WildCountry philosophy (2002) and launching NatureLinks as its WildCountry program (2003)
• Wilderness Protection Area at Yellabinna in the state's West (announced 2005)
• Wilderness Protection Areas in Danggali and Billiatt in the SA Riverland (announced 2007)
• the passing of the Marine Parks Act (2007)
• a halt to uranium mining activity in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary (2008)
  

Structure

Our South Australian team includes:

• Peter Owen - Campaign Manager
• Patrick McMurray - Business Manager
• Tammy-Jo Sutton - Community Campaigner
• Cassie Flanagan - Community Campaigner
• Matt Turner - WildCountry Scientist
• TBA - SA Campaigner
• Lisa Cartwright - Acting Retail Manager

Photos: Bill Doyle (See his UnknownSA website)