The environmental values of Shelburne Bay

	Dune at Shelburne Bay by Kerry Trapnell

For the past twenty years, environment groups have strongly argued that the environment of Shelburne Bay should be protected from mining and grazing and be returned to the stewardship of the Wuthathi people.

On 30 September 1999, the pastoral lease covering Shelburne Bay expires. The Wilderness Society commends the State Government for entering into negotiations to purchase this lease.

Shelburne Bay is place of stunning environmental and cultural values. It is characterised by:

• Hundred metre high sand dunes of pure white silica sands. These dunefields, unique on the planet, cover hundreds of square kilometres of the Coral Sea coastline.
• These dunes rise from an undisturbed environment characterised by lush Hoop Pine dominated rainforests, wetlands and perched lakes & lagoons
• In 1995, The Australian Heritage Commission released a report titled 'Areas of Conservation Significance on Cape York Peninsula' as part of the CYPLUS project. This report found that dunefields of Shelburne Bay are "one of the most extensive and least disturbed areas of active parabolic dunes in the world" and that "the Shelburne Bay dunefields are a world class example of the evolution of sandy landscapes in the humid tropics."
• The AHC also found that "the pear shaped and triangular dune lakes are amongst the best examples of their type in the world."
• The coastline of Shelburne Bay is fringed with mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs - these provide habitat for dugongs and saltwater crocodiles.
• The region is listed on the 'National Estate' because of its outstanding environmental values