The Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) has an ambitious plan to link conservation areas in the state’s Central Highlands, creating a huge tract of land protected for nature.
TLC is raising donations from the public to protect Pine Tier. On its own, this property is 1,880 hectares of subalpine valley floor, dissected by pristine rivers that are surrounded by old-growth forests, and peatlands that store more carbon than all other forest vegetation.
But more importantly, protecting Pine Tier will link a network of protected areas that spans multiple rivers, wetlands, valleys, woodlands and forests to create the largest contiguous area of privately protected land in Tasmania, adjoining the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Spanning 20,000 hectares, this land would safeguard numerous threatened species as well as an iconic Tasmanian highland landscape.
The TLC protects places by creating private nature reserves and needs to raise over $4 million for Pine Tier. When the goal is reached, this area will be protected forever.
‘Private land conservation is critical in protecting Tasmania’s unique landscapes and many of our rare and threatened species,’ said TLC CEO, James Hattam. ‘In the Central Highlands, we’ve seen the great results for threatened species at the TLC’s Skullbone Plains and Five Rivers Reserve, and at trawtha makuminya, owned and managed by the Aboriginal community.’
‘We’ve been working with the owner of this property for years to come up with a plan to safeguard its future. Protecting Pine Tier is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a huge nature corridor across the Central Highlands, conserving threatened species and ensuring the places that Tasmanians value today are looked after forever.’
Three threatened vegetation communities – Highland grassy sedgeland, extensive areas of Highland Poa grassland and pockets of Sphagnum peatland – cover 1,400 hectares of this property. These communities are frequently under pressure and threats from degradation and further agricultural development.
‘Sphagnum peatland is a nationally endangered vegetation community that plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle as a vital carbon sink, with peatlands storing more carbon than all other forest vegetation types,’ says TLC’s Science and Planning Manager, Dr Cath Dickson. ‘Protecting Pine Tier’s rolling Sphagnum peatlands means protecting an important source of carbon sequestration.’
Dr Dickson continues: ‘Pine Tier’s grasslands offer perfect habitat for threatened eastern quolls, providing insects and small mammals for their nightly foraging trips before they retreat to the adjacent woodlands to den. This remarkable landscape could protect some of our most threatened ecosystems, forever.’
‘TLC’s community of supporters is already protecting species and habitats across 100,000 hectares of Tasmania,’ says James Hattam. ‘This is a chance to make a difference for nature at a landscape scale, and we’re excited to get started.’
To find out more about Pine Tier, visit tasland.org.au/reserves/protect-pine-tier.
