Bon Bon Reserve is a 2,164-square-kilometre (836-square-mile) private protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia, west of the town of Roxby Downs in the Woomera Prohibited Area.[2] It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia (BHA). It forms an important link of protected land between Yellabinna Regional Reserve and Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park.[citation needed]
| Bon Bon Reserve South Australia | |
|---|---|
  Bon Bon Reserve | |
| Nearest town or city | Roxby Downs |
| Coordinates | 30°31′43″S 135°31′35″E / 30.5286°S 135.5265°E |
| Established | 2008 |
| Area | 2,164.53 km2 (835.7 sq mi)[1] |
| Managing authorities | Bush Heritage Australia |
| Website | Bon Bon Reserve |
| See also | Protected areas of South Australia |
History
editBon Bon Reserve was a sheep station for 150 years before being purchased by BHA in 2008 with assistance from the Australian and South Australian governments.[3] The station ran an average of approximately 15,000 head of sheep between 1970 and 1989 with flocks exceeding 23,000 at times prior to this.[4] The owner of Bon Bon Station, Grazier Paul Blight, sold the property to Bush Heritage Australia in 2008 for A$4 million with the state and federal governments sharing in the cost. Blight had kept stock numbers low to give the vegetation a chance to regenerate and wanted the property to continue to be managed in an environmentally sensitive manner.[5]
The land occupying the extent of the Bon Bon reserve was gazetted by the Government of South Australia as a locality in April 2013 under the name 'Bon Bon'.[6]
Landscape and vegetation
editBon Bon Reserve is characterised by arid-zone woodlands, mulga shrublands, bluebush plains and salt lakes. At the heart of the property is Lake Puckridge, a large (8 km by 4 km), ephemeral freshwater wetland that only fills, on average, every ten years, when it becomes an important site for many waders and waterbirds. The property also contains stands of Sandalwood.[3]
Fauna
editThreatened animal species either known or thought likely to be present on Bon Bon Reserve include plains-wanderer, Major Mitchell's cockatoo, chestnut-breasted whiteface, thick-billed grasswren and southern hairy-nosed wombat.[3]
Protected area status
editBon Bon Reserve has protected area status within the Australian National Reserve System due to the property being subject to a conservation covenant where BHA has agreed to it being "reserved in perpetuity.’’[1][7] Bon Bon Reserve is classified as an IUCN Category II protected area.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Terrestrial Protected Areas of South Australia (see 'DETAIL' tab)". CAPAD 2014. Australian Government, Department of the Environment (DoE). 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ "Bon Bon Reserve". World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), a joint project of IUCN and UNEP. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ a b c Bon Bon Reserve
- ^ "Bob Bon Heritage Reserve South Australia" (PDF). Hawke Review of the Woomera Protected Area. Defence Department. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- ^ Greg Roberts (9 August 2008). "Keeping hands off our lands". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- ^ "Search result for "Bon Bon (LOCB)" (Record no SA0067023) with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities" and " Place names (gazetteer)"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ^ "Standards for inclusion in the National Reserve System" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. p. 2. Retrieved 24 September 2015.