Birds Australia Gluepot Reserve

Gluepot Reserve is Australia’s largest community owned and managed conservation reserve. Situated 64 km from the River Murray in South Australia’s Riverland, the reserve is managed and operated entirely by volunteers. Some 54,390 ha in size, it is home to 17 nationally threatened species of birds, 50 species of reptiles and 12 species of bats, some of which are nationally threatened. There are few areas of the world that support such a concentration of threatened species.

The Reserve is within the River Murray Catchment in South Australia and is part of the largest block of intact mallee left in Australia, and so the viability of threatened bird populations and other flora and fauna is high. Many of the trees within the mallee and Casuarina woodland are hundreds of years old with numerous hollows. Such old-growth habitat is essential for many species including threatened species.

By successfully combining the elements of biodiversity conservation and land management, scientific research and monitoring, sustainable ecotourism and on-site educational programs, Gluepot Reserve has taken conservation management into a new era. The Reserve is providing an international ‘model’ to show that sustainable use of the landscape is both feasible and desirable. A highly successful program of this size and complexity is unique in Australian land management and serves to increase awareness of the environmental issues surrounding this highly endangered area of Australian Wilderness.