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Flora and Fauna of the Southern Yorke Peninsula

 

 

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Biodiversity Conservation Programs of the Northern and Yorke Region   Search View Main Menu options

Yorke Peninsula Recovery Projects

Mallefowl Photo: Courtesy of South Australian Ornithological Association

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The native vegetation of South Australia's Yorke Peninsula has been extensively cleared to produce one of Australia's foremost agricultural regions. However, the "foot" of the Peninsula retains a substantial area of remnant vegetation, which is home to numerous threatened plant and animal species, including the Malleefowl (200Kb PDF) and Western Whipbird (100Kb PDF). The continued survival of these species requires the active management of the matrix of habitats in which these species exist. Of the 14 small mammal species once identified to have occurred on the Yorke Peninsula (SA Museum records) 12 are now extinct.

The over-arching goal of the recovery projects is to implement management actions to conserve the unique biodiversity of the Yorke Peninsula, while ensuring sustainable agricultural production.

The current focus of the recovery projects is to return the missing components of Yorke Peninsula's ecological communities. The first species to be reintroduced is the mainland sub-species of the Tammar Wallaby. This species was once widespread across the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas and near Adelaide, but has been extinct on the mainland since the 1920s. Another species that may prove a potential candidate for reintroduction is the Bush Stone-curlew. Today, this ground-dwelling bird is rarely seen on the South Australian mainland, but remains on several off-shore islands.

Large-club Spider-orchid
Large-club Spider-orchid
Photo: Robert Bates

The Threatened Plant Action Group, in partnership with the Department for Environment and Heritage, Native Orchid Society of South Australia, and the Australian Plants Society, is currently coordinating an extensive conservation project for threatened flora species on the Yorke Peninsula. The project aims to implement urgent recovery actions such as fencing, weed control, surveys and monitoring in association with landholders and the local community. Species currently covered by the project include:

  

 

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