Progress to Date - Mac and Rose Chalmers Conservation Reserve
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Tower Rock - |
Charlie Chalmers from MacDonald Downs Station (250 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs) is the first pastoralist in the Northern Territory to place a perpetual conservation covenant over part of his property as part of the Voluntary Conservation Covenants on Private Land program. This program has been developed to allow private landholders who wish to protect special natural areas of their property for the future.
The area of Tower Rock is a unique granite boulder outcrop that encompasses 470 hectares (4.7 square kilometre) of land and is host to a wide range of native plant species and wildlife. The Reserve supports a diversity of plants and animals such as the kultarr – a small carnivorous marsupial that is classified as Near Threatened in the Northern Territory – and rock wallabies have been seen in the vicinity in the past.
This bioregion is under represented in the National Reserve System so the addition of this new reserve is an important increase to the protection of biodiversity for this region.
The Reserve also protects the grave sites of Charlie’s parents, Mac and Rose Chalmers. The Reserve will be named the Mac and Rose Chalmers Conservation Park in honour of this couple who developed a passionate love of this land and had a close rapport with Alyawarr people of the area.