Vergemont station in central Queensland has been bought in a joint purchase between the state government and the Nature Conservancy after a $21m anonymous donation. Photo Credit: Ian Wilkinson/Queensland government
Environment AustraliaHuge Anonymous Donation to Transform Cattle Ranch to National Park
An anonymous and substantial donation of $21 million allowed the purchase of a cattle station in Queensland, Australia, to be converted into a national park to protect the habitat of endangered and vulnerable species.
The $21 million donation “highlights the power of leveraged gifts, enabling philanthropists and governments alike to achieve outcomes far beyond what is possible alone,” explains The Nature Conservancy’s interim managing director, Lara Gallagher.
Vergemont station, a 352,000-hectare property located 110 km west of Longreach, is home to 34 ecosystems and ranks above 90% of existing national parks. Following a two-year transition process to remove cattle, the new national park will join existing ones to create a conservation corridor of some 1.4 million hectares and bring Queensland’s network of protected areas to surpass 15 million hectares. This acquisition by The Nature Conservancy and the Queensland government shows how both are interested in meeting the country’s national ambition of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030.
