Lachlan Valley State Conservation Area, Hunthawang is one of the newest pieces of protected land in New South Wales.
Fronting onto 42 km of the Lachlan River, Hunthawang served as an important stock station to the Riverina region for almost 90 years. The acquisition of this $5 million property near Hillston now adds over 20,000 hectares to the national reserve system.
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife partnered with the Federal Government and the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service to acquire Hunthawang for the National Reserve System.
The Foundation provided $250,000 towards the purchase price thanks to the living legacy of Ivan Seleta, who left his entire estate as a bequest to the Foundation in 2009.
Mr Seleta was a long-term supporter of the Foundation and a regular visitor to our national parks. The Foundation kept his interests in mind when deciding how best to use his legacy to conserve our precious national parks and wildlife.
Hunthawang is a significant acquisition for conservation as it contains a mosaic of ecosystems that are currently under or un-represented in the reserve system.
Today, Hunthawang links the Lachlan Valley State Conservation Area with the existing nature reserves of Nombinne and Yathong. This allows for a continuous stretch of important wildlife habitat in a crucial area of western New South Wales.
Hunthawang protects important habitats for many threatened animal species such as the Superb Parrot, Malleefowl, Pink Cockatoo, and Brown Treecreeper. Hunthawang also provides habitat for the threatened Painted Honeyeater as areas of its Boree woodlands contain Mistletoe, which is a key food for this species.
In 2003, NPWS estimated that in the Riverina, 94% of Boree woodlands had been cleared. This left only approximately 78,000 hectares from the original extent of 1.26 million hectares.
Protecting Hunthawang increases the reservation level for Boree woodland in the Riverina from 0.9% to 12.4% of its current extent, which is a fantastic conservation outcome.
Two endangered ecological communities, including an area of Boree and remnant White Cypress Pine woodlands, are now protected in this state conservation area.
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife is the only organisation in Australia whose philanthropy is an investment in our public estate, for all to enjoy.
