• In Queensland, Nature Refuges offer landholders the opportunity to play an active role in protecting our State’s biodiversity by choosing to dedicate part or all of their land for conservation. Once declared, a nature refuge must be managed to conserve the area’s significant cultural and natural values. So why would you invest in a nature refuge?

    It’s not just a conservation choice, it could be a lifestyle choice for you as well. Here’s your opportunity to: build your own lifestyle retreat, for self-sufficiency and healthy living, create a peaceful and private haven, set up an eco-tourism venture, grow the private protected estate in Queensland, live amongst and help protect native plants, wildlife and ecosystems and support ongoing research and conservation.

    It doesn’t have to be one or the other, we can have a productive landscape whilst protecting and enhancing nature. For example a Nature Refuge conservation agreement can be prepared to support a productive landscape such as grazing for regenerative land management.

    There are many more possibilities than people first realise. QTFN has proven results when co-creating and implementing initiatives that are mutually beneficial.

  • QTFN was established in 2004 to increase the private protected area estate in Queensland.

    As long-term champion of the private protected area program, QTFN from 2013 to 2020 served as an important conduit between landholders and the Department of Environment and Science, using our expertise to conduct assessments of the conservation value of properties, developing nature refuge agreements in collaboration with landholders, and supporting them through the registration process.

    In 2020, QTFN ecologists assessed over 1,300 hectares of land targeted as nature refuges on both privately held and QTFN-owned land – from koala habitat in the south to cassowary habitat in the north.

    A total of 13 nature refuges were declared during 2020 with our support, bringing the total number of nature refuges declared with our involvement to 44 since 2004, delivering permanent protection for 110,000 hectares of land, more than 6,000 hectares of threatened regional ecosystems and at least 71 threatened species.

    To learn more about the Queensland Private Protected Areas program and Nature Refuges, please visit the Queensland Government website.

    “The beauty of the Nature Refuges Program is that it allows a property’s significant natural and cultural resources to be conserved while also allowing compatible and sustainable land uses – from house sites to eco-tourism and outdoor education.
    Felicity Shapland, QTFN

In Queensland, Nature Refuges offer landholders the opportunity to play an active role in protecting our State’s biodiversity by choosing to dedicate part or all of their land for conservation. Once declared, a nature refuge must be managed to conserve the area’s significant cultural and natural values. So why would you invest in a nature refuge?

It’s not just a conservation choice, it could be a lifestyle choice for you as well. Here’s your opportunity to: build your own lifestyle retreat, for self-sufficiency and healthy living, create a peaceful and private haven, set up an eco-tourism venture, grow the private protected estate in Queensland, live amongst and help protect native plants, wildlife and ecosystems and support ongoing research and conservation.

It doesn’t have to be one or the other, we can have a productive landscape whilst protecting and enhancing nature. For example a Nature Refuge conservation agreement can be prepared to support a productive landscape such as grazing for regenerative land management.

There are many more possibilities than people first realise. QTFN has proven results when co-creating and implementing initiatives that are mutually beneficial.

QTFN was established in 2004 to increase the private protected area estate in Queensland.

As long-term champion of the private protected area program, QTFN from 2013 to 2020 served as an important conduit between landholders and the Department of Environment and Science, using our expertise to conduct assessments of the conservation value of properties, developing nature refuge agreements in collaboration with landholders, and supporting them through the registration process.

In 2020, QTFN ecologists assessed over 1,300 hectares of land targeted as nature refuges on both privately held and QTFN-owned land – from koala habitat in the south to cassowary habitat in the north.

A total of 13 nature refuges were declared during 2020 with our support, bringing the total number of nature refuges declared with our involvement to 44 since 2004, delivering permanent protection for 110,000 hectares of land, more than 6,000 hectares of threatened regional ecosystems and at least 71 threatened species.

To learn more about the Queensland Private Protected Areas program and Nature Refuges, please visit the Queensland Government website.

“The beauty of the Nature Refuges Program is that it allows a property’s significant natural and cultural resources to be conserved while also allowing compatible and sustainable land uses – from house sites to eco-tourism and outdoor education.
Felicity Shapland, QTFN