Conservation reserves of South Australia is a class of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

used in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

where

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

under the control of the responsible minister has been dedicated for conservation purposes. This class of protected area has been in use as early as 1985. In 2016 there were 15 conservation reserves that covered an area of 194.7 square kilometres (75.1 sq mi). the number had increased to 16 conservation reserves covering 193.6 square kilometres (74.73 sq mi) or less than 1% of South Australia's land area.

Description

In South Australia, a conservation reserve is a class of protected area concerned with "(crown) land set aside for conservation of natural and cultural features under the ''Crown Land Management Act 2009''" and its predecessor, the ''Crown Lands Act 1929''. This class of protected area has been in use since at least 1985. Conservation reserves only concerns land under the control of the responsible government minister and which has been dedicated for conservation purposes. Declaration of a parcel of crown land as a conservation reserve can be an interim step towards declaration as a reserve under the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia, consisting of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of 2018, South Australia contained 359 separat ...

''. , conservation reserves are managed by the

Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) is a department of the Government of South Australia. It is responsible for ensuring that the state of South Australia's natural resources are managed productively and sustainably, while improving ...

. , reserves declared under the ''Crown Land Management Act 2009'' totalled fifteen with a total area of or less than 0.1% of South Australia's area. , all fifteen declared conservation reserve reserves have been classified as

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Category VI protected areas.

Conservation reserves declared as of June 2016

, the following conservation reserves were listed by the Government of South Australia.

Bernouilli Conservation Reserve

Bernouilli Conservation Reserve Bernouilli Conservation Reserve is a protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia in the gazetted locality of Cape Jaffa about south west of the township of Kingston SE in the state's Limestone Coast region. The conservatio ...

() was established on 11 November 1993. It is located on of land in the locality of

Cape Jaffa Cape Jaffa is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located at the south end of Lacepede Bay on the state's south east coast about south west of the town centre of Kingston SE. The cape is described as being "a low sandy poin ...

in the state's

Limestone Coast The Limestone Coast is a name used since the early 21st century for a Regions of South Australia#South Australian Government regions, South Australian government region located in the south east of South Australia which immediately adjoins ...

Buckleboo Conservation Reserve

Buckleboo Conservation Reserve () was established on 13 September 1990. It is located on of land in the locality of Buckleboo in the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

. Its name is derived from the "former town of Buckleboo."

Bunbury Conservation Reserve

Bunbury Conservation Reserve () was established on 11 September 1993. It is located on of land in the locality of Bunbury in the state's Murray and Mallee region.

Bunkers Conservation Reserve

Bunkers Conservation Reserve () was established on 27 March 2001. It is located on of land in the locality of

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...

in the mountain range of the same name in the state's Far North region. Its name is derived from the Bunker Range. The crown land was placed under "the care, control and management of the Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby Association Incorporated, subject to the various conditions as stipulated in the Memorandum of Agreement signed on 28 December 2000, between the Minister for Environment and Heritage and the Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby Association Incorporated."

Cortlinye Conservation Reserve

Cortlinye Conservation Reserve () was established on 12 November 1987. It is located on of land in the locality of Cortlinye on the Eyre Peninsula. Its name is derived from the land's previous tenure as the Cortlinye Water Conservation Reserve.

Cox Scrub Conservation Reserve

Cox Scrub Conservation Reserve () was established on 11 November 1993. It is located on of land in the locality of Tooperang. Its name is derived from its proximity to the

Cox Scrub Conservation Park Cox Scrub Conservation Park (formerly Cox's Scrub National Park) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted localities of Ashbourne and Nangkita about south of the state capital of Adelaide. The co ...

Cunyarie Conservation Reserve

Cunyarie Conservation Reserve () was established on 11 November 1985. It is located on of land in the locality of Cunyarie on the Eyre Peninsula.

Desert Camp Conservation Reserve

Desert Camp Conservation Reserve __NOTOC__ Desert Camp Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's Limestone Coast in the gazetted locality of Marcollat about south of the town centre in Keith. It is classified ...

() was established on 11 November 1993. It is located on of land in the locality of Marcollat on the state's Limestone Coast about north west of Naracoorte. Its name is derived from its proximity to the

Desert Camp Conservation Park __NOTOC__ Desert Camp Conservation Park (formerly Desert Camp National Parks Reserve and Desert Camp National Park) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's Limestone Coast region in the gazetted loc ...

Hardings Springs Conservation Reserve

Hardings Springs Conservation Reserve () was established on 24 April 1997. It is located on of land in the locality of

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland * Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district fr ...

on the state's Limestone Coast.

Lacroma Conservation Reserve

Lacroma Conservation Reserve () was established on 14 April 1988. It is located on of land in the locality of

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

on the Eyre Peninsula. Its name is derived from the Lacroma Water Conservation Reserve which was located on some "adjacent" land.

Moongi Conservation Reserve

Moongi Conservation Reserve () was established on 13 September 1990. It is located on of land in the locality of Buckleboo on the Eyre Peninsula. Its name is derived from its proximity to "the former town of Moongi."

Mootra Conservation Reserve

Mootra Conservation Reserve () was established on 2 March 1989. It is located on of land in the localities of

Moseley Moseley ( ') is an affluent suburb in south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. It is located within the eponymous Moseley ward of the constituency of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (UK Parliament constituency), Hall Green and ...

and Cortlinye on the Eyre Peninsula. Its name is derived from the previous use of the land as the Mootra Water Conservation Reserve.

Pinkawillinie Reservoir Conservation Reserve

Pinkawillinie Reservoir Conservation Reserve () was established on 14 May 1987. It is located on of land in the locality of Pinkawillinie. Its name is derived from the previous use of the land as the Pinkawillinie Water Conservation Reserve. An earlier proposal to use ‘Pinkawillinie’ as the name of the conservation reserve was not accepted by Geographical Names Board due to "possible confusion with the Pinkawillinie Conservation Park proclaimed under the '' National Parks & Wildlife Act''." The name was subsequently approved by the board in 1988.

Poolgarra Conservation Reserve

Poolgarra Conservation Reserve () was established on 28 January 1988. It is located on of land in the locality of Caralue on the Eyre Peninsula. Its name is derived from the previous use of the land as the Poolgara Water Conservation Reserve.

Tola Conservation Reserve

Tola Conservation Reserve () was established on 28 January 1988. It is located on of land in the locality of

on the Eyre Peninsula. Its name is derived from the Tola Tank Water Conservation Reserve because its land holding consists of part of the land used for the

water conservation Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. Water conservation makes it possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strateg ...

reserve.

Former conservation reserves

The following is a list of former conservation reserves dedicated under the former ''Crown Lands Act 1929'' and which either have been added to existing protected areas or proclaimed as new protected areas constituted under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972''.

Other conservation reserves

Other places in South Australia whose names include the words "conservation reserve" include: *Mutton Cove Conservation Reserve is located on land adjoining the

Port River The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...

and including a bay named Mutton Cove in the suburb of Osborne in the Adelaide metropolitan area. Its existence is mentioned in various documents published by official sources in South Australia. However, , the conservation reserve has not been gazetted, although the bay known as Mutton Cove is located within the boundaries of the protected area known as the

Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (ADS) is a marine protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent in and adjoining the north-western part of Adelaide, covering the estuary of the Port River around ...

. There is a

ship's graveyard A ship graveyard, ship cemetery or breaking yard is a location where the hulls of scrapped ships are left to decay and disintegrate, or left in reserve. Such a practice is now less common due to waste regulations and so some dry docks where ...

site at Mutton Cove, there being the wreck of a former steel

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

, later used as a

coal hulk A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. 'Hulk' may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or a ship whose propulsion system is no longer maintained or has been r ...

, at the northern end of the cove, near Pelican Point. After the seawall at the reserve was breached by a huge storm in 2016, the area is now regularly flooded by the river, and is also threatened by

rising sea levels The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

. This will cause the samphires to die off and the mangroves to increase. * Nurragi Conservation Reserve, a

private protected area A private protected area, also known as a private reserve, is not an official category within IUCN's Protected Area guidelines, but includes those protected areas that fall under geographical space that is privately owned, 'kept aside' for public be ...

located in the localities of Milang, Nurragi and Sandergrove and owned by the

National Trust of South Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's In ...

. *Tennyson Dunes Conservation Reserve is located on land in the suburb of

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

in the Adelaide metropolitan area and which was reported as being dedicated as a conservation reserve by Ian Hunter, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, on 13 September 2015. However, , the conservation reserve has not been gazetted.

References

External links