Rainforest restoration to complete the Rock Road Wildlife Corridor

Rainforest restoration to complete the Rock Road Wildlife Corridor is an environmental planting project located in Tarzali, approximately 10km south of Malanda on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland. Registered in November 2022, the project covers roughly 64 hectares of former agricultural land.

The project operates under the Environmental Planting methodology, which involves establishing permanent forest cover using native species on land that has been clear of forest for at least five years. While standard requirements typically mandate a minimum stocking density of roughly 200 stems per hectare, this specific project utilizes a significantly higher density, planting over 200,000 trees across the site, to replicate the structure of the surrounding complex rainforest.

Situated in the Wet Tropics bioregion, the area is characterized by high rainfall and fertile volcanic basalt soils, historically supporting dairy farming and grazing. The project is a strategic conservation effort funded partly by the Queensland Government's Land Restoration Fund. Its primary goal is to close the final gaps in a 1.8km wildlife corridor, reconnecting the Mt Hypipamee National Park with a large, isolated remnant of high-altitude rainforest. This connection is considered critical for the survival of climate-sensitive species such as the Lemuroid Ringtail Possum and the Southern Cassowary.