Calperum Station (reserve) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Calperum StationCalperum Station, South Australia |
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Nephrurus levis from Calperum Reserve
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 Calperum Station
Location in South Australia
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| Nearest town or city | Renmark |
| Established | 1993 |
| Area | 2,386 km2 (921.2 sq mi) |
| Managing authorities | Austland Services Pty Ltd on behalf of the Director of National Parks |
| Website | Calperum Station |
| Footnotes | Coordinates Managing authorities |
Calperum Station, also known as Calperum Reserve, is a protected area located in the east of the Australian state of South Australia about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) north west of the town of Renmark and about 250 kilometres (160 miles) east of the state capital of Adelaide. The property is a de-stocked pastoral (sheep) station managed by the Australian Landscape Trust. It is managed for public benefit as a site for habitat and species conservation, scientific research and public education. Most of the property is listed as "critical habitat" for a threatened bird species, the black-eared miner. It also includes a major part of the Riverland Ramsar Site. Calperum Station is part of a larger reserve system known as the Riverland Biosphere Reserve.
Description
Location, size and vegetation
The reserve is located on the north side of the Murray River, bounded to its western side by the Taylorville Station reserve and the Gluepot Reserve. The reserve covers an area of 2,386 square kilometres (921 square miles) and was described in 2008 as follows:
Some 95% of Calperum Station is covered by Mallee vegetation communities growing on the east-west red brown dunes of the Loxton-Parilla Sands. The remaining 5% is occupied by the Murray River floodplain which includes 4 wetlands: Merreti; Woolpolool; Clover; and Woolpolool Swamp, which are part of the 30,600 hectare ‘Riverland’ Ramsar site.
Purpose
The purpose of the reserve is the protection of "Listed Critical Habitat" for the black-eared miner bird species, in conjunction with both the Taylorville Station reserve and the Gluepot Reserve. The reserve, along with Taylorville Station, is also reported as being "important for the conservation of the nationally vulnerable malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata), the regionally vulnerable bush stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) and the nationally vulnerable southern bell frog (Litoria ramiformis)." The reserve is one of the "key components of the Riverland (formerly Bookmark) Biosphere Reserve." Calperum Station is sometimes referred to as Calperum Reserve.
History
Calperum Station consists of three separate pastoral leases - Calperum, Calperum Road and Yubalia. These were purchased in 1993 by the Chicago Zoological Society, using funds obtained both from the McCormack Foundation and the Australian Government. The leases were subsequently transferred by deed of assignment to the Director of National Parks to hold in trust.
Since 2003, the reserve is managed along with the Taylorville Station reserve under contract by the Australian Landscape Trust Association Inc. (ALT). During the financial year 2013-14, the pastoral leases along with those for the Taylorville Station reserve were transferred to Austland Services Pty Ltd, a company owned by ALT, which "will continue to manage the properties in accordance with the trust arrangements."
Management
As of 2014, the reserve and the Taylorville Station reserve were managed as one unit by Austland Services Pty Ltd. The management agreement with the Director of National Parks requires that the reserve be used as "a model for the implementation of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Action Plan."
Protected area status
As of 2012, Calperum Station has not been classified as an IUCN protected area. It is reported that the reserve is being "managed for a broader, additional set of objectives, including environmentally sustainable development such as tourism."
