Mt Gibson Sanctuary

AREA   Mt Gibson Sanctuary 130,500 ha (322,470 acres) BIOREGION Avon-Wheatbelt WILDLIFE Mammals: 18 Birds: 125 Reptiles: 48 Amphibians: 6 THREATENED WILDLIFE At least 6 species, including: Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Malleefowl Peregrine Falcon Square-tailed Kite PLANTS At least 500 species THREATENED PLANTS At least 18 species ECOSYSTEMS 13 THREATENED ECOSYSTEMS 10 ECOSYSTEMS NOT PROTECTED IN NATIONAL PARKS Assessment underway ECOSYSTEMS INADEQUATELY PROTECTED IN NATIONAL PARKS (<5% OF AREA PROTECTED) Assessment underway MAJOR ON-GROUND PROGRAMS Biodiversity surveys and monitoring Conservation of priority species (Malleefowl) Feral animal control (foxes, goats) Fire management Visitors` programs

Mt Gibson sanctuary covers 130,500 ha of largely pristine semi-arid ecosystems in the mid-west of Western Australia. Importantly, it lies on a transitional vegetation zone called the ‘mulga-eucalypt line’ straddling two major bioregions; the arid Eremean botanical province to the north and the mesic south-west botanical province to the south. The sanctuary has a highly variable topography, and when combined with this strategic location, the result is an extremely high diversity of flora and fauna.

The sanctuary has outstanding conservation values of national significance, which include:

• A remarkable 13 vegetation associations, all of which are either not represented or are inadequately represented in current government conservation reserves.
• Vegetation that is indicative of the largely cleared Avon Wheatbelt bioregion and is therefore an important repository of now rare wheatbelt flora, with 18 declared rare or priority species.
• Over 55,000 ha of magnificent eucalypt woodlands, including Salmon Gum, York Gum and Gimlet communities.
• In excess of 500 species of plant are likely to occur.

Priority management actions at Mt Gibson include:

• Control of feral goats
• Staged removal of sheep
• Fire management
• Fox control
• Malleefowl monitoring program
• Identification and protection of rare and priority flora
• Weed control

Visitors are welcome at Mt Gibson and basic camping facilities are available.