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• Download the Ninghan Indigenous Protected Area - fact sheet (PDF - 719 KB)

Extract from the fact sheet

Ninghan IPA covers an area of around 480 square kilometres within a larger pastoral station which sits on the Great Northern Highway, 350 kilometres from Perth. The former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) purchased the property's lease for the Pindiddy Aboriginal Corporation in 1993. The original lease dates from the 1870s, making it one of the region's earliest pastoral enterprises. A small stone shepherd's cottage and circular stone wells near Ninghan homestead are all that is left to show the Benedictine monks at New Norcia spent time on the land.

One of the main IPA objectives is to maintain the existing high level of biodiversity by fixing environmental damage caused by feral goats, and preventing the spread of weeds. But it isn't easy - impenetrable shrublands and the rocky terrain make access to some areas extremely difficult. IPA funding has helped the Traditional Owners find a solution, using portable goat trap yards and permanent fencing to aid the ongoing removal of goats and other feral animals. Around 9,000 feral goats have been removed from the property over a 10 year period.

IPA funding is also used for the development and implementation of fire regimes, and installation of vegetation monitoring sites. Native sandalwood is widespread on the property, and a sustainable business venture using this renewable resource is being investigated.

The declaration of Ninghan IPA in October 2006 was made under World Conservation Union (IUCN) Category III - Natural Monument: Protected Area managed for conservation of specific natural features (700 hectares) and Category IV - Habitat/Species Management Area: Protected Area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention (47,000 hectares).

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