Managing biodiversity in our cotton 'landscapes'

Narrabri local government area

Area of cotton landscape:
684,700 ha

Area of cotton properties:
344,300 ha

Area of remnant vegetation in the cotton landscape:
144,400 ha (21%)

Area of remnant vegetation on cotton properties:
32,200 ha (9%)

Area of threatened ecological communities in the cotton landscape:
70,900 ha (49%)

Area of threatened ecological communities on cotton properties:
22,600 ha (70%)

Area of priority zones for native vegetation restoration and enhancement:
10,860 ha

Area of priority zones for vegetation:
35,390 ha


Main vegetation types on cotton properties:

Coolibah woodlands, Belah woodlands, Poplar Box woodlands, Silver-leaved Ironbark woodlands, Buloke woodlands, Black Tea-tree woodlands, Dirty Gum/Dwyer’s Red Gum low woodlands, River Red Gum forests, River Oak riparian forests, Rough-barked Apple woodlands, Inland Rainforests.

Main threatened ecological communities on cotton properties:

Coolibah-Black Box woodland of the Brigalow Belt South and Darling Riverine Plains bioregions (E).
Weeping Myall woodlands (E).


Named wetlands in the cotton landscape:

The Gardens Water Storage, Narrabri Lake, Talluba Creek, Round Swamp, Gulgreena Water Storage.

Area of wetlands in the cotton landscape:
18,800 ha (3%)

Area of wetlands in the cotton properties:
13,700 ha (4%)

Length of major rivers in the cotton landscape:
505 km

Length of major rivers on cotton properties:
356 km

Length of minor water courses in the cotton landscape:
2,660 km

Length of minor streams on cotton properties:
1,000 km

Main rivers in the cotton landscape:

Namoi River, Pian Creek, Maules Creek.


Area of national park in the cotton landscape:
13,913 ha

Area of state forests in the cotton landscape:
6,089 ha

Area of travelling stock routes in the cotton landscape:
26,593 ha

Examples of public land reserves in the cotton landscape:

Bobbiwaa State Conservation Area, Culgoora State Forest, Pilliga East State Forest, Plagyan State Forest.


Examples of iconic species in the cotton landscape:

 Animals: Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby, Koala, Short-beaked Echidna, Spotted- tailed Quoll, Barking Owl, Black-necked Stork, Emu, Magpie Goose, Royal Spoonbill, Tawny Frogmouth, Zebra Finch, Murray Cod.

Plants: Carbeen, Leopardwood, River Red Gum, Weeping Myall.

Examples of threatened species in the cotton landscape:

Animals: Black-striped Wallaby (N), Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby (V), Koala (V), Spotted-tailed Quoll (E), Eastern Cave Bat (N), Large-eared Pied Bat (V), Australian Painted Snipe (E), Black-chinned Honeyeater (N), Eastern Grass Owl (N), Glossy Black-Cockatoo (N,Q), Little Eagle (N), Masked Owl (N), Speckled Warbler (N), Superb Parrot (V), Pale-headed Snake (N), Five- clawed Worm-skink (V), Murray Cod (V), Darling River Snail (N).

Plants: Belson's Panic (V), Coolabah Bertya (V), Finger Panic Grass (N), Greenhood Orchid (N), Lake Keepit Hakea (E), Native Milkwort (N), Ooline (V), Spiny Peppercress (V), Cyperus conicus (N), Tylophora linearis (E).

View Narrabri management actions