About the Northern Flinders Ranges District
The Northern Flinders Ranges district covers an area of 33, 500 square kilometres and is bounded by the dog fence to the north and east, with Lake Torrens to the west. The population of the district is approximately 900 people. Townships include Hawker, Cradock, Leigh Creek, Parachilna, Nepabunna, Copley, Beltana and Blinman.
Projects
There are several projects underway in the northern Flinder Ranges district. They include:
> Athel Pine Reduction (97 KB PDF File)
> Pastoral Bounceback (760 KB PDF File)
> Blinman/Parachilna Pest Plant Control (88 KB PDF File)
Climate
The climate is arid with hot, very dry summers and cool to mild winters. Average annual rainfall is low and highly variable, ranging from 200 mm on the plains to 300 mm in elevated areas. There is no seasonality of rainfall in the north-west of the district but in the south there is a weak winter maximum. Evaporation rates are high, ranging from 2500 mm per annum in the south to 3000 mm in the north.
Land Forms
The district is characterised by land forms such as alluvial plains, drainage systems, plains, dunefields, hills and mountains.
Vegetation
Major vegetation types include:
Dunes: Mulga, cypress pine, black oak, copper burr, grasses
Alluvial Plains: Wattles, Mitchell grass, bluebush, fuchsia, copperburr, saltbush, black oak
Drainage Lines: Samphires, nitrebush, canegrass, forbes, grasses
Plains: Mitchell grass, poverty bush, samphire, cottonbush, dead finish, saltbush, canegrass, prickly wattle, fuchsia, bluebush, black oak, wallaby grass, cypress pine, mallee box, barley grass
Rises: Twin-leaves, annual grasses, prickly wattle, bladder saltbush, mulga, bluebush, black bush, nitre bush
Hills: Prickly wattle, dead finish, red mallee, cypress pine, mulga, hop bush, rock fuchsia, black oak, samphires, cassia, daisies, wild hops, copper burr, bullock bush, native cherry, Spinifex, emu bush
Mountains: Red gums, cypress pine, red mallee, red box, spinifex, grasses, yacca, broombush, scotia bush, mallee bluebush
Water
A number of natural springs provide near-permanent waterholes which are important for domestic and stock use, tourism and native animals. Dams are a significant part of the water supply network but pumped groundwater is the primary water source of the pastoral industry.
Land Use & Industry
The most extensive land use is sheep and cattle production. Other land use includes coal, uranium, magnesite and barite mining, parks and reserves, tourism, small scale cropping and Aboriginal managed lands. There are a number of landholdings areas in the northern Flinders district that are managed for conservation purposes including Arkaroola, Warraweena and the Bunkers Conservation Reserve.
Land Management Issues
Land management issues include: mining and exploration impacts; tourism impacts; feral animals; weeds; wind and water.