The 8000 hectare Bimblebox Nature Refuge is threatened by a massive new coal development proposed by Waratah Coal. In late September 2011 the company released its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its ‘China First’ mine (otherwise known as the ‘Galilee Coal Project’). It outlines a proposal to extract 40 mega-tonnes of coal per year, which would be transported on a yet-to-be-built 468km rail line up to Abbot Point and shipped through the Great Barrier Reef on its way to China where it will be burnt for energy generation. Their ambitious and polluting plans have not yet received formal government approval. Support the upcoming 'Bimblebox' documentary by film maker Michael O'Connell on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/rTFBO7 www.bimblebox.org

1. Bimblebox Nature Refuge Desert Uplands Central-west Queensland

2. Bimblebox Nature Refuge (or ‘Glen Innes’) Bimblebox or Poplar Box = Eucalyptus populnea

3. Location of Bimblebox Nature Refuge, 500km west of Rockhampton, 50km north-west of Alpha

5. http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-ecosystems/nature_refuges/index.html

8. Significant species at Bimblebox Species Conservation Status Birds Australian Bustard Ardeotis australis Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Black Falcon Falco subniger Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Bush Stone-Curlew Burhinus grallarius Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Squatter Pigeon Geophaps scripta scripta Vulnerable (EPBC) Brown Treecreeper Climactereris picumnus Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Speckled Warbler Chthonicola sagittata Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Inland Thornbill Acanthiza apicalis Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Black-chinned Honeyeater Melithreptus gularis Near Threatened (DERM); Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Hooded Robin Melanodryas cucullata Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Grey-crowned Babbler Pomatostomus temporalis Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Great Egret Ardea alba Marine; Migratory(CAMBA, JAMBA) Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus Marine; Migratory(JAMBA) Black-throated Finch (southern) Poephila cincta Endangered (EPBC) Mammals Common Dunnart Sminthopsis murina Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Spectacled Hare Wallaby Lagorchestes conspicillatus Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Rufous Bettong Aepyprymnus rufescens Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Koala Phascolarctos cinereus Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Reptiles Mulga Snake (King Brown Snake) Pseudechis australis Conservation Significance for Desert Uplands Butterflies Wanderer Butterfly Danaus plexippus Migratory (Bonn) Plants Large-podded Tick-trefoil Desmodium macrocarpum Near Threatened (DERM)

9. Biodiversity at Bimblebox

10. Silver-leaved Ironbark woodland and Spinifex understorey

11. Poplar Box (Bimblebox) woodland and native grasses

12. Mixed Eucalyptus woodland and native grasses

13. Eucalypt woodland, native shrubs and grasses

14. Black orchid

15. Migratory Rainbow Bee-eater

16. White-necked Heron

17. Brown Falcon

18. Red-tailed black cockatoo

19. Nobby Dragon

20. Pale-headed snake

21. On the boundary of Bimblebox

22. A view over the boundary

24. Desert Uplands http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/bioregion-framework/ibra/index.html

27. 2. Queensland Herbarium & Land and Water Australia Fire Management Project Research at Bimblebox Established with co-funding from Land and Water Australia and the Queensland EPA in 2003. The project seeks to weigh the costs and benefits of using fire in conjunction with pastoralism. The project will look at the effects of fire on the structure of woodlands, their biodiversity, and pastoral production.

28. 3. Qld DPI&F - Two projects on woodland monitoring and grazing carrying capacity Research at Bimblebox Developing Long-term Carrying Capacity models for the Desert Uplands Understanding change in Queensland’s grazed woodlands (TRAPS woodland monitoring).

29. 4. Birds Australia – Trends in Avian Diversity Research at Bimblebox Fourteen long term bird monitoring sites have been established at ‘Glen Innes’ [Bimblebox Nature Refuge] in the intact eucalypt woodlands to monitor trends in avian diversity due to climate change and land use. A significant outcome will be the assessment of the potential for birds as surrogates for monitoring biodiversity and ecological health on a landscape scale.

40. QLD coal expansion http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/exploration-threatens-to-cover-state/story-e6freoof-1226140323300

45. Nature Refuge News, Aug 2007 “ Today over 560,800 hectares of some the world’s most biologically diverse areas are protected in Nature Refuges ” “ All 242 nature refuge landholders have one thing in common – they know their patch is worth protecting forever ”

46. Nature Refuge News, Aug 2007

47. Nature Refuge News, Nov 2007