Maalan Cloud Forest
Where we work / Wet Tropics / Maalan Cloud Forest
- Acquired:
- 2024
- Area:
- 80 ha
- Bioregion:
- Wet Tropics
- Habitat:
- Endangered high-altitude rainforest on basalt
- Threatened Ecological Communities:
- 2
- Threatened and Near-Threatened Species:
- 15
Reserve overview
Maalan Cloud Forest sits in a very high priority wildlife corridor between the World Heritage listed Maalan and Wooroonooran National Parks. The reserve directly borders both parts of the World Heritage Area. Half of the area is remnant endangered rainforest and half exotic pasture grasses on steep slopes.
We have been awarded funding by the Queensland Government’s Land Restoration Fund to replant rainforest over 36 hectares of cleared land over the period 2025-2031. This will involve the planting of over 120, 000 trees. Once completed, there will be a corridor of continuous rainforest canopy connecting these two parts of the World Heritage Area for the first time in a century.
protecting wildlife, sustaining life
Species and Habitats
Maalan’s greatest value lies in its role as a critical wildlife corridor—especially vital as climate change remains the most significant threat to the Wet Tropics. By protecting and restoring rainforest here, we help wildlife move through the landscape to find suitable habitat and recover after extreme events like heatwaves.
The Maalan River winds through the reserve, providing habitat for platypus and a diversity of high-altitude Wet Tropics frogs.
Maalan also borders one of the last major colonies of the endangered Spectacled Flying Fox, which gathers in the tens of thousands each wet season. As our rainforest plantings mature, we expect these striking animals will begin roosting on the property.
Conservation Highlights
The reserve supports a wide range of Wet Tropics species. Cassowaries, tree kangaroos, and endemic possums—including the critically endangered Lemuroid Ringtail Possum—are commonly seen. This area is the last known location where the critically endangered northern Spotted-tail Quoll was recorded.
