Why is fraser island protected

Don't bring animals, plants, plant materials or soil to the island. Be sure to bin your cigarette butts and all little bits of litter. Animals, plants, bush timber or soil cannot be brought to K'gari without the permission of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Partnerships. If bush toileting is absolutely necessary, please: bury your waste and toilet paper at least 50cm deep and at least 50m from creeks and lakes, or as signposted. Never go alone. Beach camping—leave no trace Camp behind the foredunes where permitted.

Camp at least 50m from streams and lakes. Use existing camp sites. Avoid digging trenches. Don't trample or park on vegetation. Be responsible with rubbish disposal. Recycling and rubbish disposal If you can, please take your rubbish off the island with you.

This saves energy. If you cannot do this, dispose of it at one of the waste transfer stations provided and marked on the K'gari Fraser Island map PDF, Please do not throw rubbish into the bush. Never bury or burn rubbish. Be dingo-safe at the rubbish bins. You can help. Reduce your packaging before you go to the island.

Bring products with lightweight, crushable packaging e. Avoid bringing glass. Separate your recyclables from general waste; whole glass bottles, plastic containers, clean paper, aluminium and steel cans, and cardboard can all be recycled when you get home.

If a bin is full, please use another; never leave rubbish lying around the rubbish bins. For more information watch Reduce and recycle rubbish —a short information video. You must not leave hazardous waste in or around the bins.

Chemicals, batteries, used oil, paints, tyres and materials containing asbestos are not accepted at the bins. Take these materials off the island and dispose of them properly. Penalties apply for illegal dumping. Fish right Keep fish, bait and berley in sealed containers away from wongari dingoes. Bury fish remains and unused bait just below high tide mark—dig a deep hole and cover the fish scraps with at least 50cm of sand. Bury fish remains when wongari are not around, so they don't associate finding the remains with people.

Dispose of used bait bags and unwanted fishing line in bins. Fish cleaning is prohibited in all camping areas. All freshwater fish are protected on K'gari—fishing or collecting bait in lakes and streams is not permitted. Keep wildlife wild Do not feed or leave food available for animals. Our food does not suit wildlife—it can make them sick. Plastic bags kill animals. Bin your bags or don't bring them. For more information watch Keep wildlife wild —a short information video. Closed: Christmas day For more information about: K'gari tourism see: www.

Permit refunds Refunds are granted in extenuating circumstances, but only if requested before the permit commences. Email: qpws des. Non-urgent calls Police Eurong : 07 Ambulance: 13 12 33 The ambulance station at Happy Valley is manned 7 days a week from 7am to 5pm.

The island is home to unique sites such as perched lakes, rainforests and complex sand dunes. In Australia alone, there are 19 listed sites of both cultural and natural significance. Fraser Island is included in the list due to its 'outstanding universal value. World Heritage listed sites belong to the people of the world. They are not marked by their territory or region but instead belong to mankind as a whole. Inland from the beach are majestic remnants of tall rainforest growing on tall sand dunes, a phenomenon believed to be unique in the world.

Criterion viii : The property represents an outstanding example of significant ongoing geological processes including longshore drift. The immense sand dunes are part of the longest and most complete age sequence of coastal dune systems in the world and are still evolving.

The superimposition of active parabolic dunes on remnants of older dunes deposited during periods of low sea level, which are stabilised by towering rainforests at elevations of up to metres, is considered unique. The dynamic interrelationship between the coastal dune sand mass, aquifer hydrology and the freshwater dune lakes provides a sequence of lake formation both spatially and temporally. The process of soil formation on the island is also unique, since as a result of the successive overlaying of dune systems, a chronosequence of podzol development from the younger dune systems on the east to the oldest systems on the west change from rudimentary profiles less than 0.

The latter far exceeds known depths of podzols anywhere else in the world and has a direct influence on plant succession, with the older dune systems causing retrogressive succession when the soil horizon becomes too deep to provide nutrition for tall forest species. Criterion ix : The property represents an outstanding example of significant ongoing biological processes.

These processes, acting on a sand medium, include biological adaptation such as unusual rainforest succession , and biological evolution such as the development of rare and biogeographically significant species of plants and animals. Both heathland and closed forest communities provide refugia for relict and disjunct populations, which are important to ongoing speciation and radiation. Evolution and specialised adaptation to low fertility, fire, waterlogging and aridity is continuing in the ancient angiosperm flora of the heathlands and the associated vertebrate and invertebrate fauna.

Since listing, patterned fens have been discovered on the property, which along with those at Cooloola, are the only known examples of sub-tropical patterned fens in the world.

These fens support an unusual number of rare and threatened invertebrate and vertebrate species. The dynamic interrelationship between the coastal dune sand mass, hydrology, the ongoing processes of soil formation and the development of plant communities is remarkable in its scale and complexity given the uniform substrate.

There is clear zonation and succession of plant communities according to salinity, water table, age and nutrient status of dune sands, exposure and fire frequency. Fauna including a number of threatened species of frog, have adapted to the highly specialised acidic environment associated with wet heathlands and sedgelands in this siliceous sand environment. The conditions of integrity are met as there is no perceptible human threat to longshore drift and other ongoing processes that make this area outstanding.

The property is sufficiently large, diverse and free from disturbance to contain all ecosystem components required for viable populations of all species and for continued maintenance of all natural phenomena.

For example the evolution of soil profiles remains essentially undisturbed. Weeds, plant diseases and feral animals are present but in low numbers and are subject to active management.