Mooloolah River National Park
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Mooloolah River National Park Queensland |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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 Mooloolah River National Park
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| Coordinates | 26°43′18″S 153°04′51″E / 26.72167°S 153.08083°ECoordinates: 26°43′18″S 153°04′51″E / 26.72167°S 153.08083°E |
| Established | 1960 |
| Area | 6.69 km2 (2.6 sq mi) |
| Managing authorities | Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Mooloolah River National Park |
| See also | Protected areas of Queensland |
The Mooloolah River National Park is a nationally protected area located on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. It covers an area of 830.9 hectares and is bordered by the Mooloolah River to the east, Claymore and Dixon Roads to the west, and the Lower Mooloolah River Environmental Reserve to the south. It is bisected by the Sunshine Motorway with the northern, 161.93 hectare component of the Park being a later addition. The Park was initially vacant crown land prior to national park designation in 1960. Surrounding land uses include livestock grazing, urban development and the campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast. It is the second largest mainland park on the coastal lowlands in South East Queensland after Noosa National Park and represents an example of low-lying coastal floodplain distinctive of the region.
The Jowarra section of the Park is located at the north western corner of the intersection of Steve Irwin Way and the Bruce Highway. It is a remnant of coastal rainforest and cut off from the main body of the Park with the only connection via the Mooloolah River itself. The Park is used for conservation and study purposes and recreationally by bushwalkers and bird watchers.
The Park provides important habitat for numerous species endemic to eastern Australia and south east Queensland, owing its species diversity to varied ecosystem types and ecotones. It represents an important remnant of coastal heathland once common in the region and a refuge for the associated flora and fauna. Almost half the area of the Park is coastal and sub coastal floodplain wet heath swamp and approximately one third coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree swamp containing Melaleuca and Eucalyptus species in the Park’s wetland areas.
Seven of the 10 vegetative communities in the Park are regionally significant. The forest red gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis) along with the blackbutt-tallowwood (Eucalyptus pilularis-E. microcorys) are classed as endangered regional ecosystems under Schedule 1 of the Vegetation Management Regulation 2012 (VMR 2012). Five other regional ecosystems present in the Park are listed as of concern in Schedule 2 of the VMR 2012 including the paperbark teatree (Melaleuca quinquenervia) open forest/woodland, wallum banksia (Banksia aemula) woodland, scribbly gum (Eucalyptus racemosa) open forest, sedgelands and closed heath.
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