__NOTOC__ Mount Scott Conservation Park is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located in the gazetted locality of

Blackford Blackford might refer to: People with the surname *Charles Minor Blackford (1833–1903), an American lawyer *Hosea Blackford, a fictional character in books by Harry Turtledove *Ian Blackford, a Scottish politician *Isaac Blackford (1786–1859), ...

about east of

Kingston SE Kingston SE (Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston-on-Murray) formerly Kingston is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east coastline on the shores of Lacepede Bay. It is located about ...

in the state's

Limestone Coast The Limestone Coast is a name used since the early twenty-first century for a South Australian government region located in the south east of South Australia which immediately adjoins the continental coastline and the Victorian border. The ...

region. The conservation park is located on the remnants of a coastal dune system which run parallel to the current continental coastline from the north-west to the south-east and which have a maximum height of not greater than . The course of the now non-existent stream, Reedy Creek, adjoins the south western boundary of the Park while the West Avenue Range adjoins its eastern side. The slopes of the remnant dunes consist of soils of “deep sandy loams with outcrops of limestone on the ridge tops” while the low-lying areas have “clayey loam soils" that are "subject to inundation and become waterlogged during wet periods.” The conservation park is accessed via its north-west corner from Mount Scott Road. A track of width has been provided to its boundary for the purpose of “management access.” Its name is derived from a nearby hill known as Mount Scott. The conservation park was constituted under the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia consists of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of March 2018, South Australia contains 359 sepa ...

'' on 9 November 1972 in respect to land in section 71 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Murrabinna. As of 2012, access to the conservation park for the purpose of petroleum exploration under the ''Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000'' was not permitted. As of 1994, the conservation park was reported as supporting a “variety of vegetation types” and some “notable species” of fauna: #The south western side consists of flats “dominated” by

river red gum ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers an ...

s while the centre of the conservation park where a central limestone ridge exists supported a woodland of South Australian blue gum and

pink gum ''Eucalyptus fasciculosa'', commonly known as pink gum, hill gum or scrub gum, is a species of small tree that is endemic to southern Australia. It has mostly smooth, light grey to pinkish bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in grou ...

. # The eastern side where the soil was “more sandy”, was dominated by mallee vegetation while stands of South Australian swamp paper-bark and "mallee honey-myrtle (M. neglecta)" were found in the calcareous soils in low-lying areas. #Fauna species observed include

common wombat The common wombat (''Vombatus ursinus''), also known as the coarse-haired wombat or bare-nosed wombat, is a marsupial, one of three extant species of wombats and the only one in the genus ''Vombatus''. The common wombat grows to an average of lo ...

malleefowl The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental ca ...

red-necked wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been i ...

, silky mouse and

western grey kangaroo The western grey kangaroo (''Macropus fuliginosus''), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, sooty kangaroo and (when referring to the Kangaroo Island subspecies) Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo, is ...

. As of 1994, visitor use as reported as being “low” and consisted of “walkers, campers or field naturalists”. Facilities for visitors in 1994 consisted of “a picnic and camping area” located in the north east corner of the conservation park near its entry point. The conservation park is classified as an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Category Ia protected area.

References

External links

Mount Scott Conservation Park webpage on the Protected Planet websiteMount Scott Conservation Park webpage on the BirdsSA website
{{Protected areas of South Australia, state=collapsed Conservation parks of South Australia 1972 establishments in Australia Protected areas established in 1972 Limestone Coast