Pelican Lagoon 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 ...

located in the

Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

of South Australia on the

Dudley Peninsula Dudley Peninsula (known as Presquila Gallissoniere and as the MacDonnell Peninsula from 1857 to 1986) is the peninsula forming the eastern end of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia. It was occupied by Aboriginal Austr ...

on Kangaroo Island. It was dedicated in 1967 for the protection of wildlife habitat.

Description

The conservation park has an area of and lies immediately to the south of the town of American River, about southeast by south of Kingscote and southwest by west of

Penneshaw Penneshaw is a township in the Australian state of South Australia located on the northeast coast of the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It is the island's main ferry port with regular services ...

. It consists of land on the peninsula of the north side of the tidal inlet of

Pelican Lagoon Pelican Lagoon is a seawater lagoon in the Australian state of South Australia located on the north coast of Kangaroo Island about south east of Kingscote. It was named by Matthew Flinders on 4 April 1802 after the large population of peli ...

as well as several islands/islets within the inlet itself. It includes woodland,

scrub Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...

and heath formations as well as wetland vegetation and adjoins samphire

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s, providing habitat for several species of woodland and wetland birds and other animals. The conservation park is located within the boundaries of the gazetted locality of

with exception to the islets located within the lagoon. 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. It is complemented by the American River Aquatic Reserve.

Islets

Several of the islets present in Pelican Lagoon are within the conservation park. From east to west these are Rabbit Islet, Bird Islet, Goanna Islet, Pig Islet, Wallaby Islet and Shag Rock.

History

Land within the conservation park first acquired protected area status as a fauna conservation reserve declared under the ''Crown Lands Act 1929-1966'' on 16 March 1967 in respect to sections 475, 476, 477, 478 and 479 in the cadastral unit of the

Hundred of Dudley __NOTOC__ The Hundred of Dudley is a cadastral unit of hundred located in the Australian state of South Australia on Kangaroo Island and which covers an area of including the full extent of the Dudley Peninsula (known as the MacDonnell Peninsul ...

. On 27 April 1972, the land was reconstituted as the ''Pelican Lagoon Conservation Park'' under the '' National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972''. In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

. As of 2018, it covered an area of .

References

External links

Entry for Pelican Lagoon Conservation Park on protected planet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelican Lagoon Conservation Park Protected areas of Kangaroo Island Conservation parks of South Australia Protected areas established in 1967 1967 establishments in Australia Dudley Peninsula South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate