TLC Blue Tier
Our second permanent reserve property in the New Leaf project
This wonderful 85 ha property was permanently protected with the help of our supporters in 2012.
It lies on the eastern slopes in the Blue Tier region in north-east Tasmania and provides habitat for rare and threatened species, including the Eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus), the Spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) and the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). 
Tasmania's largest endemic stag beetle, the Simson's stag beetle (Hoplogonus simsonii), is a nationally threatened species and is restricted exclusively to this region.
Extending the Blue Tier protected area
The property is integral to Tasmania's Blue Tier, being almost entirely surrounded by formal and informal forest reserves and other covenanted properties. Securing these 85 hectares for conservation will extend the protected area to 10,000 hectares.
Photo credit: Beetle found on TLC Blue Tier Reserve - Rob Blakers
Giant tree ferns on the TLC Blue Tier Reserve - Paul Hoelen
TLC Blue Tier permanent reserve
Glacial refugium
The Blue Tier Permanent Reserve is a glacial refugium, with rainforest species dating back to cretaceous times 65 million years ago, when Australia was connected to the supercontinent of Gondwana and rainforests extensively covered the landmass. The only other surviving glacial refugia in Tasmania are small pockets of rainforest situated on the west coast. Myrtle beech rainforest (Nothofagus cunninghamii), Myrtle beech / Woolly tea tree rainforest (Leptospermum lanigerum), and wet forest crowned with Swamp gums (Eucalyptus regnans) have occupied these est-facing slopes since before the last ice age 18,000 years ago.
Rainforest flora and fauna
The rainforest canopy with its old-growth tree hollows, which took hundreds of years to form, provide refuge for a number of iconic birds including the Tasmanian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) and the Yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchis funereus).
Many species of the rainforest are small and inconspicuous with the most diverse groups of organisms to be found on the forest floor. Ferns, mosses and spectacular fungi throve in the damp, dark, cool environment, and a multitude of invertebrates complete the cycle of breaking down decaying leaf litter, returning nutrients to the ecosystem.