October 27, 2025

Mapping The Future Of Mission Beach

Home to Australia’s highest density of southern cassowaries and half of the country’s remaining Licuala Fan Palm forests, Mission Beach is a place of rare beauty and ecological importance. But as urban growth and environmental change continue to place pressure on the region, the community faces an important challenge: how to balance conservation with responsible development.

The Mission Beach Planning and Mapping Project, funded by a grant from the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, will support smarter conservation and development planning in the area. The project is being led by Friends of Ninney Rise in collaboration with Terrain NRM, James Cook University, and the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.

C4 President Peter Rowles will join the project’s Steering Committee, which brings together key local and scientific leaders to ensure community values and environmental priorities are reflected in future planning.

Over the next year, the project will map critical rainforest values and wildlife corridors, identify gaps and opportunities in existing planning tools, and host community workshops to gather local knowledge and perspectives.

On Saturday, the 8th of November, the community are invited to attend a Mission Beach Mapping and Planning Community Workshop at Ninney Rise to learn about the future of the area's environment and development. To register, visit https://tally.so/r/w20d29.

An outcomes report will be prepared for public review before being delivered to Council in July of 2026. The findings will help guide future decisions to protect the natural character and biodiversity that make Mission Beach so special.

Visit www.ninneyrise.com for project updates or email friendsofninneyrise@gmail.com

WHAT: Mission Beach Mapping and Planning Community Workshop
WHEN: Saturday, 8 November
WHERE: Ninney Rise

Have your say at November's Mission Beach Mapping and Planning Community Workshop (Photo Source: Cassowary Coast Tourism)