Terri Irwin defends rare wetland region: 13-05-2008
Terri Irwin, widow of the famous Australian naturalist Steve Irwin, has vowed to keep miners out of a wildlife protection zone dedicated to her late husband.
According to reports from the Discovery Channel, Ms Irwin said that the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve on the Cape York Peninsula in north-eastern Australia was an important habitat.
Vulnerable species live in the zone and they need protection, according to Ms Irwin.
A mining company has applied to mine 50 million tonnes of bauxite on the site but Ms Irwin is refusing to budge.
She told Australian Broadcasting Corporation that leaving the land unspoiled would make a "huge difference environmentally".
Both rare plant and animal species live in the region and some have yet to be documented, Ms Irwin claimed.
"That's just remarkable and of course there's rare bird species, the spear-tooth shark, sawfish, and estuarine crocodiles," she said.
Cape Almunia, the firm associated with the mine, said it had no plans to mine on the sensitive wetland areas.