"You can see the difference in plant cover and also the lichen on the ground," he said. Jose Facelli says there is a noticeable difference between the fenced off TGB Osborn Reserve and the rest of the rangelands. Rangelands ecologist Dr Jose Facelli said there were noticeable differences on each side of the fence. University of Adelaide researchers have been studying this former grazing land for nearly 100 years to see if it can recover from the harsh impacts of over-stocking. The reserve, four square kms of land on Koonamore Station, was fenced off in 1925 to keep out sheep and rabbits. A century of researchĪt the TGB Osborn Reserve, about 400 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, scientists have been worried about the potential impact on the marginal rangeland country. The laws cover 323 leases making up 219 stations over an area of 40 million hectares, roughly two-thirds of South Australia's outback. The government released a draft Pastoral Lands Bill about a year ago, updating the 1989 legislation that regulates the more than 40 per cent of the state leased to graziers for sheep and cattle farming. The state government had been pushing big changes to the law for pastoral leases in the arid rangelands, saying it would make it easier for graziers to do more on their stations.īut the government has been accused of trying to privatise the outback by stealth by more than doubling the length of leases, removing stocking limits and in-person inspections and making it harder for the land to be set aside for conservation.