Patricia Kelly is the sole director of TJM Select Investments Pty Ltd, owner of Shark Creek Conservation Area, a property located 30km northeast of Grafton. The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary and makes an important contribution to the conservation of wetlands in the Clarence lowlands, which are nationally recognised for their outstanding natural values but are poorly represented in public conservation reserves.
The conservation values of the property are protected in-perpetuity through a Plan of Management under the NSW Nature Conservation Trust Act, 2001. Specific management goals within this Plan of Management are to: Protect and enhance the endangered wetland ecosystems; Protect threatened species and their habitats; Control weeds and feral animals; and Maintain and improve water quality and hydrology.
The sanctuary covers 215.7 hectares (with 210.27 hectares of lowland wetlands protected through the Nature Conservation Trust Agreement), and is part of a large vegetated area contiguous with Yuraygir National Park and the State Forests of Candole and Pine Brush.
A wide variety of native wildlife species are known to occur on Shark Conservation Area, with threatened species of particular note including brolgas (Grus rubicunda), grey-crowned babblers (Pomatostomus temporalis) and ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), with migratory species such as pacific black ducks (Anas superciliosa), rainbow bee-eaters (Merops ornatus) and clamorous reed-warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus) also present.
