The park encompasses the most westerly area of subtropical rainforest in southern Queensland and the largest population of bunya pines remaining in the world.

[3][4] The Bunya grasslands are unique relics of a much cooler climate and have existed since the last ice age, persisting due to regular burning by Aboriginal peoples over many thousands of years known as "fire farming".

[5] Recent core samples confirmed that Indigenous fire management was occurring on the Bunya Mountains as far back as 9,000 years ago during the Holocene era.

Evidence suggests fire farming created the largest estate management in the world of the vast state and territories of Australia, performed in ceremonies, for land control, food control and farming, and produce (native yams) harvesting by Aboriginal people for thousands of years.

[5][6] Fire management has enabled the grasslands to maintain their treeless characteristic, preventing rainforest and woodland species from becoming established.

Where there a slabs of unfractured basalt soil formation and root penetration is impossible, leaving a patch in the forest.

[13] The grassy balds have a higher biodiversity than the dense rainforests, because they are home to birds and rodents not found elsewhere in the forest.

[13] The Bunya Mountains support the most westerly populations of many rainforest dwelling species, including green catbirds, regent bowerbirds, paradise riflebirds, eastern whipbirds, noisy pittas and the Australian logrunner.

[14] Some of the more commonly seen species include pied currawongs, laughing kookaburras, Australian king parrots, crimson rosellas, sulphur-crested cockatoos, red-browed finches, white-browed scrubwrens, satin bowerbirds, wonga pigeons and brush turkeys.

[19] Proactive fire management is a priority within the current management plan for the Bunya Mountains National Park with additional importance given to partnerships with traditional owners using traditional fire techniques in restoring and maintaining the grasslands.

Australian Government initiatives such as the ‘Working on Country’ Program has been active on the mountain since 2009 allowing greater conservation action through additional rangers and resources being used to enable recovery of this unique threatened grassland landscape.