The reserve is part of the New England Group of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007.

[2][3] Mount Hyland is a triple peaked mountain, some 400 metres (1,300 ft) higher than the surrounding plain.

The temperate rainforest is of scientific interest, being a remnant of former Gondwana forests that once covered Australia.

Thus, in the early 1980s, the Hastings River mouse and rare pouched frog, which were believed to be extinct, were rediscovered.

[4] Indigenous molluscs at the reserve include the following species: Triboniophorus graeffei, Terrycarlessia turbinata, Protorugosa alpica, Austrorhytida harrietae, Parmavitrina planilabris, Mysticarion porrectus, Brazieresta larreyi, Thersites novaehollandiae and Austrochloritis sp.