[5] Powell Creek in turn flows through Hell Hole Gorge National Park to the south-west and eventually into the Barcoo River.

[1] Rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin exist mostly as a series of ephemeral, semi-permanent and permanent waterholes and flow only seasonally in response to summer monsoonal rainfall in the upper catchments.

Such animals include all fish, some macroinvertebrates, the Cooper Creek Turtle Emydura macquarii emmotti and water rat Hydromys chrysogaster.

[1] These waterholes also provide vital habitat for land mammals, reptiles, frogs and woodland birds that need to live near permanent water and/or that favour trees with hollows.

The Yapunyah waterhole is a healthy aquatic system with no evidence of introduced fish species, cane toads, weeds or feral mammals (such as pigs and goats).

The predominant vegetation surrounding the rocky edges of the waterhole and Nutting Creek is defined as a mulga Acacia aneura woodland.

Other flora species documented in the riparian areas of the waterhole include: river red gum E. camaldulensis, ghost gum Corymbia aparrerinja, bendee Acacia calendulata,[9] lancewood Acacia shirleyi,[10] narrow-leafed hop bush Dodonaea viscosa var angustissima,[11] Grampians, hook-leaf and rock Thryptomenes (Thryptomene sp.

[14] Two species of flora identified at Yapunyah Waterhole that usually occur further to the east include: Quinine bush Petalostigma pubescens and Reed grass Arundinella nepalensis.

Within this range the rock wallabies live in a number of colonies in Idalia, Welford and Hell Hole Gorge National Parks and also on private land (such as "Bulloo Lakes" station).

The first record of European settlement of the area now known as "Bulloo Lakes" station (originally called "Kenilworth") shows a lease taken up on 1 July 1864 by J Mollison, Black and Smith.

Harry Richardson bought "Bulloo Lakes" from Andy Madden in Ann De Hennin's name with 800 head of cattle (date unknown).

There is a recognised need to protect the fragile wetlands in this region and landowners like the current owners of "Bulloo Lakes" Station are taking measures to ensure this occurs.

Increasing vegetation coverage and excluding livestock from creek corridors stabilises the environment and significantly contributes to protecting the wetlands of this region.

Desert Channels Queensland (the local natural resource management group)[2] provided assistance to protect these vital wetlands through the funding of two grants for the fencing projects in 2008 and 2011.

These fencing projects have improved the capacity to manage the land while protecting fragile riparian areas and conserving an important ecosystem to the benefit of native flora and fauna.