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Traditional owners are hopeful the addition of the popular Watarrka National Park to the National Heritage List will ensure the site is better protected for generations to come.
The federal government announced this week that the park, located four hours west of Alice Springs and taking in popular tourist destination Kings Canyon, would be added to the list.
The park's rugged ranges and soaring 100-metre cliffs attract thousands of visitors each year.
Described as a "living plant museum", Watarrka also provides a refuge for many rare and endemic plant and invertebrate species.
The park is deeply significant to the Anangu ngurraritja — traditional owners — who have cared for country for tens of thousands of years.
Watarrka National Park is a popular international tourist destination. (Instagram: Ali Satour)
The federal government said the listing recognised the site's "outstanding heritage value" and would ensure the park was protected into the future.
"Preserving First Nations cultural heritage is vital to keeping the story of our nation alive," Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said.
"By working with traditional owners and supporting them to care for and protect their country, we can preserve the natural and cultural values of important sites like Watarrka National Park for generations to come."
A significant natural site
Traditional owner Stephen Clyne said the site's canyons, gorges and rock holes provided a refuge for lush plant communities — including almost 700 known native species.
"We’ve got rare ferns and plants within that canyon and waterways there," he said.
"We found this skeleton fork plant and it was rare, and the first time I seen a plant like that, it’s really good. Only in Kings Canyon."
Stephen Clyne hopes Watarrka National Park will be better protected following its national heritage listing. (ABC Alice Springs: Meredith Lake)
But Mr Clyne said invasive buffel grass was threatening the future of this delicate oasis.
He hoped the national heritage listing would make a difference.
"We used to have a lot of bush tucker out there. There was plenty emu and kangaroos, lizard, goannas and things like that," he said.
"Then came buffel grass."
Watarrka National Park features rugged ranges, rock holes and gorges. (Facebook: Professional Helicopter Services)
Fracking concerns
The Commonwealth said the Northern Territory government, as joint managers of the park, was "best-placed" to answer questions about buffel eradication.
The NT government was contacted for comment.
While Watarrka has had a mining and fracking ban in place since 2017, Mr Clyne said fracking must also be banned around the perimeter of the park.
"It damage the land and the waterway," he said.
"Keep our country safe. So kids can enjoy the park like I did when I was young."
Kings Canyon is located in the Watarrka National Park, about 320km south-west of Alice Springs. (ABC Alice Springs: Emma Haskin)
According to the federal government, once sites are placed on the National Heritage List, they are protected as "matters of environmental significance" under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said this meant approval must be obtained before any action took place that could "significantly impact" the site's national heritage values.
A department spokesperson said this included any works from outside the national heritage boundary.
Any breaches of the act may lead to civil or criminal penalties, including fines or jail time up to seven years.