A historic agreement has been signed by Premier Steven Marshall and Environment Minister David Speirs to conserve the Ediacaran fossils in the Flinders Ranges.
The aim of the conservation agreements is to protect the world's single greatest record of Ediacaran fossils at Nilpena station and along with that comes a large focus on research, tourism and education, in addition to the expansion of the conservation park.
Mr Speirs expressed pride knowing that the fossils will be conserved forever as a national park, agreeing with premier Marshall who says that they are a truly unique and mysterious part of our planet's story.
"The historic agreements are a new chapter for Nilpena. They show how we can work with philanthropy in creating and managing a park, and bringing its wonders to visitors, school children and our community.
"These fossils tell us much about how the planet and life have evolved and NASA has funded ongoing research to learn about how life evolves on a planet through the fossil record at Nilpena," Mr Marshall said.
Mr Speirs added that the fossils have become the centrepiece of the South Australian government's pursuit of world heritage listing for the Flinders Ranges.
"The Flinders Ranges Ediacara Foundation is a non-for-profit organisation conserving SA's fossils and sharing their significance with the world. We are delighted to be partnering with them for the purchase of Nilpena which their donors have generously supported," he said.
The historic agreements are a new chapter for Nilpena.
- DAVID SPEIRS
The government has partnered with the foundation to buy 60,000 hectares of Nilpena Station that will become a part of the conservation park.
Funding for the purchase is also being received from other philanthropic sources.
For those interested in visiting Nilpena, it is via appointment only through the Prairie Hotel at Parachilna.