Roxby Downs is in an area, like many other arid zones in Australia, that was very badly
overgrazed by sheep and cattle during the nineteenth century, as
pastoralism was introduced by European settlers. This caused many long-lived species of trees and shrubs to give way to short-lived
annual plants and
weed species. It was estimated that there were once at least 27 species of
Australian mammals in the region, but by 2016 over 60 percent had become either completely or
locally extinct since European settlement. The initiative known as Arid Recovery was established in 1997 by Katherine Moseby and John Read, whose vision was the creation of a reserve dedicated to restoring the
ecosystem, which meant keeping
feral animals such as
rabbits, cats and
foxes out.
WMC Resources, the South Australian
Department for Environment and Heritage, the
University of Adelaide and a community group formed a committee. The first reserve was created when fences were constructed around , and it has grown from there. The current (2024) board of directors consists of mainly independent directors, but also has representatives from
Bush Heritage Australia,
BHP, Adelaide University, and the
Department for Environment and Water. Its three-pronged focus is on conservation, research and education. In October 2020, nine
bilbies – four males and five females – were released into the Arid Recovery Reserve, with the aim of increasing the
gene pool. The first bilbies had been brought in 2000, with a second group ten years later, and this is the third release. These bilbies were caught on
Thistle Island, which has a very large population of the
marsupials. Heavy rainfall in January 2022 led to the reserve's annual survey finding the second highest number of native animals in 25 years, with particularly high numbers of
reptiles such as
skinks and
geckos.
Climate Roxby Downs has a
subtropical desert climate (
Köppen: BWh), with very hot summers and mild winters. There is large
seasonal variation due to the town's inland location. Average maxima vary between in January and in June while average minima fluctuate between in January and in July. The mean annual
precipitation is very low, , though well-distributed across the year, occurring within 42.3 precipitation days. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 29 January 2026 to on 30 June 2002.{{cite web == References ==