The owner of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge in central-west Queensland says the area needs to be retained as a whole if threatened species are to be fully protected.
Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer wants to develop an $8 billion coal mine on part of the Bimblebox reserve and there have been proposals to protect other areas of bushland as an offset.
However, refuge owner Paola Cassoni says there is no other suitable land that matches the size of Bimblebox.
"Especially in the desert uplands where species do need to roam and to thrive in the dry and in the wet," she said.
"We don't know anywhere in the eastern bioregion that has the same biodiversity.
"I don't think it would exist, something like Bimblebox, on the bits and pieces here and there."
She says Bimblebox itself is important because of its unique habitats and sheer size.
"They may be fragmented ecosystems, so it's not a holistic approach to the conservation issue because we have an 8,000 hectare property which has a vibrant ecosystem," she said.
"It's what it is because it's that big and because it functions as an integrity, as a unit of its own."