$17 million Shorebird and Wetland Habitat program takes flight

The Shorebird and Wetland Habitat (SaWH) program will support sites across the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth – including the internationally recognised Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Ramsar wetland – as well as South East regions.

Spanning 25 projects across 35 wetland sites and 120 kilometres of habitat, the program covers a diverse range of plants and animals in a region encompassing the Lower Murray River ecosystem – recently listed as critically endangered.

The funding will help deliver new infrastructure for better water management, improve critical breeding habitat for foraging waterbirds and other threatened species, and strengthen weed control and protection of key species by reducing threats from feral foxes and cats and screening for pest fish.

Examples of projects building on habitat restoration and resilience activities include:

Mundoo Island Station acquisition: Located at an important ecological and cultural site at the Murray Mouth, the former cattle and sheep station will be transformed from a grazing property and added into an expanded Coorong National Park. Following the acquisition announced in early January, the site will undergo significant wetland restoration and rehabilitation in an Ramsar listed area which supports dozens of migratory bird species.

Protecting critical habitat of beach-nesting shorebirds and seabirds in the Coorong: Led by Birdlife Australia, the project will protect vulnerable fairy tern and eastern hooded plover breeding colonies at the Murray Mouth and along a 28-kilometre stretch of the Coorong Ocean Beach.

Partnering with the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation, the team will install fencing and signage and engage the local community to give the birds every chance of a successful breeding season.

Inlet upgrade at Butchers Lake: Led by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board, the project will replace the old regulator at Butchers Lake, south of Kingston, to improve water level management and increase water availability, creating sustainable foraging habitats.

Enhancing habitat and hydrology in the Grey Creek Channel network on Kumarangk, Hindmarsh Island: Led by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board, covering 16 hectares of wetland habitat and an
area of the Grey Creek Channel, the project will improve water flow with the removal of old crossings and reeds as well as the lowering of a ford to allow for the re-introduction of native threatened fish species.
Improved connectivity to Hunters Creek will encourage visitation by waterbirds and provide habitat for aquatic plants, frogs and turtles.

Mount Burr Swamp Habitat Restoration Reserve: Led by Nature Glenelg Trust, construction of a small, flow-regulating structure will expand the wetland habitat by up to 40 hectares and prevent mosquitofish from migrating into the restored environment and preying on the eggs and tadpoles of the vulnerable southern bell frog.

Revegetation works in the reserve will establish fringing habitats for threatened birds, such as the Australasian bittern, and native species like the brolga.

The Department for Environment and Water will work closely with local community groups, landholders and Landscape Boards to help plan and deliver the projects and ensure habitat restoration targeting smaller wetlands cumulatively have a large impact across each region.

First Nations groups will also be consulted to connect to Country and meet cultural obligations while supporting the long-term future of healthy shorebird populations and wetland habitat.

 For a list of projects, head to: Department for Environment and Water - Shorebird and Wetland Habitat.