A method for rapidly and simply assessing the health of estuarine wetland ecosystems that require management, conservation and/or rehabilitation has been developed. Called the Estuarine Wetland Health Assessment Project, it is included in the Wetland Assessment Techniques Manual for Australian Wetlands. This manual also includes assessments for other types of wetlands including Freshwater ecosystems.

The NSW Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Verity Firth, launched the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Action Plan on 5 May 2008, a guide to protecting and improving the region’s natural resources over the next 10 years.

The Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority (SMCMA) has released a process for prioritising environmental work in Sydney’s wetlands on their website. The prioritisation technique was developed for the CMA by Wetland Care Australia. The project reviewed 8 other assessment methods to ensure a high standard of assessment yet remain relevant to the unique environmental pressures of Sydney.

WetlandCare Australia will shortly finalise their ‘Wetland Rehabilitation Guidelines for Great Barrier Reef Catchments’. This product was developed with funding through the Queensland Wetlands Programme, a joint initiative of the Australian and Queensland Governments.

The Guideline is an 80+ page document containing a wealth of information about how to manage and rehabilitate wetlands in coastal Queensland. To accompany the Guidelines a series of Case Studies and Fact Sheets have also been produced.

Conservation and management of wetlands on private and government owned lands is assisted by NGOs. A short description and contact details are supplied for; Australian Wetlands Alliance, Conservation Volunteers Australia, the Hunter Wetlands Centre, Wetlands International, Wetland Care Australia, and, World Wide Fund for Nature Australia.

These organisations provide a contact point for people wanting to be involved in the conservation of wetlands in Australia.

At www.ConserveOnline.org, The Nature Conservancy has launched a complete overhaul of the free online tools supporting knowledge-flow and coordination between environment and conservation efforts around the world.

The Federal Government will invest $2.25 billion over five years on a new program to restore the health of Australia’s environment and build on improved land management practices.

The Caring for Our Country program will deliver funding to local communities through a simple, ‘one-stop shop’ covering the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Landcare, Environmental Stewardship and Working on Country programs.

A generous gift of land has given Bush Heritage a new reserve in New South Wales. Supporter Louise Sylvan donated her 55 hectare property ‘Nameless’ and, at her request, it will be known as the Bush Heritage ‘Nameless’ Sylvan Reserve.

The Paroo River Wetlands in NSW are the latest addition to the list of internationally important wetlands recognized under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. These magnificent wetlands become Australia’s 65th Ramsar site.

The Healthy Waterways Report Card is the public face of an intensive 12-month Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program coordinated by the SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership, which provides grades for 18 catchments and 18 estuaries in SEQ and nine marine zones within Moreton Bay. The area covered by the monitoring program ranges from Noosa in the north, south to the New South Wales border and west to Toowoomba and includes a rating system ranging from ‘A for excellent’ to
‘F for fail’.

Overall, SEQ estuaries and Moreton Bay showed an improvement in ecosystem
health, associated with upgrades of wastewater treatment plants and lower rainfall and run-off, reducing inputs of sediment and nutrients from rivers. There was little change in the overall score of our freshwater streams compared to last year.

CMA incentive programs provide funds to landholders to undertake environmental management works on their land. These programs fund works that are consistent with meeting the objectives of the Native Vegetation Management Act.

Signs and notices play an invaluable public relations role for wetland education. They introduce people to the wetland, identify key features, provide directions, outline management issues and clarify safe usage.

The Clarence estuary is one of the most significant areas for marine biodiversity in NSW. A $120,000 focused grant program was developed to contribute to the restoration of wetlands and fish habitat in the area. The project was a great success, with13 projects funded.

The status quo on managing ICOLLs is contributing to their declining condition and we cannot afford to continue down this track. A new booklet offers clear and practical solutions to on-going and future problems.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Weed Management has a website at: http://www.weeds.crc.org.au/projects/index.html, which is a good source of information for weed management projects.

The Bundjalung Mapping Project has created a highly secured, user-friendly computer-based record keeping system through which Aboriginal communities can record and own their cultural knowledge. It has suite of web based tools to support the user in understanding protocols, an overview of Aboriginal cultural heritage and procedures to take when accessing information on Aboriginal significant sites and places.

As water resources become more and more scarce, wetlands provide a resource in an otherwise dry environment. The re-flooding period is a critical time for wetland protection as this is when the vegetation is re-seeding.

The Community Rapid Assessment Manual (CRAM) is a collection of manuals/guidelines for use in assessment and monitoring a range of environmental variables. The manual, used consistently across the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment, allows for comparison of data collected by different groups across space and time.

The Queensland Wetlands Program has developed a series of management profiles that contain best practice management information about protecting, conserving and restoring a variety of wetland types. These profiles are available on-line.

The Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition guideline is an easy to use tool for assessing riparian zones.

This assessment technique is suitable for use along a stretch of river or as a before and after assessment over time.

DNR’s Central West region has successfully conducted a state-of-the-art Digital Terrain Model trial in the Macquarie Marshes that will help improve the health of the iconic wetlands. This trial has meant the department now knows the best strategy for developing accurate models of floodplain flows within the Marshes.

Digital Terrain Model is a three-dimensional representation of the ground surface and the ground surface information had been collected using the latest Airborne Laser Sensing (ALS) technology. Coastal Councils such as Wollongong and Shoalhaven have used ALS technology for flood hazard mapping, but not for ecological purposes.

Waterplants in Australia contains identification, distribution, reproduction and control information for 150 native and introduced water plants. It also contains information on algae, willows and stormwater management.

The NSW Vegetation Classification and Assessment (NSWVCA) project aims to classify the native vegetation of New South Wales into vegetation communities. The area to be covered is about 80 million hectares distributed across 18 IBRA bioregions

This workshop is designed to enhance our knowledge of the structure and functioning of floodplain river ecosystems that underpin their management and sustainable use. Speakers include Professor James Thorp, Professor Klement Tockner, Professor Peter Cullen, Associate Professor Martin Thoms, Dr Tony McLeod, Dr Neil Saintilan and Dr Ben Gawne.

When: Thursday the 21st of September. Where: University of Canberra.

To register please contact: Ms Alie Cowood, Water Research Lab, University of Canberra, ACT 2601. Phone: (02) 6201 5453 Email: Alie.Cowood@canberra.edu.au

The Australian Government has just released new native vegetation
mapping products based on a recent update to the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS). The NVIS is the most detailed, up-to-date and accurate information source on Australia’s native vegetation, and has been collated through the active participation of all Australian state and territory governments. There have been a number of new information products developed for use by researchers, educators and natural resource managers.

In 2004-2005, an innovative group of 14 NSW councils – the Hunter & Central Coast Regional Environmental Management Strategy group (HCCREMS) – developed a unique, cutting edge water management toolkit – Urbanwater.info.

Urbanwater.info is a web based tool that offers easy access to high quality, cross-disciplinary scientific and technical information, facilitating a holistic, total water cycle approach to water management. The site uses extensive links and references to relevant Australian and international manuals, articles, models, web pages and case studies, creating a rich, comprehensive, easy to use directory to water management information.

A PLAN to drop 40 tonnes of giant red gums into the Murray is expected to boost the breeding cycles of native fish, save the river’s ecology and right past environmental wrongs.

Thousands of logs have been pulled from the Murray in recent decades to dredge boating channels, and the Greening Australia group is about to reverse the practice by undertaking the first large scale re-snagging project in South Australia.

Greening Australia state chief Mark Anderson said removing snags had altered breeding habitats and had led to a decline in fish stocks.

In response to overdainage of floodplains on the North Coast, assistance is being supported by extension and advisory services aiming to improve environmental management of acid sulfate soils (ASS) hot spot areas and the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on relevant floodplains.

On-ground works to facilitate active management of the floodplains are to include in-drain structures to prevent low-lying areas from overtopping with tidal water, drain shallowing, rehabilitation of ASS scalds and the reintroduction of natural wetting and drying cycles, utilizing seasonally ponded freshwater and the re-establishment of native wetland species. Other floodplain on-ground works include the provision of off-stream watering points and fencing of waterways from livestock.

A degraded wetland has been restored as a viable habitat for frogs and waterbirds, with many local trees and plants planted by volunteers from PACTEC. A number of interesting threatened species have been sighted in the area, including the Black-necked Stork or Jabiru and the Giant Barred Frog. By providing a shallow ledge for frogs and an island for a safe nesting refuge, the group has further enhanced the wildlife values of the adjoining Waterford Wetland area.

Werri Lagoon is a 1Ha wetland at the northern end of Werri Beach, Gerringong, NSW. Approximately 25% of its catchment area is rural floodplain, with a large proportion in dairy farming.

To reduce impacts from grazing practices, several successful management changes were undertaken by a dairy farmer, including the installation of an off-creek watering system. The wetland is now used as a demonstration site.

The restoration of Tom Thumb Lagoon, south of Wollongong, started with the community group, the Friends of Tomb Thumb.

Over the last 15 years the project has picked up and maintained a range of funding partners allowing over 6000 plants to be planted and numerous volunteers to be educated and involved in wetland management.

Works will include the introduction of innovative in-stream rehabilitation works, and associated riparian revegetation. Stream rehabilitation structures have been designed to enhance aquatic habitat, ensuring a diversity of: stream velocities; stream bedforms (pools and riffles); stream substrates (sediment sizes), and large wood debris.

Despite the differences in the wetland types and the impetus to restore them, Dr Glamore found a mass of technical information, advanced administrative environments and custom made machinery …

The rehabilitation of tidal coastal wetlands and the remediation of acid sulfate soils can be facilitated through the restoration of tidal flushing regimes. Over 1000 floodgates that are in place on the NSW coast could be modified to restore natural tidal flushing. Dr William Glamore has proposed an 8 stage strategy to assist land managers to achieve an optimal outcome.

The biodiversity of aquatic insects in the wetlands found in an agricultural landscape in South-western Victoria were similar to the aquatic insect populations found in wetlands elsewhere, despite being used for grazing purposes.

This information suggests that wetlands on grazing properties may have conservation value and should be managed to protect them from threatening processes such as drainage.

The Sydney University Medical Entomology website http://medent.usyd.edu.au has easy to read fact sheets on mosquito borne diseases and Mosquito Management for Wetlands.

Water Regime of Wetland & Floodplain Plants in the Murray-Darling Basin is a summary of water regime information for native plants of lowland riverine systems within the Murray-Darling Basin. The report brings together sparse and dispersed published information. It is an excellent resource for persons and organizations involved in ecological aspects of river flow and wetland management.

This report provides an overview of the natural hydrology of the Darling Basin, the development that has occurred, and the effect this is having on river flows and groundwater resources. Some of this information can assist wetland managers.

The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship organises its research around four key issues which collectively address some of the most critical water resource challenges facing Australia; Urban water, Water Resources Observation Network, Great Barrier Reef catchment and Better Basin Futures research. Each theme is designed to capture the triple bottom line character of natural resource management

An old polluted drain flows between the Sydney suburbs of Annandale and Lilyfield. The native bush was chopped down over a hundred years ago, swamps filled in and Whites Creek was turned into a concrete stormwater drain, forming a hostile environment for frogs and fish.

Then, Friends of the Earth had a vision to reduce pollution in Sydney Harbour by mimicking nature and using natural means.

AABR NSW is an incorporated association having members who are ecological restoration professionals, volunteers and people generally interested in restoration of natural areas.

Keeping in touch with NRM news in the remote north of Australia is easier than you think with three great e-news options: The Basin Bullet serving the Desert Channels in QLD, Gulf Links serving the Southern Gulf of QLD and The Fitzroy Basin Association e-news.

Southern Rivers CMA have launched an Indigenous Natural Resource Newsletter. The Koori Catch Up provides information about the SRCMA that might be of interest to the Aboriginal community. It outlines the roles and responsibilities of the CMA, introduces the Koori Team that work for the CMA, and gives updates of regional events and funding opportunities. Future issues may contain stories from the SRCMA region, as well as other facts and fun.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated each year on 2 February. The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2008 was Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People. Two events were planned in the Hawkesbury Nepean CMA, where the CMA in conjunction with WetlandCare Australia are developing management plans for important wetlands: Lake Bathurst and Paddy’s River.

Local people took the opportunity to look at land management works being undertaken by local authorities and find out about funding opportunities for wetland rehabilitation and management in their area.

The Community Environment Network (CEN) was formed in 1997 as an over arching body to support individuals and groups in Lake Macquarie, Wyong and Gosford who are working for the environment.

WetlandCare Australia has begun two community based projects for the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority. The project aims to improve the management of two priority wetland areas; Paddy’s River Wetlands and Lake Bathurst and the Morass.

The objectives of the two projects are to prepare a Plan of Management, recommending practical on-ground works solutions to improve and maintain the health of both of these wetland areas. The Plan of Management will be developed from recommendations from local landholders, the community and other key stakeholders.

The Conservation Partners Program is run through the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change. It supports landholders in voluntarily protecting and managing native vegetation, wildlife habitat, geological features, historic heritage and Aboriginal cultural heritage on their properties.

A Small Farms and Rural Living Field day will be held at Berry Showground 23 September 2007, 10:00am – 3:00pm.

This article sets out guidelines for Natural Resource and Environmental Management bodies to consider when developing partnerships or consulting with Aboriginal communities. The guidelines relate specifically to work undertaken in the Bundjalung Nation (Northern Rivers) of NSW.

Nominations are now open for the annual South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Awards, which acknowledge people and programs that help make the waterways and catchments of South East Queensland healthy.

A total of $20,500 in prize money is available; with the winners of seven separate categories each receiving a cheque for $1,500 and a Healthy Waterways trophy. In addition, the category winner deemed to be the most innovative and collaborative by the independent judging panel will be awarded the $10,000 Grand Prize.

The Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands Trust invite you to join them at their inaugural Australian Birding and Nature Fair. The Fair, to be held in Leeton (NSW) from the 22-26 November this year, will enable you to see and learn about the wildbirds of inland South-Eastern Australia.

Croaking Environment Resources have launched a new platform for environmental discussion in the Northern Rivers region. Anyone can log in to register their questions, comments or point of view regarding any environmental topic. Participation is open to the entire community. Anyone with internet access can visit the forum and read the discussions taking place.

Croaking Environment Resources provide the web space, the discussion topics that develop will be up to the members themselves. Queries can be directed by email to forum@croakingenvironment.com.au, or via the forum site directly.

Floodgate management projects can require study in soil science, community consultation, ecology, planning law and more.

A guideline on the Department of Primary Industries website; Restoring the balance – guidelines for managing floodgates and drainage systems on coastal floodplains is a good source of information for individuals or groups contemplating a coastal floodplain drainage restoration project.

A brochure has been released by NSW DPI, MDBC, NSW CFA, NRAC under the Aquatic Habitat Rehabilitation program ‘Making more fish … naturally’. The brochure provides an easy to read guide that illustrates actions landholders can take to make their farm fish friendly.

Restoration works that involve clearing, draining, filling or the construction of levees in wetlands to which SEPP 14 applies, require an approved EIS in relation to the works before the restoration can proceed

The Australian Government has produced a guide for landholders which provides information of a range of topics related to responsible wetland ownership. Links are provided to a range of government agencies and non government organizations

The Department of Natural Resources is currently developing macro water sharing plans for NSW. Water sharing plans set rules for sharing water between the environment and water users. They bring water users still operating under the Water Act 1912 into the one licensing system managed under the Water Management Act 2000. Water sharing plans run for 10 years.

The Threatened Species Conservation Act has been amended to establish a biodiversity banking and offsets scheme. The bio-banking scheme allows landowners to establish biodiversity credits on their land which can then be traded.

A best practice guideline has been developed specifically for bush regeneration on the Cumberland Plain. The booklet recognises the different impacts on and responses of bushland on shale soils, as opposed to the more frequently documented Sydney Sandstone Flora examples.

Freshwater Wetlands on coastal floodplains are an endangered ecological community found in Southern Rivers, Sydney Metropolitan, Hunter Central Rivers and Northern Rivers CMA regions.

Threats to this community include: land clearing, fragmentation, feral pigs and over grazing. Recovery actions to maintain and enhance Freshwater Wetland remnants include: public education, storm water management, the application of covenants, and site specific management plans.

This report outlines the roles and responsibilities of individuals, governments and non-government organisations in the management of Ramsar wetlands in NSW. It is important reading for any organisation or individual considering nominating their wetlands for Ramsar listing.