Breeding brolgas a boost to wetland programs
From the Autumn/Winter 2010 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
Brolgas have returned to Moira State Forest to breed Photo © Peter Merritt
While undertaking aerial mapping of a recent fire in river red gum forests south of Deniliquin, Forests NSW regional manager, Gary Rodda, saw a very unusual and uplifting sight.
He observed a pair of brolgas nesting in a wetland in Moira State Forest. Brolgas had previously not been seen in the area for more than 50 years.
“I was particularly excited as this is a sign that ongoing extensive wetland rehabilitation projects are having an impact,” Gary said. “These projects have been underway for the past 15 years with the aim of restoring more natural wetting and drying cycles to the region’s red gum forests.”
Forests NSW has undertaken these projects in conjunction with the Murray Wetlands Working Group, Murray Catchment Management Authority (CMA), Murray Darling Basin Authority, private irrigators, Office of Water, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water and more recently federal government departments.
For the past 10 years, the restoration program has included ecological burns in the wetlands to reduce the prevalence of the locally invasive giant rush (Juncus ingens), and restore suitable foraging habitat for bird and aquatic life.
Historical records show that giant rush would only have occupied a small amount of these wetlands.
Forests NSW and Murray CMA have also been working together on a targeted fox control program in Moira State Forest to reduce predators of birdlife and other native animals.
“These changes in habitat are likely to be a major factor in returning the brolgas to the wetlands, and are a good example of Forests NSW using a cooperative approach to restore and manage critical elements of the landscape,” Gary said.
The brolga find is particularly significant because the wetlands in Moira State Forest are listed as being of world significance under the Ramsar international agreement, which promotes wise use of wetlands.
The listing of the area is made more interesting because the wetlands are also ‘working’ forests providing a range of conservation and production benefits.
Management plans for the area, developed by Forests NSW in consultation with other stakeholders, cover flooding regimes, woodland rehabilitation, sustainable timber harvesting, threatened species and ecological community recovery.
“Forests NSW management of these wetland ecosystems is important to the ecology of the region, as they form an integral part of the forest food chain,” Gary said.
“In these backwaters, moira grass, giant rush, cumbungi grass and water milfoil are often prolific, while the lagoons provide excellent habitat for native birds and fish.
“Large numbers of waterbird species including the great egret, intermediate egret, nankeen night heron, carp-eating cormorants and locust-eating ibises, as well as the brolgas, rely on these wetlands to breed.
“Forests NSW also closely monitors and manages environmental flows into wetlands in the Moira State Forest to provide suitable foraging and nesting habitat in order to provide the best possible chance of fledging the brolga chicks.”
Chairman of the Murray CMA, Alex Anthony, said this sighting gave heart to all those farmers and others in the community working hard to conserve our biodiversity.
“To see these iconic birds of the western Murray catchment back again in the wetlands of Moira State Forest, demonstrates that with careful management we can restore eco-systems and reverse declines in plant and animal populations,” she said.
Sarah Chester Public Affairs & Media, Albury
