Wetlands Australia National Wetlands Update 2012
Issue No. 20, February 2012
ISSN 1446-4843
South Australian Government Update
The two year $10 million Lower Lakes Bioremediation and Revegetation Project, funded by the Australian Government with support from the South Australian Government, was completed in September 2011. The project's achievements over the two years include:
- Planting around 1.1 million plants on about 800 hectares of exposed soils.
- Aerially seeding about 10,000 hectares of exposed lakebed.
- 185 km of fencing and 80 water points to protect lakebeds from livestock.
- Improved facilities for nine community nurseries and three Ngarrindjeri nurseries.
- Establishing Lakes Hubs at Milang and Meningie, providing centres for two-way communication between the local community and government.
The successful vegetation program will continue as part of the Murray Futures Coorong and Lower Lakes Recovery program.
In 2011 community volunteers also planted more than 1000 native plants as part of the Meningie Lakefront Habitat Restoration. A highlight of the project is the launch of Pelican Path, Meningie's new interpretive trail which aims to make the lakefront even more attractive for the local community and visitors to enjoy.
The SA Government is progressing a nomination to the Australian Government that the Piccanninnie Ponds Karst Wetland System, in the South East of SA, be considered for listing under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. As a part of an ongoing project to restore the Piccaninnie Ponds, the SA Government has completed design work to examine the feasibility of restoring flows from the Piccaninnie Ponds to another wetland basin that has been hydrologically altered by the construction of a road.
