Glenelg Hopkins CMA is really excited to be able to help landholders protect the region’s swamps, lakes, grasslands and stony rises with the new funding we’ve secured.
Look out for our new TV ad promoting our new funding programs!
We want to hear from landholders who would like to work with us to protect and better manage these valuable areas in the region. The program offers advice and funding for the protection and improvement of swamps, lakes, grasslands, grassy woodlands and stony rises on private land. This includes having your site’s condition assessed, receiving a site specific management plan, then supporting works such as controlled grazing and burning, fencing, pest plant and animal control or revegetation.
As most people know, we are pretty lucky with all the fantastic natural resources we have across the Glenelg Hopkins catchment. We have thousands of swamps, lakes, grasslands and stony rises - they are part of our natural landscape and are vital to maintaining a healthy environment. They are home to many iconic native species such as Brolgas, swans and frogs and include some really special plants that support these animals.
Glenelg Hopkins CMA has been working with the community to protect and restore these areas over a number of years and has recently secured new federal and state funds to continue this work. We have been successful with this funding because many of these areas are at risk with changing land practices.
If managed appropriately, these swamps, lakes, grasslands and stony rises can provide other benefits and contribute to our economy including capturing and storing carbon, providing habitat for many bird species and predatory insects that provide natural insect control for surrounding areas and the wetlands providing clean water and drought refuges. These benefits have been determined to be worth $4,500 per hectare of swamp on the volcanic plains to landholders, and over $5,750 per hectare for healthy native grasslands.
Swamps, lakes, grasslands and stony rises don’t need to be just fenced out of the farm enterprise and forgotten – grazing is an important tool that needs to be included in new management regimes for all sites, especially ones which have had grazing on them under the old regime. We want to support positive change in the way people see these areas of their farm.
An iconic species of our region are Brolgas, which feed and breed in our seasonal swamps, mating for life. Some of us may have been lucky enough to hear their distinctive calls, or maybe even seen them dance during breeding season and it is a wonderful experience. During July to December - breeding season - they need shallow freshwater swamps for nesting. They lay only one or two eggs a season and unfortunately during the three months until they can fly, there is a high loss of chicks due to fox predation. Another threat to the Brolga’s survival is the loss of suitable shallow freshwater swamps in the region for nesting and chick feeding.
Expressions of interest are now open, so please contact the CMA on 5571 2526 or ghcma@ghcma.vic.gov.au to register your interest!