The Nature Conservation Trust recently added a Lower Clarence wetland property, Shark Creek, to its conservation property portfolio.
Wetlands are without a doubt one of hardest working ecosystems in Australia. They support a wide range of animals, water-dependent plants and ecological communities, many of which are threatened. They also provide breeding grounds and nurseries for insects, fish, frogs and waterbirds, and act as refuges for animals in times of drought.
Wetlands are also important socially, culturally and economically. Among other things, they purify water, regulate water flows, filter nutrients, maintain water tables, protect land from storms, mitigate floods and control erosion. That's a lot of jobs for one little ecosystem!
Despite being undeniably important on many levels, wetlands are one of the world's most threatened ecosystems. Practices such as draining, in-filling, pollution and over-exploitation have wreaked havoc on the world's wetlands. In the Lower Clarence, and across NSW, wetlands are highly degraded from river regulation and water diversion works, vegetation clearing, pests and weeds, and water quality issues such as those arising from acid sulphate soils.
Shark Creek, the NCT's most recent property purchase, lies in a large wetland known as Tyndale Swamp. The 216 hectare property features two endangered wetland ecological communities. Brolgas, ospreys and grey-crowned babblers, all listed as threatened in NSW, are regular residents on the property, and it contains habitat for a host of other threatened species.
Our purchase of Shark Creek builds on our work with private landholders in the Lower Clarence who have chosen to protect important wetland and forested areas on their properties with NCT conservation covenants. With less than 10% of wetlands in the Clarence River catchment protected in reserves, our acquisition of Shark Creek and our work with Lower Clarence landholders are helping to ensure that the hard-working wetlands of the region can continue to do their all-important job.
