Announcing… the Purchase of Eaglehawk Waterhole – NGT’s First Habitat Restoration Reserve
The 20th of December 2013 marks a significant milestone in the short (but busy) existence of Nature Glenelg Trust – just under a month shy of our 2nd birthday.
Today, Nature Glenelg Trust settled the purchase of Eaglehawk Waterhole – a 684 hectare (1690 acre) property situated just north of Frances in the Upper South East.
The purchase was made possible as a result of a Significant Environmental Benefit grant from the Native Vegetation Council and the generous support of the Nature Foundation SA Inc. (www.naturefoundation.org.au). This exciting new partnership will see the property become Nature Glenelg Trust’s first formal Habitat Restoration Reserve. The restoration costs will be underpinned by a range of potential grant funding sources, and the NGT Foundation will accept donations to support long-term, ongoing management.
The property has outstanding restoration potential, given its remarkable tree cover and areas of remnant native vegetation across a range of soil and habitat types. In addition to significant areas of Brown Stringybark Woodland and SA Blue Gum Woodland, the property hosts nationally recognised values such as critically endangered Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands, and often supports flocks of the endangered South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.
We intend for the Eaglehawk Waterhole project to become a community demonstration site – bringing together people interested in restoring native vegetation, and showing what is possible when working at a large-scale at a strategic location in the landscape. The property is situated a short distance south of Bangham Conservation Park and west of Little Desert National Park, in a district widely recognised for its significant environmental values. For more background information – please visit the project page.
As plans for the management and restoration of the property are put in place over the coming months – including a community event to formally introduce the site and the project to you all – we’ll keep you informed. So as always – please keep an eye on our blog and website for updates!
