Hutt Bay Wetland (SA)

Thanks to the foresight and incredible generosity of Rob and Deb Thompson, NGT established our newest wetland restoration reserve at Hutt Bay in February 2019.

Hutt Bay Wetland is situated about 5 km west of the township of Port MacDonnell, on the South Australian coast south of Mount Gambier.

NGT’s newest restoration reserve (both Stage 1 and Stage 2) – Hutt Bay Wetland. Mapping by Ben Taylor.

Habitats on the new reserve: cutting grass and silky/woolly tea-tree shrubland in the foreground, with dry-land tea-tree woodland in the background. Photo by Mark Bachmann.

The reserve, which is situated immediately to the west of the (SA Water managed) Finger Point water treatment plant, is a little under 160 hectares (or roughly 400 acres) in size, and includes extensive areas of coastal wetland, complemented by dry-land tea-tree woodland and coastal dune scrub which adjoins Hutt Bay.

As resources allow, NGT will develop and implement a long-term restoration and management plan for the property, which will most likely include activities like:

  • destocking the wetland;
  • re-aligning fences in key areas to improve management flexibility and remove internal barriers preventing wildlife movement;
  • removing internal drains which can force water to move to the lowest points of the wetland (even with the outlets regulated), prematurely drying out fringing wetland habitats (this is especially significant for the fresh spring-fed area); and,
  • reviewing the options for wetland levels currently set by the second artificial outlet regulator (which still discharges surface flows to the sea in most years).

The spring-fed wetland habitat at Hutt Bay. Photo by Mark Bachmann.

Finally, on behalf of everyone at NGT, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Rob and Deb Thompson for entrusting this special environmental area to us. Now we look forward to working with them, and everyone in the community, to turn Hutt Bay Wetland into a permanent NGT nature reserve and community asset for generations to come.

If you would like to help us make that happen, then please consider donating to the NGT Reserve Fund today. All donations over $2 are fully tax-deductible.

Stories on the NGT website about Hutt Bay Wetland

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