Mount Burr Swamp (SA)

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Introduction

The Mount Burr Swamp Habitat Restoration Reserve is 369 ha property purchased by Nature Glenelg Trust in two stages. Stage 1 was purchased in September 2016 and Stage 2 in October 2018. The property is located in the lower South East of South Australia, east of Millicent and north-west of Mt Gambier, and lies adjacent to Marshes Native Forest Reserve (NFR).

The purchase of Stage 1 was achieved through a partnership agreement between NGT, the Native Vegetation Council and OneFortyOne Plantations, which intially secured over 90 per cent of the funds needed for NGT to establish the reserve and commence restoration works. And then prior to settlement in September 2016, thanks to an incredible response from the local community, the remaining $110,000 required to purchase the site was raised.

Origins

Back in February 2012, only a few weeks after Nature Glenelg Trust began, we were alerted to a potential site for purchase and restoration, only half an hour from Mt Gambier in the lower South East of South Australia.

The concept immediately looked like a great idea. After all, the site was situated next door to The Marshes (a nationally recognised wetland complex) and would enable the overall conservation area to be expanded by 50%. The property contains dozens of drained wetlands with excellent restoration potential.

One of these wetlands, Mt Burr Swamp, is a large, former deep freshwater marsh that forms a natural centrepiece for the site. With a secure water supply, all the ingredients for successful restoration were in place.

At the time of purchase, the Mount Burr Swamp property was a working farm, featuring multiple paddocks with improved pastures, shearing shed, stockyards, two working windmills with stock troughs and plantations of Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata) and Tasmanian Blue-gum (Eucalyptus globulus).

The various sections of plantation timber are gradually being harvested to make way for restoration and the agricultural drains that deplete the main wetland’s surface water have been infilled. The process of restoration in ongoing.

Mount Burr Swamp Habitat Restoration Reserve

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Outcomes

Mt Burr Swamp is providing a rare demonstration of what sustainable water management, threatened species recovery and large-scale native revegetation actually look like on the ground, while providing an opportunity for the community to actively participate in the exciting restoration journey.

The site provides the opportunity to restore habitat for six nationally threatened species (as shown, in order): Little (formerly Dwarf) Galaxias (fish), Growling Grass Frog, Australasian Bittern, Southern Brown Bandicoot, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo and Southern Bent-wing Bat, as well as a range of other important or iconic species, such as the Brolga.

The list of wetland species that have already been detected includes Growling Grass Frog, Southern Bent-wing Bat, Brolga, Australasian Bittern, Royal Spoonbills and Lathams Snipe. And, since restoration of the main Mt Burr Swamp began in 2016, over 83 species of birds have been recorded.

Over the years ahead, we expect even more species of animals (and plants) to bounce back in this restored area of habitat.

The biodiversity of the general area is best illustrated by the adjacent Marshes wetland reserve, known to support hundreds of species of native flora and fauna, including a host of significant species that will directly benefit from the restoration of the Mount Burr Swamp property.

Actions to protect and restore the main Mt Burr Swamp wetland feature include:

May 2016: pre-restoration wetland vegetation baseline monitoring survey.
August 2016: installation of a temporary regulating structure of the artificial outlet drain. Mount Burr Swamp has thereafter retained permanent surface water.
Fish survey, which detected nationally vulnerable Little Galaxias. Growling Grass Frog survey, with successful breeding in first year.
Fencing the boundary of the main swamp.
Active revegetation of 7.15 ha.

Actions in Stage 2 include:

Removal of a large section of plantation timber (Tasmanian Bluegums, prior to purchase) in the Eastern end where there are many intermingled remnant swamps.
Wetland restoration works in Management Units 17 and 18 (areas of former blue-gum plantation)
Realigning fences to accommodate restoring a significant wetland feature.
Autumn 2023: Hydrological remediation works, completed just in time for an exceptionally wet June, which immediately refilled the wetlands throughout this area.

Southern Brown Bandicoot, Cranbourne - trimmed

Australasian Bittern, Sub-Adult, Johnsons Swamp_31-08-15

Mt Burr Swamp Stage 2 - before and after photos - by Mark Bachmann

The facts

The property is 369 hectares (912 acres) in size, and is located adjacent to an existing 600 hectare wetland reserve.

The initial community fundraising target we set and achieved to secure Stage 1 back in 2016 was $110,000 – and we’re continuing to accept donations to help us cover reserve establishment costs and set aside funding for future on-ground works.

To donate