Written by 3:42 pm Animal Good News, Australia, Good news, Heroes, Inspirational

Decommissioned Lake In Outback NSW Becomes Thriving Nature Reserve, Paving Way For Threatened Turtles

Broken Hill Landcare says it has been pleasantly surprised to find several threatened and rare species have made a home at a decommissioned lake turned nature reserve in far west New South Wales.

Threatened species of frogs, turtles, birds and fish have all been recorded at the lakes, just three months into being taken over by the volunteer group. The waterway was dammed in 1888 and was used as a town and mining water supply intermittently until it was turned over to Landcare Broken hill to be turned into a nature reserve. The site had remained dormant for more than 40 years before work to decommission the dam wall began early last year after it was deemed as high risk. Ranger David Elston said plants and animals were already thriving as the lakes returned to a natural state.

“It’s a whole new ecosystem developing before our eyes out there,” he said.

“I’ve noticed there’s a native water weed that grows into the lake as the water recedes and it will cover it eventually, keeping the ground moist when the water goes.

“Then when we get another inflow, all that material rots down and that’s a food source for your tadpoles and your yabbies, and that’s the food chain.”

In the short months that Landcare Broken Hill has had run of the reserve, volunteers have spotted several threatened species, including the barking marsh frog and the eel-tailed catfish. Mr Elston, along with volunteers, has the task of discovering, monitoring and recording the plants and animals that call the reserve home. He said the latest discovery by the group of a major broad-shelled turtle nesting event was a promising sign.

“They’re big females that are emerging,” he said.

“They look so funny. Their neck is often longer than their whole body.

“If this is going to be a yearly event, we can plan for that. It’s a good time to take the opportunity to do some turtle monitoring as they come out of the water [as] you can observe for any injuries or diseases.”

It is estimated some of the turtles may be up to 50 years old, surviving drought, development and predators. However Mr Elston said he was worried for the survival of new turtle generations, as fox numbers build in the area.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got a real big problem with fox predation out there,” he said.

“They follow them to where they nest and once they’ve buried their eggs, they just dig them up and eat them.”

He said he was hopeful some protective measures could be taken in the future.

“Once we know exactly where the nests are, we might be able to fence them off to exclude the foxes,” he said.

“Also, in the future, if people come to witness that event, perhaps that could keep the foxes away?”

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