Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands
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Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands Ecological Character Description Citation: White, L., 2014. Ecological Character Description for Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands. Report prepared for Australian Government Department of the Environment. WetlandCare Australia, Ballina, NSW. Copyright © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia, 2011. The Ecological Character Description for the Fivebough and Tuckerbil Ramsar site is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 Australia licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/ This report should be attributed as ‘Ecological Character Description for the Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands Ramsar site, Commonwealth of Australia 2011’. The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify content supplied by third parties using the following format ‘© Copyright. Acknowledgements This document was prepared in consultation with NSW Trade and Investment, Crown Lands with funding provided by Riverina Local Land Services. Guidance was also provided by NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and the Australian Government Department of the Environment. Introductory Notes This Ecological Character Description (ECD Publication) has been prepared in accordance with the National Framework and Guidance for Describing the Ecological Character of Australia’s Ramsar Wetlands (National Framework) (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts 2008). The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) prohibits actions that are likely to have a significant impact on the ecological character of a Ramsar wetland unless the Commonwealth Environment Minister has approved the taking of the action, or some other provision in the EPBC Act allows the action to be taken. The information in this ECD Publication does not indicate any commitment to a particular course of action, policy position or decision. Further, it does not provide assessment of any particular action within the meaning of the EPBC Act, nor replace the role of the Minister or his delegate in making an informed decision to approve an action. The Water Act 2007 requires that in preparing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) must take into account Ecological Character Descriptions of declared Ramsar wetlands prepared in accordance with the National Framework. This ECD Publication is provided without prejudices to any final decision by the Administrative Authority for Ramsar in Australia on change in ecological character in accordance with the requirements of Article 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the contents of this ECD are factually correct, the Commonwealth of Australia as represented by the Department of the Environment does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication. Note: There may be differences in the type of information contained in this ECD Publication, to those of other Ramsar wetlands. Ecological Character Description – Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands 1 Contents Contents ........................................................................................................................................................2 List of abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................3 Executive summary .......................................................................................................................................4 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................9 1.1 Site details......................................................................................................................................9 1.2 Statement of purpose .................................................................................................................. 11 1.3 Preparing the ECD ...................................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Relevant treaties, legislation, and regulations ............................................................................. 15 2. General description of the Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands.............................................................. 17 2.1 Site location ................................................................................................................................ 17 2.2 Site history and management framework ................................................................................... 18 2.3 Land tenure................................................................................................................................. 20 2.4 Wetland types ............................................................................................................................. 25 2.5 Ramsar criteria ........................................................................................................................... 30 3. Ecosystem components and processes ................................................................................................. 33 3.1 Essential components and processes ........................................................................................ 33 3.2 Critical components and processes ........................................................................................... 40 4. Benefits and services ............................................................................................................................. 46 4.1 Critical benefits and services ...................................................................................................... 46 4.2 Supplementary benefits and services ........................................................................................ 52 5. Critical components, processes and services ........................................................................................ 55 6. Limits of acceptable change ................................................................................................................... 60 6.1 LAC for the Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands ......................................................................... 60 7. Threats.................................................................................................................................................... 66 8. Changes in ecological character ............................................................................................................ 72 9. Knowledge gaps ..................................................................................................................................... 78 10. Key monitoring needs ........................................................................................................................... 79 11. Communication, education and public awareness messages ............................................................. 80 References ................................................................................................................................................. 81 Glossary...................................................................................................................................................... 83 Appendices ................................................................................................................................................. 85 2 Ecological Character Description – Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands List of abbreviations CAMBA China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement CEPA Communication, Education, Participation and Awareness CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation DEWHA Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts (Commonwealth, now DoE) DIWA Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia DOI Lands Department of Industry Lands DoE Department of Environment (Commonwealth) ECD Ecological Character Description EPA Environmental Protection Authority (NSW) EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth) IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature JAMBA Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement L&DLALC Leeton and District Local Aboriginal Land Council LAC Limit/s of Acceptable Change LEP Local Environment Plan MWWG Murrumbidgee Wetlands Working Group NPWS National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW) NSW New South Wales OEH Office of Environment and Heritage (NSW) RIS Ramsar Information Sheet ROKAMBA Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement STP Sewage Treatment Plant 3 Ecological Character Description – Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands Executive summary This Ecological Character Description (ECD) has been prepared to document the ecological character of Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands at