South Esk River Catchment High Conservation Value Assets Descriptions Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
South Esk River Catchment High Conservation Value Assets Descriptions Report Department of Primary Industries and Water South Esk River Catchment: High Conservation Value Asset Descriptions Report National Water Initiative – Australian Government Water Fund Report to the Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values Project, Water Resources Division, Department of Primary Industries and Water Report 4/6 October 2007 P. E. Davies, L. Cook, T. Sloane, L. Koehnken and P. Barker Freshwater Systems and associates: Technical Advice on Water, North Barker and Associates © Department of Primary Industries and Water, October 2007 Published by: Water Resources Division Department of Primary Industries and Water GPO Box 44 Hobart Tas 7001 Telephone: (03) 6233 6328 Facsimile: (03) 6233 8749 Email: [email protected] Website: www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/water This report forms part of a series of reports produced as part of the ‘Ground-truthing and validation of the Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values (CFEV) database to support Water Management Planning’ project. Financial support contributed by the Australian Government through the National Water Initiative – Australian Government Water Fund is gratefully acknowledged. Citation: Davies, P. E., Cook, L., Sloane, T., Koehnken, L. and Barker, P. (2007). South Esk River Catchment: High Conservation Value Assets Descriptions Report. Report to the Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values Project. Department of Primary Industries and Water, Hobart, Tasmania. ISBN: 9780724664382 Copyright All material published in the report by the Department of Primary Industries and Water, as an agent of the Crown, is protected by the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth). Other than in accordance with the provisions of the Act, or as otherwise expressly provided, a person must not reproduce, store in a retrieval system, or transmit any such material without first obtaining the written permission of the Department of Primary Industries and Water. Disclaimer Whilst the Department of Primary Industries and Water makes every attempt to ensure the accuracy and reliability of information published in this report, it should not be relied upon as a substitute for formal advice from the originating bodies or Departments. DPIW, its employees and other agents of the Crown will not be responsible for any loss, however arising, from the use of, or reliance on this information Contents SECTION 1. Aims, Background and Methodology ..................................... 1 1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Purpose of this report ........................................................................ 1 1.2 CFEV asset identification and description ......................................... 2 1.2.1 River sections and clusters ............................................................ 3 1.2.2 Wetlands ....................................................................................... 3 1.2.3 CFEV data ..................................................................................... 4 1.3 Assets described in this report .......................................................... 4 2 Methods .................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Asset selection .................................................................................. 6 2.1.1 Rivers ............................................................................................ 6 2.1.2 Wetlands ....................................................................................... 6 2.2 Field survey methodology: Rivers ..................................................... 9 2.2.1 Geomorphology ............................................................................. 9 2.2.2 Instream Biota ..............................................................................10 2.2.3 Riparian Vegetation ......................................................................11 2.3 Field survey methodology: Wetlands ...............................................13 SECTION 2. Catchment Asset Values .........................................................14 3 Values .....................................................................................................14 3.1 High conservation value River Clusters ...........................................14 3.2 High conservation value Wetlands ...................................................15 SECTION 3. Asset Descriptions ..................................................................28 4 South Esk River catchment Asset Overview ......................................28 4.1 River clusters ...................................................................................28 4.2 Wetlands ..........................................................................................28 5 River asset descriptions .......................................................................29 5.1 South Esk River catchment river assets: CFEV attributes ...............29 5.2 South Esk River catchment river assets: Field Assessment ............31 5.2.1 Geomorphological Assessments: South Esk River catchment .....31 5.2.2 Instream Assessments: South Esk River Catchment ...................31 5.2.3 Vegetation Assessments: South Esk River catchment .................31 5.3 South Esk River catchment River Cluster descriptions ....................42 5.3.1 River cluster 423 ...........................................................................42 5.3.2 River cluster 629 ...........................................................................46 5.3.3 River cluster 3565 .........................................................................54 5.3.4 River cluster 1092 .........................................................................60 5.3.5 River cluster 73 .............................................................................67 5.3.6 River clusters 358, 373 and 1172 .................................................73 5.3.7 River cluster 358 South Esk River and Buffalo Brook ...................73 5.3.8 River cluster 373 ...........................................................................75 5.3.9 River cluster 1172 .........................................................................77 6 Wetland asset descriptions ..................................................................79 6.1 South Esk River catchment wetland assets: CFEV attributes ..........79 6.2 South Esk River catchment wetlands: Field Assessment .................79 6.3 South Esk River catchment Wetland Asset Descriptions .................83 6.3.1 Wetlands 18784& 18785 “Rockhampton” .....................................83 6.3.2 Wetland 19643 “Benham Plains” ..................................................83 6.3.3 Wetland 20071 “Middle Marsh”.....................................................84 SECTION 4. Summary of Management Issues and Priorities ...................85 7 River Asset Management ......................................................................85 7.1 General management issues ...........................................................85 7.2 Implications for Water Management .................................................85 8 Wetland Asset Management .................................................................91 8.1 General management issues ...........................................................91 8.2 Implications for Water Management .................................................91 9 References .............................................................................................93 Appendix 1 – Geomorphology Field sheet .................................................94 Appendix 2 – Vegetation Field sheet and attribute scores. ......................97 Appendix 3 – Flora species list for each site by cluster .........................100 Appendix 4 – Wetland survey field sheets ...............................................109 South Esk River Catchment: High Conservation Value Assets Descriptions Report SECTION 1. Aims, Background and Methodology 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose of this report This document describes a set of high conservation value river and wetland assets within the South Esk River catchment (Figure 1). It is one of five reports prepared under the Australian Government Water Fund (AGWF) focussing on high conservation value river and wetlands identified by the Tasmanian CFEV (the Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values) framework. The assets described here are those located in areas likely to be directly affected by decisions made under the Water Management Plan for the South Esk River catchment. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of information on the biophysical characteristics and condition of assets of high conservation value for the purposes of: Describing the natural values (Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values (CFEV) ‘biophysical classes’) and current condition of key, high conservation value river and wetland assets in the catchment. Listing the priority management issues at each asset, and the priority management actions for their protection/restoration. Listing the water-management related issues which need attention at each asset. The term asset used in this report refers to either: a specific wetland – mapped as a shape (or ‘polygons’, in GIS terminology) at the 1: 25,000 map scale. a group of adjacent lengths of river channel, made up of individual river sections (or ‘lines’) mapped at the 1: 25,000