NSW NATIONAL PARKS & WILDLIFE SERVICE Thirlmere Lakes National Park Plan of Management environment.nsw.gov.au © 2019 State of NSW and Department of Planning, Industry and Environment With the exception of photographs, the State of NSW and Department of Planning, Industry and Environment are pleased to allow this material to be reproduced in whole or in part for educational and non-commercial use, provided the meaning is unchanged and its source, publisher and authorship are acknowledged. Specific permission is required for the reproduction of photographs. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has compiled this report in good faith, exercising all due care and attention. No representation is made about the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information in this publication for any particular purpose. DPIE shall not be liable for any damage which may occur to any person or organisation taking action or not on the basis of this publication. Readers should seek appropriate advice when applying the information to their specific needs. All content in this publication is owned by DPIE and is protected by Crown Copyright, unless credited otherwise. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), subject to the exemptions contained in the licence. The legal code for the licence is available at Creative Commons. DPIE asserts the right to be attributed as author of the original material in the following manner: © State of New South Wales and Department of Planning, Industry and Environment 2019. Cover photo: Lake Couridjah view towards Lake Werri Berri Thirlmere Lakes National Park. Rosie Nicolai/DPIE This plan of management was adopted by the Minister for Energy and Environment on 22 August 2019. Thirlmere Lakes National Park is in the traditional country of the Dharawal and Gundungurra people. This plan of management was prepared by staff of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). For additional information or any inquiries about this park or this plan of management, contact the NPWS Nattai Area Office, PO Box 12, Wallacia NSW 2745 or by telephone on (02) 4774 6800. Published by: Environment, Energy and Science Department of Planning, Industry and Environment 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box A290, Sydney South NSW 1232 Phone: +61 2 9995 5000 (switchboard) Phone: 1300 361 967 (Environment, Energy and Science enquiries) TTY users: phone 133 677, then ask for 1300 361 967 Speak and listen users: phone 1300 555 727, then ask for 1300 361 967 Email: [email protected] Website: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Report pollution and environmental incidents Environment Line: 131 555 (NSW only) or [email protected] See also www.environment.nsw.gov.au ISBN 978-1-922317-25-4 EES2019/0545 September 2019 Find out more about your environment at: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Thirlmere Lakes National Park Plan of Management Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 1.1 Location, gazettal and regional setting ........................................................................ 1 1.2 Statement of significance ............................................................................................ 1 2. MANAGEMENT CONTEXT ............................................................................................ 4 2.1 Legislative and policy framework ................................................................................ 4 2.2 Management purposes and principles ........................................................................ 4 2.3 Specific management directions ................................................................................. 5 3. VALUES .........................................................................................................................7 3.1 World Heritage values ................................................................................................. 7 3.2 Wetlands .....................................................................................................................8 3.3 Geology, landscape and hydrology ............................................................................. 9 3.4 Native plants ............................................................................................................. 12 3.5 Native animals .......................................................................................................... 16 3.6 Aboriginal connections to Country ............................................................................. 19 3.7 Historic heritage ........................................................................................................ 20 3.8 Visitor use ................................................................................................................. 22 3.9 Information and education ........................................................................................ 27 4. THREATS ..................................................................................................................... 29 4.1 Pests ........................................................................................................................29 4.2 Fire ...........................................................................................................................31 4.3 Climate change ......................................................................................................... 32 5. MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS AND OTHER USES ................................................... 34 5.1 Management facilities and operations ....................................................................... 34 5.2 Non-NPWS uses and operations .............................................................................. 35 6. IMPLEMENTATION ...................................................................................................... 37 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 40 TABLES Table 1 Vegetation communities ........................................................................................13 Table 2 Threatened and significant plant species recorded in the park ..............................14 Table 3 Threatened and significant animal species recorded in the park ...........................16 Table 4 Significant weeds recorded in the park ..................................................................29 Table 5 List of management responses .............................................................................37 iii Thirlmere Lakes National Park Plan of Management Figure 1 Map of Thirlmere Lakes National Park iv Thirlmere Lakes National Park Plan of Management 1. Introduction 1.1 Location, gazettal and regional setting Thirlmere Lakes National Park (also referred to in this plan as the park) encompasses 660 hectares and is located in the NSW Southern Highlands, approximately 90 kilometres south– west of Sydney and 10 kilometres from Picton (see Figure 1). The park is adjacent to the villages of Thirlmere, Buxton and Couridjah. The park was first reserved as a state park in March 1972 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1967 and managed by Wollondilly Shire Council. It was redesignated a national park in 1974 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Two inholdings, which were private land, were added to the park in 2008. The park is currently jointly managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and WaterNSW. Thirlmere Lakes National Park was established to protect a small system of five perennial freshwater lakes of considerable geomorphological and biological significance – Lake Gandangarra, Lake Werri Berri, Lake Couridjah, Lake Baraba and Lake Nerrigorang. Known collectively as the Thirlmere Lakes, the lakes and the surrounding park support a unique assemblage of terrestrial and aquatic native plants and animals, including a range of threatened species, three endangered ecological communities and one vegetation community found only in the park. Thirlmere Lakes National Park is within the Sydney Basin Bioregion, and is an important component of a larger system of protected areas that extends and links to the west, north and east. The park forms part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. It is also designated as part of the Warragamba Special Area under the Water NSW Act 2014. The purpose of special areas is to protect the quality of stored waters for drinking purposes and to maintain the ecological integrity of their catchments. Warragamba Special Area has an important function of providing relatively unpolluted water to Lake Burragorang, the main source of drinking water for Sydney. The park abuts Nattai National Park to the west, with a mixture of semi-rural and rural landholdings and small Crown land blocks to the north, east and south. Excised from the gazetted area of the park are Crown road reserves, most of which align with access to the park. The park is located within the areas of the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council, the Greater Sydney Local Land Services and Wollondilly Shire Council. The Hawkesbury– Nepean Catchment Management Action Plan 2013–2023 (HNCMA 2013) describes how land management agencies and communities can work together to achieve productive, biodiverse, resilient landscapes and liveable urban areas. 1.2 Statement of significance Thirlmere Lakes