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The Murray Catchment Wetland Mapping project was design by the Murray Wetlands Working Group (MWWG), in conjunction with the Murray Catchment Nature Conservation Working Group Inc., to collect baseline information on the number of wetlands, their size and condition within the Billabong Creek and Upper Murray catchments. The project took four years to complete and has identified over 1000 wetlands. Ecosurveys Pty Ltd. was contracted to conduct the project which was funded through by the former State Wetland Advisory Committee (SWAC) and the MWWG.
The project's overall objective was to map all wetlands within the Billabong Creek and the Murray River catchment upstream of the Hume Dam, The project's four main aims are to:
- Map and develop an inventory of wetlands 1 ha or greater in size;
- Assess the hydrology, geomorphology, vegetation and condition of each wetland;
- Provide adequate information for assessing the rehabilitation potential of these wetlands and developing priorities for wetland rehabilitation; and
- Develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) database of wetlands for each of the specified catchments.
Using aerial photography, over 700 wetlands have been identified in the Billabong Creek catchment from the headwaters east of Holbrook downstream to Moulamein and approximately 320 wetlands in the Upper Murray catchment. The majority of identified wetlands have their own data sheet recording information such as land use, wetland classification, impacts (eg salinity, clearing, fire, grazing etc.), water control/storage structures, faunal and floral observations and the overall condition of the wetland. After the wetland's boundaries have been established this information is then transferred to topographic maps at scales of either 1:25000 or 1:50000.
Map of Billabong Creek where data has been collected on the
location, health and rehabilitation needs of its various wetlands
Over 1000 wetlands have been identified within the catchments - excluding those wetlands that are within areas managed by either NSW State Forests or the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Within the Central Billabong Creek area, which stretches from Walbundrie to Jerilderie, 187 wetlands have been identified and in each of the Upper Billabong (upstream of Walbundrie) and Western Billabong (Jerilderie to Moulamein) reaches there are approximately 300 wetlands.
The information gathered from this project will enable the MWWG to develop and prioritise strategic rehabilitation projects within the catchments. After completing on-ground assessments for 43% of the wetlands in the Central Billabong reach, the Group has been able to determine that the majority of wetlands have suffered from only minor to moderate disturbance - and only 8% fall into the 'extreme disturbance' Wetland Condition category. This is encouraging as it suggests a lot of these wetlands have the potential of being rehabilitated.
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