December 23, 2015
A patch of protected littoral rainforest at Lake Tyers Beach will be restored with the help of local community groups.
Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said the Federal Government had allocated $20,500 under the National Landcare Programme to the Lake Tyers Coastal Rainforest Recovery project, which will restore highly-degraded areas of foreshore.
The revegetation project will be led by East Gippsland Rainforest Conservation Management Network (EGRCMN), in partnership with East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (EGCMA).
Mr Chester said the littoral rainforest was on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) list of threatened flora.
“Local conservation volunteers will be playing an important role in restoring this critical piece of the local environment,” Mr Chester said.
“The littoral rainforest experiences extra stresses as a result of human activity, but it will ultimately be the positive human activity, through conservation management, that ensures its thrives well into the future.
“The project is a good example of the practical environmental benefits the National Landcare Programme grants can provide for local ecosystems.”
East Gippsland CMA Acting CEO Brett Millington said: “Our Board has developed strong relationships with many conservation management groups across East Gippsland and this is another great example of being able to assist local communities to undertake projects that are beneficial at a local scale, and yet significant at a landscape level.”
“We are delighted to be able to broker the partnerships and again thank the Federal Government for its funding commitment.”
The program will be directed by EGRCMN facilitator Tom Crook, who has previous experience with recovery work in parts of Martins Creek Nature Conservation Reserve damaged by bushfire.
Other rainforest renewal works on the foreshore of Lake King, near Kalimna Jetty, was visited recently by Mr Chester and Mr Millington to see examples of successful Littoral rainforest regeneration that will be undertaken at Lake Tyers.
CAPTION: Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester with East Gippsland Rainforest Conservation Management Network’s Tom Crook, East Gippsland CMA Acting CEO Brett Millington and East Gippsland CMA Program Manager Becky Hemming.
