Photo: Ron Mawbey
Murphys Flat
Murphys Flat - a 66 hectare, nationally-listed, estuarine wetland - was nearly lost to agricultural reclamation in the late 1990s. Through the combined efforts of community and conservation groups, three tiers of government and industry, it was purchased and reserved through the National Reserve Program. Before Murphys Flat was secured, the land-owner excavated a number of channels in the wetland, and an assessment of the subsequent effects of this work was urgently needed.The Murphys Flat project was funded by the Australian Government Envirofund and is:
- Raising community awareness about tidal wetland values and threats;
- Providing an inventory of the wetland's flora and fauna and an assessment of hydrology and water quality impacts associated with the excavated channels;
- Drafting a report including recommendations and priority actions. These will be fed directly into management planning for the area.
Habitat atlas
To continue managing Derwent habitat a second Australian Government Envirofund grant sponsored by the Tasmanian Conservation Trust will be used to create a Derwent Habitat Atlas.Mapping of the upper Derwent estuary wetalnds (Bridgewater causeway to New Norfolk) and the Clarence foreshore vegetation (Risdon down to the Iron Pot)has been completed by consultants North Barker Ecosystem Services. A composite Derwent Habitat Atlas will be created using the vegetation mapping (including wetland and saltmarsh information) and habitat data from the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, Seacare and Information Land Services. This atlas will be available on The List website when complete.
The Derwent Habitat Atlas will also be used to create education products and outreach programs in cooperation with the Tasmanian Muesum and Art Gallery.
