Jon Stanhope has announced plans to spend $200,000 to restore the highly artificial conditions which made the Mulligans Flat wetlands a birdwatching delight in the 1960s.
Planning work has commenced on a $200,000 repair project to a large dam in Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve that will enable the re-creation of an important wetland environment, Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services Jon Stanhope said today.
“The work on this dam will help restore one of the ACT’s most important wetlands to good health and once again attract a wide array of water birds,” Mr Stanhope said.
Since 1995, Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve has protected a unique box gum woodland environment, as well as a large wetland area created by a very large farm dam built in the 1960s.
However, a number of breaches to the dam wall over time have reduced the size of the wetlands.
The power of Canberra’s bird watchers, and their devotion to artificial habitats being maintained in the name of the environment, is a source of constant wonder.
Consider the opportunity cost of the Jerrabomberra wetlands also kept as a near-private playground.