Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Ramsar site
Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Ramsar site is located 18 km north east of Guyra in northern NSW and covers an area of 258 hectares. It includes Little Llangothlin Lagoon, one of the few unmodified lakes remaining on the New England tablelands, and part of Billy Bung Lagoon, a smaller partly modified lake in the catchment of Little Llangothlin Lagoon.
Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Ramsar site map
Why was this wetland listed as a Ramsar site?
Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Ramsar site was listed under the Ramsar Convention in 1998 and meets the following Ramsar nomination criteria:
Criterion 1 - Representative or unique wetlands
Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve supports two examples of high altitude lakes which are now largely cleared from the NSW New England tablelands. Little Llangothlin Lagoon (105 ha), one of the largest examples of a high altitude lake, is also rare due to its near-natural condition, as the majority of the region’s lakes have been severely degraded through hydrological modification, grazing and cropping.
Criterion 2 - Threatened species or ecological communities
Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve supports threatened species including Austral toadflax (Thesium australe) which is a parasitic herb, especially on kangaroo grass (Themeda australis), the Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), and the threatened ecological community, Upland wetlands of the New England Tablelands and the Monaro Plateau. It also supports the threatened ecological community New England peppermint (Eucalyptus nova-anglica) grassy woodlands, and one of the few high-quality remaining Carex fens in the New England tablelands, now rare in NSW.
Criterion 4 - Supports species at a critical stage of their life cycle or provides refuge in adverse conditions
Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve provides a refuge for waterbirds during droughts, including the Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa), grey teal (Anas gracilis), Australasian shoveler (Anas rhyncotis), Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) and white-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae). The site also supports eight migratory waterbirds listed under international agreements. Other waterbirds which are known from the site include the blue-billed duck (Oxyura australis) and freckled duck (Stictonetta naevosa).
More information
The key document for Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Ramsar site is the Ramsar information sheet. It outlines the criteria met by the site, special features and management practices within the site and its catchment.
The Ramsar Convention requires Contracting Parties to maintain the ecological character of their Ramsar listed wetlands. Australia has developed a framework for describing ecological character in detail. The ecological character description for Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Ramsar site will provide a comprehensive description of the site’s critical values (components, processes and services) at the time of listing. It is currently being finalised.
A plan of management (PDF) was prepared for Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve in 1998. Management actions include addressing the on-site impacts of previous land uses such as clearing, grazing and sedimentation; controlling introduced plants such as pasture grasses and introduced animals such as rabbits, foxes and feral cats; and minimising the impacts of visitation and recreational use. Off-site impacts requiring management include runoff and sedimentation from surrounding land uses and groundwater extraction in the catchment.
The Ramsar Managers Network provides a forum for Ramsar site managers in NSW.
Page last updated: 27 April 2012
