Cuumbeun Nature Reserve is dominated by a dry sclerophyll forest of scribbly gum, long-leaved bundy, red stringybark, brittle gum and red box. The undulating valley floors support a woodland with an abundance of yellow box and a grassy understorey, a community listed as an endangered ecological community under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Archaeological surveys of the reserve have found indications of past Aboriginal use, including a number of artefact scatters.
Much of the reserve has been cleared for pastoral use and was occupied under annual grazing permits until recently. Its location in an area of high population and previous unregulated access has resulted in heavy recreational use by damaging activities and other inappropriate uses such as firewood collection and rubbish dumping. Management of Cuumbeun Nature Reserve will focus on the rehabilitation of environmental damage resulting from previous public use of the reserve.
Photo: Cuumbeun Nature Reserve / Stuart Cohen/OEH
