Park management documents

As the region is experiencing protracted drought conditions, the focus of water managers will be to direct available resources to avoid unrecoverable losses of ecological assets and functionality, with a specific focus on supporting native fish habitat.

In 2019–20, water managers will focus their efforts on supporting native fish populations in the Severn, Dumaresq, Macintyre and upper Barwon rivers.

In 2019–20, water managers will focus on protecting key water dependent assets such as native fish communities and supporting the resilience of rivers and wetlands to ensure they are ready to respond when rain and river flows return to the catchment.

With drought in the northern basin now in its third year, environmental demands are increasing, particularly in relation to connectivity and native fish. In 2019–20, the focus of water managers will be to minimise unrecoverable losses of ecological assets and functionality.

This year, water managers plan to boost productivity and build system-scale resilience where water is available. If dry conditions continue into extreme dry, the focus will shift to providing drought refuges and avoiding irretrievable loss of species and habitat.

In 2019–20, water managers will work to maintain drought refuges and core aquatic ecosystem values in the Macquarie-Castlereagh catchment.

In 2019–20, managed water will target a range of outcomes, including the maintenance of habitat that support colonial nesting waterbirds and the threatened Australasian bittern, improving conditions for small-bodied native fish, providing refuge and dispersal flows for large-bodied native fish, supporting wetland plants and enhancing connectivity in waterways for native fish.

This year managed watering events will focus on maintaining drought refuge habitat for southern bell frogs, native fish, waterbirds and other aquatic species.

In 2019–20, water managers will focus their efforts on supporting native fish populations. With the prospect of no water for the environment available to support critical refuge habitat, the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment will work with WaterNSW to advise on how flows released for human needs can also help support the water quality and small-scale movement of native fish.

This policy has been drafted for organisations in the NSW wildlife rehabilitation sector and is suitable for groups structured as a NSW incorporated association and company limited by guarantee, as well as for groups that are registered as a charity.