Funding Source: Australian Government – Communities Environment Program
Timeline: December 2019 – October 2021
Funding received: $13 000 (GST exc.)
Project Description
Fosters Lake is located just north of the town centre of Glenrowan. It is a popular picnic area with travellers and locals. It was named after the stationmaster at Glenrowan, who had the lake built to water the transported cattle. In the past the lake has been stocked with various recreational fish including rainbow trout.
Southern Pygmy Perch is a small bodied native fish which grows to 85mm long that is listed as threatened in Victoria. We have been working with the Arthur Rylah Institute to protect these fish over the past two years by using private farm dams as refuge sites. Establishing refuge sites in farm dams helps to protect existing populations and allows us to establish separate breeding populations. You can read more about these little fish and our Southern Pygmy Perch in Farm Dams program.
This project will assist the Southern Pygmy Perch by establishing an additional refuge populations in Fosters Lake. A refuge population is simply a back up populations should anything happen to wild source populations.
This project will focus on the onground activities that protect and enhance the natural environment to support the recovery of this species. Fish will be translocated from existing refuge populations in farm dams in our Landcare group area, to Fosters Lake in Glenrowan.
Works at the lake will include:
- Earthworks in the lake to deepen areas that have become overgrown with Typha (Cumbungi).
- Revegetation of the surrounding bush land area with small to medium height shrubs to increase habitat diversity, focusing on those species that are rare in the landscape.
- Design and install suitable signage to highlight the promotion of the preservation of this species in the Murray Darling Basin, their remaining distribution and the aim of our farm dam project.
Completed works at Fosters Lake
A selection of photos below demonstrates the works undertaken at Fosters Lake during this project. Please hover over photos to read captions.
Capture and translocation of Yellow belly from Fosterks Lake to family fishing site at the Recreation Reserve in Glenrowan
Drainage of Fosters Lake with support from North East Water and Glenrowan CFA members
Commencing desilting and removal of Typha from the inflow area to the lake
Inflow channel cleaned out to clay bed level
Planting of understorey shrubs in the surrounding reserve – 20 different species have been planted back into the site
Volunteers donated the water cart to assist with planting
One month later and already our planted shrubs are flowering!
Future works will target control of ground weeds to protect species such as the native Bulbine Lily
Monitoring of Southern Pygmy Perch, by weighing and measuring a sample of fish prior to release to the lake
A male Southern Pygmy Perch – note the vibrant fin colour
Aquatic habitat in Fosters Lake, including flowering Water Ribbons (Triglochin)
The lake is characterised by fringing stands of Tall Sedge (Carex appressa) and other emergent species
Acclimatising fish to water temperature in the lake prior to release
Release of Southern Pygmy Perch using a hand net
New interpretive signage at Fosters Lake
Acknowledgements
This project received grant funding from the Australian Government’s Communities Environment Program.
Thank you to the various organisations that also made this project possible through their generous donation of their time and resources:
- North East CMA
- Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
- Mawsons Quarry of Glenrowan
- North East Water
- Glenrowan CFA
- Glenrowan Improvers Association
- Wangaratta Sustainability Network
For further information, please get in touch with Sally Day (Project Officer) on 0437 136 162.
