Burrinjuck Nature Reserve
New South Wales
Burrinjuck Nature Reserve is located in New South Wales
Burrinjuck Nature Reserve
Burrinjuck Nature Reserve
Nearest town or cityBurrinjuck
Coordinates34°57′27″S 148°35′22″E / 34.95750°S 148.58944°E / -34.95750; 148.58944
Established1984[1]
Area52.50 km2 (20.3 sq mi)[2]
Managing authoritiesNSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
WebsiteBurrinjuck Nature Reserve
See alsoProtected areas of
New South Wales

The Burrinjuck Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve on the south west slopes of New South Wales, Australia. The 5,250-hectare (13,000-acre) reserve is located adjacent to the Burrinjuck Dam, with 5,118 hectares (12,650 acres) of the reserve located on the northern side of the reservoir, and the remaining 89 hectares (220 acres) located on the southern side of the reservoir[1] to the northeast of Black Andrew Nature Reserve. It includes land formerly managed as the Burrinjuck State Forest and Burrinjuck State Recreation Area.[1]

History

The reserve was established in 1984. Initially, it consisted of 1,286 hectares (3,180 acres) of land, but 367 hectares (910 acres) and about 1,581 hectares (3,910 acres) of the former Burrinjuck State Recreation Area were added in 2001 following the passage of the National Park Estate (Southern Region Reservations) Act 2000 (NSW), and a further 1,911 hectares (4,720 acres) were added to the western side of the reserve in 2006.[1]

The entire reserve has been subject to bushfire, though some parts of the reserve have experienced fire more often than others.[3] A particularly severe fire in the summer of 1972–1973 burnt around 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres) of land in the area.[4] Recent work demonstrated that the vegetation communities in the reserve appear to be quite resilient to fire.[5]

Public facilities

The only public facilities in the reserve are the Hume and Hovell Track and a track that leads to the summit of Mt. Barren Jack from Burrinjuck Waters State Park.[1]

Ecology

Flora

An Australian Blue Gum

Six different forest ecosystems are recognised in the reserve:[1]

Threatened species

Two species listed on the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW) are known to exist in the reserve. The Yass daisy is listed as vulnerable, and the crimson spider orchid is listed as endangered. There are thought to be about 100 crimson spider orchid plants in the reserve, which constitute one of four known populations of the species in New South Wales.[6]

Grevillea iaspicula meets the criteria for listing as Critically Endangered in NSW under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW).[7] Seven sub-populations of the plant are known to occur in the Wee-Jasper–Burrinjuck area; one of these sub-populations is located in the reserve.

Fauna

3 amphibian species, 9 reptile species, 32 mammal species and 179 bird species have been recorded in the reserve since the late 1970s.

Threatened species

16 animal species known to exist in the reserve are listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW).[1] All are listed as vulnerable. They are the gang-gang cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum), turquoise parrot (Neophema pulchella), superb parrot (Polytelis swainsonii), barking owl (Ninox connivens), powerful owl (Ninox strenua), brown treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus), speckled warbler (Pyrrholaemus sagittatus), black-chinned honeyeater (Melithreptus gularis ssp. gularis), hooded robin (Melanodryas cucullata), grey-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis ssp. temporalis), olive whistler (Pachycephala olivacea), diamond firetail (Stagonopleura guttata), spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis), squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) and the eastern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii oceanensis).

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Burrinjuck Nature Reserve plan of management" (PDF). NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (PDF). Government of New South Wales. September 2010. ISBN 978-1-74232-954-3. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Burrinjuck Nature Reserve". Office of Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. ^ Burrinjuck Nature Reserve fire management strategy 2006 (PDF) (Report). New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. August 2006. ISBN 1-74137-274-7. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Brief history of bushfires in NSW". New South Wales Rural Fire Service. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  5. ^ Doherty, M.D.; Wright, G. (2004). "Post fire recovery after the 2003 Canberra fires—bouncing back in Bimberi, Brindabella and Burrinjuck". Proceedings of Bushfire 2004: Earth, Wind and Fire—Fusing the Elements. Adelaide, South Australia.
  6. ^ "Crimson spider orchid". Nature Conservation Trust of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  7. ^ NSW Scientific Committee (2008). Grevillea iaspicula McGillivray (Proteaceae): Review of Current Information in NSW (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
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