July 25th, 2026Giving Mother Nature a helping hand in Gunbower Forest

Environmental flows into Gunbower Forest over the coming months will finish what Mother Nature has started and help prepare key wetlands for likely dry times ahead.

High river flows pushed water into parts of the internationally-renowned floodplain and its wetlands in July, but more is needed to protect the plants and animals for what may be coming.

“The recent inflows have been a great start in helping protect the floodplain wetlands from a possible El Nino this summer, and we now have an opportunity to make it even better,” North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) Chief Executive Officer Brad Drust said.

“The flows would have been higher and stayed on the floodplain longer without river regulation, so we have the opportunity to help Mother Nature finish what she started and ensure the wetlands get the right amount of water they need, for the duration they need it.

“Managing an efficient environmental flow from now until November allows us to piggy-back on the recent high-river flows and top-up wetlands, helping to prepare them for what could be a dry period ahead.”

Mr Drust said flow will begin in late July or early August and run until November, helping create the conditions wetland plants and animals such as waterbirds, frogs and turtles will need.

“Gunbower Forest is open for business and spring is a great time to see the forest come to life. This wetland flow will make the forest an amazing place to visit in spring and summer,” he said.

“The flow will be delivered to the wetlands via Reedy Lagoon, Barapa Swamp, Little Gunbower, and Yarran Creek regulators, which are in the lower part of Gunbower Forest between Cohuna and Koondrook.

“It will provide much-needed water to more than 10 wetlands including the jewel in the crown, Reedy Lagoon, which had minimal inflows in July.”

As water moves from one wetland to another via natural connecting creeks, small parts of some access tracks may be temporarily closed to protect the tracks and for visitor safety.

The forest’s main tracks such as River Track, Koondrook Track and Nursery Track are not expected to be impacted.

“There will be many areas within the forest, along the Murray River and Gunbower Creek, for visitors to enjoy bush walking, kayaking, fishing, camping or bird watching,” Mr Drust said.

“The flow is not targeting the full environmental watering footprint of the forest, which is about 23 per cent of the overall forest.

“It is simply a top up of wetland areas that, before river regulation, would have received water nine out of every 10 years.”

The flow is authorised by the Victorian Environmental Water Holder in line with its Seasonal Watering Plan 2026-27, which is available for download from www.vewh.vic.gov.au, with regular watering updates posted on the Current Flows section of www.nccma.vic.gov.au