Barmah–Millewa Forest

Doctors Point Swamp during a flood
Photo: Keith Ward

Australia's largest river red gum forest

The Barmah–Millewa Forest is the largest river red gum forest in Australia, covering 66,000 hectares of floodplain between Tocumwal, Deniliquin and Echuca.

Many threatened native plants and animals make this forest and its wetlands their home. Spring floods keep river red gums healthy and allow waterbirds to breed and raise their young. It is also an important habitat for native fish.

The Living Murray icon site objectives

The vision for the icon site is to maintain, and where practicable, enhance the ecological character of the Barmah–Millewa floodplain, Ecological objectives for the icon site are to:

• restore the extent and distribution of healthy wetland and floodplain vegetation communities
• provide suitable feeding and breeding habitat for a range of waterbirds, including colonial nesting species
• support successful breeding and recruitment of native fish species
• provide high quality feeding, breeding and nursery habitat for native frogs, turtles and crayfish.

A new environmental water management plan is being developed, which will replace the 2006–07 environmental management plan for the Barmah–Millewa Forest icon site.  

Barmah–Millewa Forest is the only icon site that has a dedicated environmental water allocation apart from The Living Murray — the Barmah–Millewa Environmental Water Allocation.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is conducting the Barmah Choke Study to research options associated with river management and the Barmah Choke.