Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forest

Sunrise over Little Gunbower Creek
Photo: Arthur Mostead

Australia's second largest river red gum forest

The Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forest is Australia's second largest river red gum forest. It covers around 50,000 hectares and is home to many threatened native plants and animals. It is located downstream of Torrumbarry Weir, between Echuca and Swan Hill.

The forest wetlands are important breeding places for waterbirds and native fish.

The Living Murray icon site objectives

The vision for Gunbower Forest is to maintain and improve Gunbower Island by enabling native plants and animals to flourish, restoring the floodplain’s health for future generations. Ecological objectives for this component of the icon site include:

• increase area of healthy permanent and semi-permanent wetlands
• ensure maintenance of healthy river red gum communities
• maintain black box and grey box communities
• provide suitable feeding, breeding and refuge habitat for waterbirds, including colonial nesting species
• maintain healthy populations of native fish in wetlands and increase opportunities for riverine fish to access floodplain resources
• increase the diversity and abundance of native frog species within the forest.

Ecological objectives for Koondrook–Perricoota Forest are to maintain and restore a mosaic of healthy floodplain communities, as indicated by:

• 80% of permanent and semi-permanent wetlands in a healthy condition
• 30% of river red gum forest in a healthy condition
• successful breeding of thousands of colonial waterbirds in at least three years out of ten
• healthy populations of resident native fish in wetlands.

Environmental works are underway in the Gunbower–Koondrook-Perricoota Forest icon site. For information on these works see The Living Murray planned works in the Gunbower Forest and Planned works in the Koondrook–Perricoota Forest. More information on the Koondrook–Perricoota Flood Enhancement Works Project is also available at www.kpforest.com.au.

New environmental water management plans are being developed, which will replace the 2006–07 environmental management plan for the Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota icon site.

Further information about Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forest

Planned works in the Gunbower Forest

Planned works in the Koondrook–Perricoota Forest

Koondrook–Perricoota Flood Enhancement Works Project website