Hunter Wetlands three million litre welcome relief

BY JARROD MELMETH

Hunter Water has thrown the Hunter Wetlands Centre a lifeline in the form of three million litres of water, following an emergency request to tup up the dry wetlands in hopes of protecting the local bird population.

The recent dry weather has had an impact on local bird populations particularly Egrets with young chicks being unable to keep cool and sadly perishing.

Hunter Wetlands CEO Dr Stuart Blanch said the birds need water in the wetlands.

"When the chicks started getting ready to leave the nest about two weeks ago, suddenly it was an emergency because all the wetlands were dry and the birds, because of that, were dehydrating because if heat stress. There was no food because there was no water and their parents were not feeding them so we were losing about 10, 20, 30 birds a day were dying."

Since the water has been turned on, Dr Blanch says the birds are returning.

"I was watching on Saturday morning. We started the water at 10am and about midday there were 16 Egrets walking over the baked dry ground to where the water was flowing out and they were literally drinking the water straight from the hose. From that moment on a lot of birds in the Wetlands have come into the one-hectare area that has been saved," Dr Blanch said.

The water is expected to get the wetlands through the rest of summer, but Dr Blanch said this is not permanent this is a stop-gap measure.

"This is a solution for this summer, but we can't do it next summer and the summer after that. The reason why we are getting these prolonged periods of no rain and very hot weather is that we are changing the climate. We all have to do more to rescue our wildlife and start really taking climate change seriously," Dr Blanch said.

Wetlands CEO, Dr Stuart Blanch & Hunter Water Managing
Director, Jim Bentley. Picture supplied.

Study Finds Wetlands are in Decline

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

Researchers at the University of Newcastle have found coastal wetlands, which have existed for thousands of years, may now have the same average life expectancy as humans.

The new study predicted a lifespan of approximately 80 years for wetlands, with the possibility of serious deterioration after 40 years due to the restriction of water flow and sea level rise.

Senior Lecturer, Dr. Jose Rodriguez says attenuation, or the process of man-made structures restricting water flow, is also a prime cause of wetland decay.

"When you build a road across a wetland, the tide is allowed to move in and out to the other side of the road through culverts or bridges instead of freely flowing," he said.

"As a result, it takes more time and energy for the water to reach the other side. Vegetation is very sensitive to that so this is going to result in worse conditions for the vegetation."

But despite indications that the wetlands are decaying far quicker than previously thought, researchers believe there are ways we can still ensure its survival.

"One of the things that we can do is provide space for wetlands to move," said Dr. Rodriguez.

"With sea level rise, the vegetation will adapt and will try to move inland. The problem is sometimes we don't have those buffer zones in the upper area of the vegetation so we need to provide for buffer zones in that area.

"The other thing that we can do is try to provide adequate hydraulic conditions for the wetland and we can do that with gates and other ways of manipulating the flow within the wetland."

Fletcher Rezoning Cancelled

Newcastle Council has decided not to proceed with the rezoning of land at Fletcher, a welcomed call from local residents.

Council decided not to allow rezoning, calling it crucial to the nearby wetlands.

Locals have been lobbying for years to keep the Green Corridor at  505 Minmi Road, since it is the land piece of land before State owned National Parks.

Wall-to-wall housing was inevitable if the rezoning went ahead.  (Image courtesy of Hannah Walmsley via ABC)

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery belives the rezoning would have had rather negative effects for the local region, saying "it would have meant that the area in the long-term would be less attractive.

"It would have taken away that important link for our flora and fauna".

Had it been approved, the rezoning would have brought forth low-density
housing in the area.