Welcome to Autumn in the catchment

Autumn is a lovely, settled time of year and we are hard at work settling into a new  suite of exciting projects across the catchment supported by the Victorian and Australian governments.

We could not deliver these initiatives without your support and we thank you for the part you play in the health of the West Gippsland catchment.

Corner Inlet Connections

Corner Inlet Ramsar wetland is a recognised haven for migratory and resident shorebirds and made up of extensive seagrass meadows, and unique intertidal mudflats and forests of white mangrove (Avicennia marina) – the world’s most southerly distribution of this species.

The Corner Inlet Connections project aims to reduce key threats and protect and enhance the natural values, so we're working with Traditional Owners, partners, landholders and community to treat the weed Spartina, fence to exclude stock and manage threats to shorebirds, like the Hooded Plover, through pest control.

In the first of the five-year project, we worked with Parks Victoria, GLaWAC, Trust for Nature and BidLife Australia to treat the entire 67,000ha for weeds, covered 530ha of pest animal control, improved water quality and safeguarded 136ha of saltmarsh including a 25ha Trust for Nature covenant  - now protected forever. Read the full story.

Fencing on farms for biodiversity

We are proud to be providing funding through our Climate-Smart Farmers project to support farmers with the costs of fencing to protect biodiversity.

Fencing livestock out of wetlands, waterways and patches of remnant native vegetation can greatly benefit biodiversity, while also improving the management of your farming operation. Removing livestock from steep slopes and erosion sites can reduce the loss of valuable topsoil from your property and at the same time improve habitat for native wildlife. Fencing is also the first step in creating shelterbelts for your livestock, which can then serve as important corridors for native wildlife to move through the landscape.

Find out more and apply

Lasting legacy for a special river

Collective action and passion for the iconic Powlett (Kungerungmome) catchment was on full display recently as people power drove the planning for the next phase of works to be delivered through strong partnerships and good old fashioned hard work. 

There was a lot of love in the room as we gathered with over 20 partner organisations, community members and landholders to plan the next phase of what is known in the business as community driven stewardship or Integrated Catchment Management. The day was made richer with everyone bringing their own unique experiences, perspective, skill and priorities. 

“Our best work is done collectively and respectfully with Traditional Owners leading the process,” said Deb Archer, Manager Strategy, Investment and Partnerships for West Gippsland CMA.

Read the full story 

Yarram Nursery growing strong

Landcare volunteers in the town of Yarram didn’t have a native plant nursery nearby – so they built their own. Now the thriving community nursery is selling more plants and attracting more volunteers than they could have imagined.    

“We sold everything we had on the first day we opened– over 1,000 plants,” said Anna Feely, Yarram Yarram Network Facilitator.” 

Funded by a 2024 Victorian Landcare Grant, the Yarram Community Nursery is managed entirely by volunteers who propagate and care for over 4,000 local native plants including varieties such as Melaleuca ericifolia (Swamp Paperbark), Acacia melanoxylon (Australian Blackwood) and Casuarina (She-Oak). Most of the plants are grown from locally collected seed carefully stored in the network’s extensive seedbank.  

“It’s bringing people out of the woodwork and back into Landcare,” said Anna.  

Read the full story.

• The 2025 Victorian Landcare Grants are now open with funding of up to $20,000 available to support projects like the Yarram Community Nursery. Applications close Wednesday 16 April 2025.
  Apply here

Projects to protect the Lakes

We are proud to have delivered five projects for the Love Our Lakes program across the Gippsland Lakes ranging from protecting and enhancing wetlands to creating homes for fish in the Lower Avon River.  

“West Gippsland’s catchment includes the western end of the Gippsland Lakes – notably Lake Wellington and the rivers that feed into it. We are delighted to play our part in delivering positive works for the health of the Lakes through the Love Our Lakes program with partners and community,” said Martin Fuller, CEO of West Gippsland CMA.  

“Each of the projects will build on research and grow resilience and capacity for the Gippsland Lakes system through creating cleaner rivers and fish habitat, giving wildlife and wetlands room to move, trialling solutions for shoreline erosion and monitoring floodplain birds and vegetation.”

The projects were part of the program of 48 projects delivered across five key program areas of the Gippsland Lakes and were:

1. Dirty Rivers

2. Room to Move

3. Lower Latrobe Wetlands Flora & Fauna Surveys

4. Lake Wellington fringing vegetation re-establishment trials

5. Creating better homes for fish in Lower Avon River (pictured)

Read more

Keeping rivers clean and healthy

As part of Cleam Up Australia Day, team CMA headed to Tarwin Lower for a clean up of the river frontage and fishing platforms the CMA installs and manages. 

“Everything that happens along these waterways has an impact further downstream affecting the health of wildlife, rivers, wetlands and coastal areas.”said Martin Fuller, CEO of West Gippsland CMA.  

“There have been some recent examples of litter being dumped along West Gippsland’s waterways which is disappointing and unnecessary so we ask everyone to take a few simple steps to protect the rivers we all love to visit and live near.”  

The natural cycle of wetlands

Wonderful wetlands are the ‘kidneys of the catchment’  After hotter, drier weather, the Lower Latrobe Wetlands are now entering a drying phase - a natural part of the cycle of wetlands. 

 Why are wetlands so wonderful? Because they: 

- Protect the environment by capturing and filtering water and acting as a natural sponge to absorb, store and reduce flood levels.

- Provide essential habitat for wading and migratory birds and threatened species.

- Are among the world’s most productive environments and countless species of plants and animals depend on them for survival. It is a key function of the CMA to restore and protect wetlands across the region.

Press play on the image above to discover more.

Water for the environment deliveries

Autumn freshes are scheduled to start in West Gippsland's rivers that receive water for the environment on or around Friday 11 April 2025.

Water for the environment is water that is set aside in major reservoirs and carefully released into a waterway to support the health of rivers and wetlands. In dry times it can be used to connect pools and improve water quality, protecting animals such as fish and platypus.

In West Gippsland, it is released into:

- Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River)

- Lower Latrobe Wetlands ie: Dowd Morass, Heart Morass and Sale Common

- Wirn wirndook Yeerung (Macalister River)

- Carran Carran (Thomson River)

Details of water for the environment deliveries can change quickly due to weather and other factors, so stay up to date here on the Current Water Releases webpage.

CEN members and CMA team at the February meeting that focussed on learning about flood management and response

Community voices at the CMA table

Community conversations drive and shape the work of the CMA and February and March were busy months on this front, with five community reference groups coming together to provide valuable input into our initiatives and programs.    

• Environmental Water Advisory Groups (EWAG) met to review and discuss seasonal environmental watering plans for Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River), Wirn wirndook Yeerung (Macalister River) and Carran Carran (Thomson River). 

• Irrigator Reference Group (IRG) met earlier in the year to discuss latest initiatives for the Sustainable Irrigation Program. 

• The Community Engagement Network (CEN) held their first quarterly forum for 2025, visiting a flood repair site in Yinnar as part of their full-day workshop learning about our role in flood management and response.  

• The Landcare Regional Forum, a day of networking and knowledge sharing between the five Landcare Networks of West Gippsland, was held in February. Hosted by the South Gippsland Network, the forum featured a field trip to Waratah Bay to hear how successful sustainable agriculture trials have transformed a dairy farm’s practices and onto nearby Fish Creek to learn how efforts to revegetate and protect the town’s waterways have benefited local beef farmers.  

Members of these groups help us to get the best outcomes for the environment and the community by providing input into a range of initiatives and helping to shape them to best fit what’s needed on the ground. 

Current grant opportunities

Through partnerships we're able top work towards our shared vision of a healthy catchment and we’re delighted to support farmers, landholders and Landcare groups through a range of current grant opportunities, including:  

- Fences for Farms 

- Irrigation Incentives 

- Victorian Landcare Grants   
Read more and apply

Our next Regional Waterway Strategy

Caring for West Gippsland’s rivers, wetlands and estuaries is a complex job. The Regional Waterway Strategy 2014-2022 is an eight year action plan to guide investment in waterway management in one single, regional planning document and is a subset of the West Gippsland Regional Catchment Strategy.

We are reviewing the current strategy and developing the next to guide how we will work together with partners and community to manage West Gippsland’s waterways for the next eight years. There will be opportunities to provide feedback and contribute to the next plan in 2025 – stay tuned to our socials and website for how you can be involved. 

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