Comments from Lower Murray Darling Catchment Management Authority (LMD CMA)
The Lower Murray Darling Catchment Management Authority (LMD CMA) supports the concept of
National Wildlife Corridors. The catchment has a significant area of native vegetation retained
(90%) within the catchment area of 6.3million hectares, albeit in a modified condition due to total
grazing pressure. The photograph on page 17 of the Draft National Wildlife Corridors Plan shows
the junction of the Darling River and the Murray River in our catchment. The catchment provides a
unique opportunity to link a near intact landscape containing various vegetation communities, to
major corridors that run north – south and east west across Victoria, South Australia and New
South Wales.
The LMD CMA has participated in the Habitat 141 project which runs in a north - south direction
and the Murray Mouth to Mountains corridor project which runs in an east - west direction. The
Murray Mouth to Mountains corridor project was well funded and researched; it would provide an
excellent basis to be considered as part of a National Corridor Project.
Our organisation has been engaged in establishing conservation reserves through permanent
conservation reserves under signed agreements. All reserves are actively managed for pest and
weed control; controlled grazing may be allowed, under strict conditions, as a management
practice to maintain the quality of the vegetation. Linkages and stepping stones have been
established through management agreements.
Opportunities exist for formalising corridors aligned to

the lower Darling River between the junction with the Murray River and the Menindee
Lakes a river distance of 521km north-south, the LMD CMA also has a Aquatic Threatened
Species Habitat Management Zone established on the Darling River.

the Great Darling Anabranch, a distance of 460km north-south, this system has received
water form the Commonwealth Environmental Water allocation and has also been
recently flooded. A number of very large lakes occur on the Great Darling Anabranch
including the Menindee Lakes which provide high quality habitat areas.

the Murray River of which over 500km east – west river distance occur in the NSW Lower
Murray Darling catchment, including significant wetlands and lakes at Gol Gol and Euston.

There are opportunities for reserves and stepping stones to be established radiating out
from the river systems corridors to connect breeding and feeding grounds for bird species.