Dutson Biodiversity Management

Gippsland Water’s Dutson Downs property hosts a diverse and productive mix of waste management, agriculture and environmental assets. Approximately half of the property (almost 5000 ha) is comprised of native vegetation including woodlands, heathlands, scrubs, wetlands and grasslands over mostly Quarternary sand dunes and swales (Australia Geoscience, 2015). At this stage, approximately 300 ha of native vegetation are managed under a Landowner Agreement with plans to include more areas in the future. The remnant vegetation at Dutson Downs has long been recognised as a haven for a number of rare and threatened flora and fauna in the region. Areas managed under the Landowner Agreement and its surrounds are confirmed to host 10 threatened flora of state and national significance (including orchids, herbs, sedges, shrubs and trees) and 5 fauna species of national significance, including frogs, mammals and birds. The property provides an important refuge for these taxa, many of which are not found in high numbers, or at all, elsewhere in the region. Work over the next 10 years to conserve and improve the site as part of the Landowner Agreement includes:

• Eradication of weeds including Spiny Rush and Spear Thistle.
• Control of pest animals including foxes, rabbits and deer.
• Protection of the site by maintaining and installing fences for exclusion of stock.

Rare or Threatened Species

New Holland Mouse

The New Holland Mouse Pseudomys novaehollandiae is a small, terrestrial burrowing native rodent found in south-eastern…
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Green and Golden Bell Frog

The first Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea) was discovered at Dutson Downs in 2011 during a survey conducted by…
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Wellington Mint-bush

The Wellington Mint-bush Prostanthera galbraithiae is an erect, spreading sub-shrub, growing to two metres high. It often grows…
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Dwarf Kerrawang

The Dwarf Kerrawang Rulingia prostrata is a tap-rooted, prostrate shrub with trailing branches of up to two metres long. The…
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Trailing Hop-bush

The Trailing Hop–bush Dodonaea procumbens is a prostrate shrub endemic to south-eastern Australia (Carter 2010). It is commonly…
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