The Australian Government will invest $300,000 to support and protect the Avoca Lagoon’s Green and Golden Bell Frog population through research and habitat restoration.
Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, visited the lagoon recently with Member for Robertson, Gordon Reid, and Member for Dobell, Emma McBride, to see first-hand the work being undertaken to restore critical habit for the vulnerable frog.
The project will also support a comprehensive study of the frog’s local population, which will form the basis of future conservation decisions.
“I am thrilled to see the on-ground action being taken by the Central Coast Council to protect, restore and manage the Avoca Lagoon,” Plibersek said.
The Green and Golden Bell Frog has faced a rapid population decline in recent years due to waterborne diseases and invasive predators.
It is now believed the frogs are only found in around 10 per cent of their former range, surviving in a small number of isolated populations along the NSW Coast.
Avoca Lagoon is one of the last known refuges for the frogs.
McBride said the project involves critical research and will support future conservation decisions.
Reid said the Australian Government has committed to establishing the $224.5M Saving Native Species Program.
“(This) will boost protection for threatened species like this frog, arresting species decline and restoring populations of endangered plants and animals,” he said.
“We want to ensure that the environment and biodiversity of the Central Coast is protected into the future for our kids and grandkids to enjoy.”
The Central Coast Council project, supported under the Environment Restoration Fund, is undertaking frog population surveys and hydrological assessments of Avoca Lagoon before commencing targeted critical habitat restoration and rehabilitation works to improve the lagoon.
Source:
Media release, Aug 11
Member for Dobell, Emma McBride, and Member for Robertson, Gordon Reid
