A MAJOR wetland between Southend and Beachport is being transformed with 18 rare tussock grasses planted recently.
The plants were transplanted 140km from Taratap to the Iluka wetland owned by Steve Harris and will rapidly help rehabilitate wetland habitat in the area.
The habitat has been shown to support three nationally listed animals, including the Southern Bell Frog.
The myriad of bird species using the wetland includes ibis, herons, swamp harriers, ducks, grebes, swans and recently more than 300 of the regionally very rare Glossy Ibis.
The transplant indirectly resulted from the construction works for the South East Flows Restoration Project, which will facilitate water flows from the Blackford Drain to the Coorong,
According to a Natural Resources South East publication, recent channel excavation along the flow path between Taratap and Henry Creek Roads came across the rare find.
Construction workers discovered a mature stand of Cutting Grass (Gahnia trifida) in the channel alignment estimated to be 30 to 50 years old.
Both the Millicent-based South Eastern Water Conservation and Drainage Board (SEWCDB) and Natural Resources South East (NRSE) were keen to conserve the Cutting Grass where possible.
As a result, discussions led to an opportunistic relocation of the plants 140km away to the recently restored Iluka wetland.
The plants are known to be indigenous and would have existed in large numbers before European settlement in the 1840s.
The plants were excavated out of the ground and transported by trailer as Natural Resources South East staff and two local volunteers relocated 18 tussock grasses to their new home.
Mr Harris recently restored 130ha of grazing land to wetland, replanted the grasses on the edge of the wetland and supplied a small excavator at his own cost to ensure the planting went smoothly.
