Year: 2004 - ongoing

Since 2004, WRL has been working in collaboration with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) and the Department of Primary Industries (NSW Fisheries) to transform the Tomago Wetlands site from a large acidic landscape into a restored productive tidal wetland. The wetland is being created to compensate for migratory wading bird habitat destroyed elsewhere in the lower Hunter River estuary.

The project has been joint-funded by NSW Fisheries, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Hunter Region Local Land Services (formerly Hunter River Catchment Management Authority) with in-kind support provided by WRL. Advice and assistance from the Hunter Bird Observers Club (HBOC) has been provided throughout the project.

The specific challenge faced by the Tomago Wetland Restoration Project was to design and build a system that would naturally encourage salt marsh regeneration, an ecological community in serious decline in NSW. Salt marsh requires very specific hydrological and water quality conditions. The engineering challenge was to deliver the right volume of water, to the right place, at the right depth, at the right time and at the right salinity to allow nature to flourish and generate salt marsh.

Previous projects have taken a trial and error “shot gun” approach to restoration with limited success. The engineering design and assessment approach applied to research, planning and on-ground solutions at Tomago Wetland sets a new standard in engineering practice and has been highly successful.

Key features of the project include:

  • Design and application of a staged restoration approach.
  • Detailed hydrodynamic modelling to test and fine-tune tidal inundation extent and hydraulic controls across the wetland during design.
  • Design, construction and application of innovative on-ground engineering works including remotely controlled SmartGates and buoyancy controlled swing gates.
  • Monitoring of changes in vegetation, fisheries and birds throughout the site.
  • Effective adaptive management of habitat type and extent through remote and onground monitoring.
  • Enhanced ecosystem services to the wider community through increased fisheries and bird populations.

The recent sighting of thousands of migratory shorebirds is the best demonstration that the project achieved what it set out to accomplish.

  • The project program was defined in the ‘Review of Environmental Factors’, a public document with detailed public scrutiny. Between 2012 and 2014 all of the major program objectives have been reached for Stages 1 and 2.
  • This project has provided excellent value for the funds obtained and highlights the collaborative partnership. Funded via multiple grants ($15,000-$80,000) obtained by each project partner, the team works collaboratively to reduce overheads and leverage in-kind support. Each project budget was externally reviewed (on a line item basis) upon completion.
     

Parts of this restoration project were funded by the NSW Government under the Marine Estate Management Strategy. The ten-year Strategy was developed by the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority to coordinate the management of the marine estate. WRL would also like to thank NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services, the Department of Primary Industries (NSW Fisheries), Hunter Bird Observers Club and Hunter Local Land Services for their valuable contributions.

Images of birdlife at Tomago provided by Ann Lindsey, Hunter Bird Observers Club.