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Group of Forests

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 06:50:03 GMT

The Living Murray Project

The Living Murray (TLM) is one of the most significant river restoration programs in the country. TLM commenced in 2002, following scientific and community concerns the ecological health of the Murray was in serious decline.

Our role in the Living Murray is to:

Assist Forestry Corporation to engage and communicate with stakeholders
Facilitation and administration of stakeholder reference groups for consistent engagement in the delivery of environmental watering events
Complete field surveys and assessments for intervention and condition monitoring for the TLM

Our community's vision for their forest

In 2021, a community vision was developed for the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest.New Paragraph

We define the Group of Forests as the River Red Gum Forests of Koondrook-Perricoota (NSW) and Gunbower (VIC).

This group of forest spans from the town of Echuca (VIC) to Barham (NSW) and spans over 50,000ha of River Murray floodplains. The forests are considered both an icon site and a Ramsar protected site .

We work across a number of projects with out project partners. that come under the Group of Forests as identified by community interests and needs. These include the Pollack Enhancement Project and the Little Forest Management Plan.

As well as projects relating to positive ecological outcomes, we also host events and field days to various locations in the forest.

A healthy working forest where native species can flourish, and where local communities can connect and co-manage the forest for future generations."

The Groups of Forests Projects

A detailed report on the visioning process has been recorded. Achieving these outcomes for our community is at the heart of all our Group of Forests projects.

Our role

Our role across the Group of Forest projects is to:

Communicate community needs and it's vision for the forest.
Help enhance the condition of the forests, including sourcing funding for and completing revegetation, improving the condition of native wildlife and delivering environmental benefits.
Improve community knowledge of the forest's profile and it's cultural and ecological significance through information sessions, communication materials, and field trips.
Provide administrative assistance to the Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA) made up of landholders, community groups, local government and industry members.

Whilst these are our current key roles, we are open to developing them based on community interest and needs.

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Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Community Email List

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Weekly reports

We keep a record of Koondrook-Perricoota Overbank summaries. These include information on water delivery, inundation levels and areas and general observations on wildlife, vegetation and more.

Copies of these reports can be found at the below links.

Koondrook-perricoota overbank reports

Dan Hutton, DOD Hutton, Director (Consultant)

Hailing from the UK, Dan cut his teeth as a grazing & pastoral property manager in far western QLD.

He ran his own consultancy for over 10 years in this field before making the move over to Forestry, working in native hardwood plantations and ecology departments before his role as icon site manager and project manager.

Dan now runs his own private consultancy business DOD Hutton based in Deniliquin NSW. He specialises in field work, water management and he also facilitates indigenous and broader community liaison/consultation.

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Dr John Conallin

John holds a PhD in Natural Sciences, his work focusses on capacity building through research of local stakeholders (primarily government and community) with an emphasis on learning and pragmatism balanced with precision and acquiring evidence for use within decision making.

John respects the local visions people have for their own backyard and builds the capacity of the local community to be involved in how their local natural resources are managed.

Our project team works closely with John across a number of projects relating to the Group of Forests, specifically with the protection and rejuvenation of native fish populations.

John has also worked and based his research extensively in South East Asia with native fish communities in Myanmar.

Koondrook-Perricoota Alliance

The Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA) was established on 16 July 2013 in partnership between the Joint Indigenous Group (JIG) and the Community Operational and Planning Assessment Committee (COPAC) which were established after construction of the Koondrook Perricoota Forest Flood Enhancement Project (KPFFEP).

The KPA is formed by community, local government and industry members that have a vested interest in how environmental watering is managed in the Koondrook- Perricoota Forest.

WMLIG provide governance and administrative support to the KPA.

Barham Lakes Project

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 06:42:49 GMT

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Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Community Email List

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Want to be kept updated with what's happening across our forest projects?
Join our mailing list to receive occasional email updates.

Weekly reports

Dan Hutton, DOD Hutton, Director (Consultant)

Resilient Pastures Project

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 04:31:31 GMT

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About the Project

The Resilient Pastures for A Changing Climate Project is running between 2021-2025 and aims to improve 4,000ha of farming and grazing practices. It aims to demonstrate adaptive natural resource and farm management practices which have the ability to build resilience in the agricultural landscapes within the Western NSW Murray region and beyond.

The project aims to improve long term drought resilience and farm sustainability by increasing the productivity of old irrigation land which has reverted to dryland. Demonstration sites will be used to evaluate novel drought-tolerant pasture systems including a biodiverse mix of regenerative pasture and forage species.

Project highlights

30 landholders engaged

4000ha of improved farming and grazing practices over 4 years

Mix of locally proven medics, grasses and clovers encouraged

Improved soil health through increased ground cover and natural capital over time

The project involves bringing together local producers for training events and field days which will detail:

- Preparation and recovery from drought.
- The benefits of ecosystem services to a productive agricultural system.
- Productivity, soil health indicators and profitability of the demonstration sites.
- Localised and knowledgeable agronomist providing tailored advice to land holders.

Through the project, a decision support tool will be designed for implementation by local land holders, to assist with pasture species selection based on a number of localised factors.

Resilient pasture systems have additional benefits to just offering drought resilience. They also improve soil moisture availability, reduce erosion, provide ground cover, increase soil carbon levels and reduce soil compaction.

Farmer benefits/commitments:

1 Soil test

1 on 1 assessments agronomy consult

Access to future training and events

Decision support tool

Knowledge-sharing with peers

Ongoing project support from WMLIG

1 Our expectations of participants:

Current NSW land holder with a farming operation <40Ha withing a three hour radius of Barham NSW

2 Complete any relevant project surveys

3 Dedicate time to implementation

4 Attend field days and training events

5 Proactive positive attitude and willingness to learn

6 Access to a suitable block of land for improvement, with the intent of ongoing farming

7 Access to data collected from improved paddocks (e.g. yields and soil tests) and area of operation.

For more information on this project, please contact Tahlia by email at tahlia.stewart@wmlig.org

Project History

This project builds on a previous project, Economically Viable Options for Retired Irrigation Land (EVORIL) which took place over five years from 2013-2018.
EVORIL was initiated as a result of declining availability of irrigation water in the south-west Riverina region of NSW. The aim of the project was to investigate the economic feasibility and productivity of various pasture species sown on previously irrigated land that has reverted to dryland.

EVORIL provided farmers with hands on appreciation and capacity to measure critical factors in establishing, growing and managing alternative pasture species varieties through replicated trials and demonstrations on farms. These trials assessed the suitability of grasses (including native species), legumes, saltbush and other native shrubs as part of a diverse landscape mosaic.

A summary and results from this project can be viewed below

read the report