The Living Murray

Our Role

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

The Community

With a purpose to develop a cohesive community vision for the Koondrook-Perricoota (KP) Forest, a series of community engagement events were facilitated by WMLIG between December 2020 and April 2021. Over 160 participants attended the event series, culminating in a community vision for the Group of Forests (KP, Campbell’s Island and Little Forest):

“A healthy working forest where native fauna and flora flourish and local communities own and co-manage for the future.”

As part of this vision, members identified a series of key themes and interests which were deemed important to the future of these beautiful forests. Read more about this unique vision here.

To realise the full potential of the project and recognise the significant investment made so far, third party impacts require addressing. The Forestry Corporation of NSW, and the Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA), is collaborating closely with other stakeholders to address the third-party impacts. Continuation of the timber industry is critical. The KPA has been working towards a positive triple bottom line outcome for the forest for over 15 years, showing the commitment and investment in the project by the local community.

Infrastructure

​Infrastructure works enable efficient, targeted delivery of water for the environment. Construction of key structures to deliver water to the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest occurred between 2010-2013, with a total cost of around $100 million.

There are four upstream structures:

• The off-take regulator and channel which directs water from the Murray River above the Torrumbarry Weir. This has the capacity to deliver 6,000 ML (megalitres – one million litres) a day.
• Two regulators at Swan Lagoon; the upstream one is the critical entry point into the forest.

There are seven downstream structures:

• Thule, Calf, Cow, Barbers & Barbers Overflow Ck regulators.
• The return channel and regulator.

A small commissioning event occurred in 2014, with approximately 12% (3,500 ha) of the forest inundated. A second management event occurred in 2019, similar in size to 2014. The use of the infrastructure, even at small flow rates, identified a requirement for further works to mitigate third party impacts. Approval for a works project to address these issues occurred in 2017. Part of this work, including the construction of 6.2m of levee, has been completed.

​Koondrook–Perricoota Forest Report Card 2023–24

Monitoring and evaluation is regularly conducted across the Basin, with progress and outcomes summarised by the MDBA in a series of report cards for each Icon site. You can access the report card for the KP here. Explore the link for an explanation of grades and to see how conditions have changed over time.