Upper Bellinger River Aquatic and Terrestrial Habitat Connections

Engaging a minimum 10 landholders as well as community members to improve riparian condition along a minimum 6km stream length over three years during 2019-21

Along the upper Bellinger River adjacent to the New England National Park and Bellinger River Nature Reserve on the NSW Mid North Coast, this project takes a reach based adaptive management approach to improve the condition of the riparian zone to support the recovery of the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle and improve habitat for at least three other of the twenty threatened flora and fauna species found in the area. The proposed sites link remnants of Subtropical Rainforest endangered ecological community harnessing landholder and community concern about river degradation by engaging landholders in stock management and best practice bush regeneration to encourage natural regeneration supplemented by revegetation planting where required run together with a program of community capacity building and broader community education. This project is funded by a NSW Environmental Trust Restoration and Rehabilitation grant and the NSW govt Saving our Species program. The first community planting day was held in May 2019.