The "Putta Bucca Wetlands" is a public reserve, managed by Mid-Western Regional Council in Mudgee, central Western New South Wales, Australia. The name Putta Bucca is an aboriginal word thought to come from the Wiradjuri language, puttaba meaning ''a hill near a creek'' and bugga meaning ''stinking fish''. The reserve was opened to the public in 2011, prior to which it was a disused quarry and was closed to the public. The main attraction to the wetlands is a large disused gravel quarry containing freshwater that seeps in through alluvial aquifers from The Cudgegong River. The quarry now functionas as an oxbow lake (billabong) wetland supporting a highly biodiverse wetland ecosystem. The fluctuating water level, periodic mudflats and abundance of snags and water plants contribute the vital habitat for a high diversity of waterbirds, frogs, fish and turtles
Projects
The Friends of Putta Bucca Wetlands seek to restore an area of cleared land within the boundaries of the Putta Bucca Wetlands Reserve (PBWR). We seek to a restore a woodland of trees native to the local area and once much more extensive in the region, including within the PBWR. This woodland restoration will focus on restoring an open grassy box-gum woodland dominated by Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) but will also include other native trees including Rough-barked Apple (Angophora floribunda), Kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus) and shrubs such as Acacia implexa, Acacia decora and Bursaria spinosa. This woodland type is listed as a Critically Endangered Ecological Community on the Commonwealth EPBC Act 1999 and an Endangered Ecological Community on the NSW TSC Act 1995. It is highly valuable from a biodiversity conservation perspective for both flora and fauna.
The Green Army is a Federal Government program aimed at achieving positive environmental outcomes while giving young people training and practical experience. The Mid Western Regional Council recently sponsored a Green Army project in the region. The team is run by Conservation Volunteers Australia and has nine participants aged between 18 and 24. There are five different sites where they are working; Adams Lead Reserve in Gulgong, Peoples Park in Gulgong, Rylstone common, Flirtation Hill in Mudgee and Putta Bucca Wetlands. The program runs over a period of six months.