Lower Cotter Catchment Reserve

Key aspect of the reserve’s management are:

• promoting regeneration of the Lower Cotter Catchment to a fully functioning natural ecosystem
• protecting it from activities that may have adverse impacts on water quality.

The native vegetation remaining along the Cotter River, together with remnant and regenerating vegetation to the south of Cotter Dam, provide an important wildlife movement corridor linking the northern part of Namadgi National Park with the Murrumbidgee River.

The Cotter River and its tributaries are important habitat for several threatened species including:

• Macquarie Perch (Macquaria australasica)
• Two-spined Blackfish (Gadopsis bispinosus)
• Murray River Crayfish (Euastacus armatus)

Blundells Flat contains the lowest elevation bog and fen wetland (an endangered ecological community) within the region.

Controlling invasive weeds is an ongoing challenge. Blackberry and pine wildlings are significant problems. Both species form a dense cover and can displace native plants. Blackberry may also provide refuge for pest animals such as rabbits, deer and pigs.

Add a plant or animal sighting to the NatureMapr or visit the Canberra Birds website.

European graziers arrived in the area in the late 1820s, attracted by the reliable flow of the Cotter River. Newcomers found life tough in this harsh climate and remote location. Their existence was lonely and many returned to work on larger stations elsewhere.

Some settlers persisted and prospered as the result of their hard work and dedication. Garrett Cotter, European namesake of the area and a former Irish convict, became the first permanent European settler in 1832.

Over time, pastoral land use, clearing and rabbit plagues stripped most of the native vegetation. This left the soils vulnerable to severe erosion. The potential for water supply was an important factor influencing the choice of the site for Australia’s capital in 1913. Planners recognised the need to set aside land for a water supply catchment and this resulted in compulsory acquisition of pastoral leases within the Lower Cotter Catchment.

Removing livestock grazing and replanting cleared areas as pine plantations were the measures taken to protect the catchment and water quality in Cotter Reservoir. Unfortunately, the pine plantations were almost wholly burnt in the 2003 bushfires, once again leaving the Lower Cotter Catchment vulnerable to erosion and poor water quality. With the enlargement of the Cotter Dam to help secure Canberra’s water supply impending, the decision was made to protect the Lower Cotter Catchment as a reserve and regenerate it to native vegetation, so that the Cotter Reservoir’s water quality would be permanently improved.