Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forest

Sunrise over Little Gunbower Creek

Sunrise over Little Gunbower Creek
Photo: Arthur Mostead

Australia's second largest river red gum forest

The Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forest is Australia's second largest river red gum forest. It covers around 50,000 hectares and is home to many threatened native plants and animals. It is located downstream of Torrumbarry Weir, between Echuca and Swan Hill.

The forest wetlands are important breeding places for waterbirds and native fish.

The Living Murray icon site objectives

The vision for Gunbower Forest is to maintain and improve Gunbower Island by enabling native plants and animals to flourish, restoring the floodplain’s health for future generations. Ecological objectives for this component of the icon site include:

  • increase area of healthy permanent and semi-permanent wetlands
  • ensure maintenance of healthy river red gum communities
  • maintain black box and grey box communities
  • provide suitable feeding, breeding and refuge habitat for waterbirds, including colonial nesting species
  • maintain healthy populations of native fish in wetlands and increase opportunities for riverine fish to access floodplain resources
  • increase the diversity and abundance of native frog species within the forest.

Ecological objectives for Koondrook–Perricoota Forest are to maintain and restore a mosaic of healthy floodplain communities, as indicated by:

  • 80% of permanent and semi-permanent wetlands in a healthy condition
  • 30% of river red gum forest in a healthy condition
  • successful breeding of thousands of colonial waterbirds in at least three years out of ten
  • healthy populations of resident native fish in wetlands.

New environmental water management plans are being developed, which will replace the 2006–07 environmental management plan for the Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota icon site.

Planned works

Planned works in the Gunbower Forest

Planned works in the Koondrook–Perricoota Forest

Koondrook–Perricoota Flood Enhancement Works Project websiteExternal Site

Monitoring reports

Sentinel wetland and understorey monitoring in Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forests (2010)

The Living Murray tree condition survey: Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forests: final report (2010)

Gunbower Forest summer wetland floristic survey: flooding enhancement of Gunbower Forest project monitoring program implementation sentinel wetland and understorey surveys (2009)

Spring floristic survey in Gunbower Forest and Pollack's Swamp: flooding enhancement of Gunbower Forest project monitoring program implementation sentinel wetland and understorey surveys (2009)

Forest health assessment with satellite multi-spectral imagery in the Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota icon site (GKPIS): final Report (2008)

Gunbower Forest floristic monitoring: autumn survey (2008)

Gunbower Forest spring flora survey (2007)