Sunday, March 22, 2009

Seeking Layli at Waterhouse Conservation Area


















Today we met with a group of friends for a Seeking Layli Devotional. The Waterhouse Conservation Area was the site selected for today. It is a very beautiful area. We spent time exploring a small part of the rocky shoreline and we were captivated by the rich diversity of the rock pool populations as well as the rock formations.

The Waterhouse Conservation Area in Tasmania's north-east contains many wetland communities, including three major permanent deep-water lagoons - Blackmans Lagoon and Big Waterhouse and Little Waterhouse lakes.

Little Waterhouse Lake is listed under the Ramsar Convention as an internationally significant wetland. It is a very productive lake, supporting a high diversity of species, including species of particular conservation significance such as the rare Wolfia australis, the smallest flowering plant in the world.

Extensive, relict dune systems formed during the Ice Age can be seen in the north of the reserve extending from Croppies Points through to Tomahawk Beach.

The Waterhouse Conservation Area encompasses a diverse range of vegetation communities, including one of the largest areas of heathland on the north-east coast, a vegetation community which has been greatly reduced in extent since European settlement.

These diverse habitats support a rich fauna. Nine threatened species of bird and at least three, and possibly four, of Tasmania’s six species of threatened mammals are found in the reserve, as is a rare freshwater fish - the dwarf galaxias - and the vulnerable green and golden frog. Blackmans Lagoon and its feeder creeks constitute probably the single most important site in the State for the green and golden frog.

1 comment:

Vaughan said...

Nice photos. They made me feel like I was there. Thanks.