Lake Knox is a 31 megalitre deep-water lake that’s habitat for a number of locally threatened species and is proposed to be drained for a wetland and property development.
The lake provides habitat for the Blue-billed Duck (see clip below) a species that relies on deep water lakes and is listed as threatened in Victoria and vulnerable in NSW. It's also visited by a number of other migratory ducks and is home to a large number of Pacific Black Ducks and coots.
In the clip below, Darren from Greening Knox discusses the proposed drainage and development and its impact on threatened duck species.
Take Action
1. View DELWP's Proposal and Key Documents
Public submissions closed 23 February
Submission Key Points:
- Wetlands and especially deep-water lakes are increasingly rare in Melbourne.
- Lake Knox is crucial habitat for threatened species like the Blue-billed Duck that need deep-water.
- The Blue-billed Duck has been listed as threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and has been listed as endangered in Victoria according to 'The Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria – 2003' (DSE 2003).'
- An action statement for the Blue-billed Duck recommends ensuring important breeding sites are secured from further environmental degradation and the protection, enhancement and restoration of key sites in parks, reserves and private land.
- An Ecosystem Assessment has stated that "Filling in the dam would kill much of the vegetation on the northern bank... It would take decades to replace the existing habitat value... Filling in any part of the dam will also cause the loss of the dense cover of significant submerged native vegetation... Losing the dam and its vegetation also means losing the habitat for all the dependent fauna, such as Blue-billed Ducks."
Got questions? Email Echo Active here.
