High Country Bogs and Associated Fens Ecological Community
High Country Bogs and Associated Fens have been listed in the Endangered category of the Nature Conservation Threatened Ecological Communities List (NI2019-65) since February 2019. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian and state and territory governments to align their lists of threatened ecological communities (and species) so there is national consistency between jurisdictions.
Most bogs and fens in the ACT are in Namadgi National Park. Bogs and fens are significant because they provide critical refuge and habitat for prevalent and threatened animal species, including the Critically Endangered Northern Corroboree Frog (Pseudophryne pengilleyi), the Broad-toothed Rat (Mastacomys fuscus mordicus) and Verreaux's Alpine Tree Frog (Litoria verreauxii alpina). Thesqe species are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth). Bogs and fens also play an important role in protecting water quality within the ACT's water catchment.
The Ginini Flats Wetland Complex is the most significant intact peat moss (Sphagnum) bog and fen community in the Australian Alps and is listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
In 2020 the Orroral fire burnt all but 2 bogs in the ACT. Extensive work has been done across the park to help rehabilitate the bogs and to understand how to make post-fire management more effective. This work is detailed in the ACT Sphagnum Bog Rehabilitation and Monitoring Plan (17.1 MB) .
Threats
Climate change and its associated impacts pose the greatest threat to the bogs and fens in the long-term, with potentially severe consequences. In the short-term, other key threats to ACT bogs and fens include fire, weed invasion, trampling and wallowing by hooved pest animals, tourism and recreational activities.
Hard-hooved animals can be particularly destructive to bogs and fens. Changes to feral horse policy in NSW combined with the increase in numbers and range of feral deer means that the risk is increasing.
The ACT feral horse management plan has been successful in quickly controlling occassional horses that enter the ACT from Kosciuszko National Park (KNP). Despite this, feral horses are considered a potential significant threat to this fragile ecological community if ACT control measures are insufficient to deal with increased horse entrances arising from changes to NSW legislation (aimed at protecting wild horses).
Objectives
The overall objective is to conserve High Country Bogs and Associated Fens permanently as a viable and well-represented community across its natural geographic range in the ACT by:
- protecting all areas of bogs and fens in the ACT through conservation
- managing threats (particularly hard-hooved animals and fire)
- improving the condition and ecological function of bogs and fens
- improving understanding of bog and fen ecology, restoration principles and best practice threat management, particularly considering climate change
- strengthening stakeholder and community collaboration in the conservation of bogs and fens
Conservation Advice and Action Plan
The Nature Conservation (High Country Bogs and Associated Fens) Conservation Advice:
- details the eligibility of the bogs and fens for listing
- provides information on the distribution of the community in the ACT
- outlines the main threats and corresponding objectives to mitigate these.
The Conservation Advice also informs management of the ecological community until an Action Plan is prepared.
Section 101 of the Nature Conservation Act 2014 provides that the Conservator must prepare an Action plan for an ecological community. On 22 May 2024 the ACT High Country Bogs and Associated Fens Ecological Community Action Plan [8.6 MB] was launched.
The Action Plan outlines known threats to the ecological community and the recommended management actions for the next 10 years. The overall objective is to support the conservation of ACT Bogs and Fens into the future, including maintaining and improving natural ecological and evolutionary processes that occur within the ecological community.
The Conservation Effectiveness Monitoring Program has conducted a Bogs and Fens Ecosystem Condition Assessment for the ecological community in the ACT in 2023