Cobbobonee

A Refuge in a Cleared Landscape

Cobboboonee National Park and Forest Park covers around 27,000 hectares in south-west Victoria. The landscape includes tall lowland forests, swamps and wetlands, heathy woodlands, creeks, waterholes and grassy patches. It is also the source of the Surrey and Fitzroy rivers. The forests and wetlands provide habitat for numerous threatened species including the spotted-tailed quoll, southern brown bandicoot, long-nosed potoroo, southern bent-wing bat, masked owl, swamp antechinus and swamp skink. Local naturalists have also documented multiple frog species breeding within the valleys and wetlands of the area. Surrounded by agricultural land, the forests play an important role as wildlife refuge and movement corridors across a largely cleared region.

The Campaign

The Wilderness Society campaigned for the creation of Cobboboonee National Park to protect the area’s forests, wetlands, wildlife habitat and cultural heritage. The campaign emphasised the importance of reconnecting habitat corridors from coastal reserves through inland Victoria. Campaigners worked alongside Damein Bell and the Gunditjmara people, who were pursuing Native Title recognition, and in collaboration with Doug Phillips from the Portland Field Naturalists who had a leading role in the campaign. In November 2006, Premier Steve Bracks announced a proposal to create the Cobboboonee National Park and Forest Park if re-elected. Following the election, public consultation processes and stakeholder meetings were held throughout 2007 as park boundaries and management arrangements were considered.

Protection Secured

On 12 September 2008, legislation establishing the Cobboboonee National Park and Forest Park passed through the Victorian Parliament. The outcome secured protection for forests and wetlands recognised as environmentally and culturally significant within Victoria’s south-west.

Legacy

The Cobboboonee campaign highlighted the importance of reconnecting fragmented ecosystems across heavily modified landscapes. It helped develop relationships and dialog with Traditional Owners over protection of land and waters and management arrangements. It also reinforced the role of protected areas in supporting wildlife movement and long-term ecological restoration. As Geraldine Ryan said:

“Throughout the world, intact habitat connections from coast to mountains are now rare. Cobbobonee is a lynchpin in the reconnecting of these landscapes—from the sea to the Little Desert and on to the mountains of Gariwerd-Grampians National Park.”