Cell Descriptions - South East Natural Resources Management Board

SE9 – Lake St George, Lake St Clair, Beachport
Biota
There are 34 flora survey sites, 61 opportune flora sites, 73 Herbarium record sites, 13 fauna
survey sites, and 127 opportune fauna survey sites. Only 21.4% of the total cell area is vegetated
(lakes recorded as unvegetated), a total of 3529ha in remnant vegetation.
Dunes form 26.7% of the area of the cell, and 18% of the dunes are unvegetated. The dunes are
mainly in tall Leucopogon parviflorus shrubland, with some stands of Eucalyptus diversifolia on the
inner dunes; there are also small areas of tussock grassland. Lake St Clair CP preserves the only
remnant of lakeside sedge swamp, including Gahnia filum, with adjacent stands of Leptospermum
lanceolata. Supra-tidal sedges have tidal sediments found near the inlet to Lake George; this lake
has some small stands of supra-tidal Melaleuca halmaturorum and also Juncus sedgeland at its edge.
Fauna recorded in the cell include 203 bird, 16 butterfly, 18 mammal, 15 reptile and 7 amphibian
species. Listed threatened fauna include the EPBC listed critically endangered Orange-bellied
Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) and endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus obesulus);
also the State endangered White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), Little (Sternula albifrons)
and Fairy (Sternula nereis) Terns and Swamp Antechinus (Antechinus minimus).
Benthic Habitat
Bare sand with patchy seagrass off Beachport in Rivoli Bay; heavy limestone reef from Penguin
Island CP to Euro Point, then bare sand to Stinky Beach, Nora Creina. Offshore there is low
profile reef throughout.
Land Use/ Land Ownership
The township of Beachport dominates the southern end of the cell. Beachport is buffered from
the Southern Ocean on the western side, by partially vegetated dunes that are dedicated to
Council as Crown Land Act reserve. Beachport CP, Penguin Island CP and Lake St Clair CP
capture 6.5% of the cell area within NPW Act reserve.
Lakes occupy 49.7% of this cell; both Lake George and Lake St Clair are unallotted Crown land.
Unallotted Crown Land comprises 56.6% of the cell area. On the seaward side of the lakes, there
is scattered residential development through to Nora Creina settlement at the northern end of the
cell. Privately owned and cleared land between Lake George and the landward cell boundary,
between the two lakes and around Lake St Clair, is used for grazing/ cropping. The exception
being a small stand of remnant vegetation on the north-eastern shore of Lake St Clair which is
protected by Lake St Clair CP.
Values/ Uses (Field visits and local reports)
Passive recreation in and around Lake George. Millicent Sand Buggy Club has a licence to use
unallotted Crown Land parcel S100 H420900. Off-road vehicle use is high through the cell from
Beachport to Nora Creina. Aboriginal Heritage values throughout.
Threats (Field visits and local reports)
It is evident that the health of the 2 large lakes, comprising half the area of the cell, relies on
drainage management (Lake George), land use and climatic fluctuation (Lake George and Lake St
Clair). Lake George is a 5900 ha artificial estuary that once supported an important fishery and
acts as a significant refuge for waterbirds (Brookes and Aldridge 2007, Hobbs and de Jong 2008).
Slater and Farrington (2010) score Lake George highly for wetland attributes, but it does not rate
at all in terms of biological score for fish and amphibians. Historically the system was land-locked
and primarily fed through rainfall, local runoff and freshwater springs. An outlet between Lake
George and Rivoli Bay was constructed in 1934 and Drain M was completed in 1966. Drain M
has since acted as a major source of inflows to the system. However, below average rainfall,
Limestone Coast and Coorong Coastal Action Plan 348