Cell Descriptions - South East Natural Resources Management Board

SE13 – Kingston SE
Biota
There are 4 flora survey sites, 21 Herbarium record sites, and 43 opportune fauna survey sites.
1199 ha. is remnant vegetation, 32% of the cell.
The dune areas are mixed Leucopogon parviflora shrubland; the wetland/ ephemeral lakes are salinas
with samphire at their edges; within the study area, Maria creek is mostly edge vegetation,
otherwise intertidal or stranded samphire.
160 fauna species have been recorded in this cell including 137 birds, 4 butterflies, 7 mammals, 6
reptiles and 6 amphibians. Listed threatened species include the EPBC listed critically endangered
Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) and the State endangered White-bellied Sea Eagle
(Haliaeetus leucogaster) .
Benthic Habitat
From Kings Camp, Cape Jaffa, to beyond Kingston, this entire cell is dense seagrass with small
'ribs' of bare sand. A small intertidal reef west of Cape Jaffa jetty.
Land Use/ Land Ownership
The southern end of the cell is dominated by the Cape Jaffa marina development, which
substantially increases the residential density of the Cape Jaffa (Kings Camp) settlement. The
ephemeral wetland complex extending from Cape Jaffa to Kingston is mostly on private property
used for grazing. The exception being the Butchers Lake and Salt Lake wetlands which are
protected within the Butchers Gap Conservation Park. Butchers Gap Drain (SEWCDB) flows
into Butchers Lake and is cut through the park dunes to the sea.
A narrow unallotted Crown land reserve extends from the marina to Kingston, interrupted by a
gap at approximately the mid point. Kingston’s ribbon residential development from Pinks Beach
to Wyomi has unallotted Crown land on the landward side and Crown Land Act reserve,
dedicated to Council, on the seaward side. This Crown land captures the small amount of
vegetation that remains in the Kingston end of the cell. Small rural and Deferred Urban zoned
allotments and the Kingston residential area fill most of the northern end of the cell to Maria
Creek and beyond to the cell boundary. The Maria Creek wetland is dedicated to the care and
control of Council as a Crown Land reserve.
Values/ Uses (Field visits and local reports)
The Cape Jaffa marina development is a major local land use change currently in progress. The
long, sandy beach is used as a thoroughfare between Kingston and Cape Jaffa. Aboriginal
Heritage values throughout.
Threats (Field visits and local reports)
The extent of the development adjacent to the marina presses at the edges of valuable fauna
habitat in the small wetlands. These wetlands stretch to Kingston and are afforded little
protection from the threats of land use, pest plant and animals and modification.
Opportunities
Butchers Gap Complex (inc Hog Lake, Salt Lake and Butchers Lake).
This complex of lakes lies on the inland side of the coastal dunes between Cape Jaffa and
Kingston. Slater and Farrington (2010) score most of the wetlands in the mid-range of values.
Butchers Lake, within Butchers Gap Conservation Park, is described as a coastal lake with
peripheral samphire, saltwater tea tree and coastal scrub. The swamps associated with Butchers
Gap are cut by the Butchers Gap Drain and suggestions have been made that placement of a weir
at the outlet would contribute to a more extensive and permanent wetland area (SEWCDB,
1984). This idea has been pursued recently by the Friends of Butchers Gap Conservation Park
Limestone Coast and Coorong Coastal Action Plan 428