Scottsdale

Scottsdale Reserve in NSW is a unique property of 1328 hectares and just 45 minutes south of our nation’s capital Canberra.  

Scottsdale protects endangered grassy box gum woodlands that is home to many rare birds and reptiles along with threatened springs, bogs and temperate grasslands. It has one of the last intact ecosystems on the Murrumbidgee River. 

Cultivation, over-grazing, weed invasion and planned subdivision have all threatened Scottsdale and its wildlife yet this property holds the key to protecting and restoring some of our most threatened temperate ecosystems and up to 28 species at risk. Very few of the fertile ecosystems in southern New South Wales are reserved due to their use for agriculture.

On Scottsdale the plateaus and endangered box-gum woodlands have been grazed and the threatened temperate grasslands cultivated. The grasslands that are now overrun by the weed African lovegrass, will need active restoration. Only then can they be returned to being the diverse, productive habitats that they once were. 

With the stock removed and management work to begin soon Scottsdale’s other ecosystems will also be on the road to recovery.

Gang-gang cockatoos, diamond firetails, hooded robins and the golden sun moth are just a few of the threatened and declining species that we know still occur on Scottsdale. We will find many more. And perhaps the endangered spot-tailed quoll is still hanging on there too. The Murrumbidgee River winds for four kilometres along Scottsdale’s northern and western boundaries. It cascades over natural rock weirs, through deep tree-fringed pools and around expansive sandbars and river-sculptured rocks.High above on the rocky cliffs the Peregrine falcon has her nest. Platypus, endangered trout cod and Macquarie perch still live in good numbers here.

By securing the land we will also be protecting this beautiful river environment. Scottsdale helps to connect the Namadgi National Park and the coastal ranges east of the Monaro Highway. It is the first property to be purchased as part of a new and innovative plan to recreate and reconnect habitats between the Alpine and Eastern Escarpment Conservation Corridors. This is the ‘Kosciusko to the Coast’ project and Bush Heritage is one of its major partners.

Bush Heritage urgently needs your help to restore the damaged grasslands and control rabbits, foxes and weeds. Only then will we have restored this remarkable place to its former value for wildlife.   

Please contact us on 1300 NATURE (1300 628 873) or email info@bushheritage.org.au if you wish to help save threatened birds, animals and plants on the Murrumbidgee.