The Pitt Water - Orielton Lagoon has a levee in place that is preventing tidal inundation. This is creating erosion events which make deep channels where saltmarsh can't grow. The project will be removing the levee and restoring natural tidal flows to the lagoon. This will reduce energy against the levee, which will help the lagoon adapt to sea level rise in the future - rather than the levee creating a cliff and cutting the lagoon off even more. The lagoon and saltmarsh are important breeding habitat for both estuarine and diadromous fish, and the project has an aim to restore this habitat, especially for the benefit of recreational fish species. The saltmarsh has also suffered as a result of livestock grazing and trampling, which is being rehabilitated by fencing the area off. As the area is on private land and is also on land managed by Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, special steps will be taken to ensure minimal disruption to cultural values, including restricting access to specific areas as well as avoiding use of mechanical weeding and revegetation. This project is being funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment – Fisheries Habitat Restoration Program and is being completed in partnership with OzFish Unlimited and the University of Tasmania.

Saltmarsh

Method: Hydrological restoration, Rehabilitation, Revegetation

Rehabilitation - method: Grazer control, Weed control

Hydrological restoration - method: Levee removal

Planting density: Trees and grasses will be planted around the perimeter