Media Releases

Recent releases

• New bridge on Freestone Creek walking track

  03 Jun, 2011

  A beautiful new bridge has just been completed at the Froam Picnic area, just north of the Blue Pool along the Freestone Creek walking track.

• Reports that see the forest and the trees

  02 Jun, 2011

  The Department of Sustainability and Environment has released the latest independent audits of timber harvesting on the state’s public land.

• Once a hard hat – now a boardwalk

  02 Jun, 2011

  Bring in the new but make good use of the old – that’s the philosophy of Department of Sustainability and Environment staff in the Otways when it comes to replacing fireline helmets - helmets that could eventually find new life in a boardwalk or bridge.

• Brush-tailed Rock wallabies enjoy the limelight

  02 Jun, 2011

  The critically endangered population of Brush-tailed Rock wallabies in the Snowy River Gorge in far East Gippsland is thriving and some of the younger members of the family have been keen to be caught on camera to prove it.

• Small pest but big problems for native fish populations

  31 May, 2011

  Research by the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s (DSE) Arthur Rylah Institute (ARI) has been investigating the impacts of a small fish which is a major pest in Victoria and the Murray Darling Basin. 

• Ovens River becoming the ‘Noah’s Ark’ for Australian freshwater fish

  31 May, 2011

  The Ovens River between Wangaratta and Myrtleford is rapidly becoming a ‘Noah’s Ark’ for rare Australian freshwater fish with yet another endangered species being added to the waterway as part of a long term reintroduction program.

• First Southern Hairy-nosed wombat sighting in Victoria

  31 May, 2011

  A Southern Hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) has been sighted for the first time in Victoria.

• Home-made mouse baits put wildlife and domestic animals at risk

  31 May, 2011

  With mouse numbers increasing in the Wimmera-Mallee the Department of Sustainability and Environment has called on landholders not to start making their own baits and inadvertently put wildlife and domestic animals at risk. 

• USA expert visits south west Victoria to assist Brolga research project

  27 May, 2011

  The Department of Sustainability and Environment is hosting a visit from a renowned USA-based Crane expert who will assist with research into the movements of Brolgas.

• Possum magic: New hope for Victoria’s Mountain Pygmy-possums

  24 May, 2011

  Victorian scientists have made a scientific and conservation breakthrough with one of Australia’s rarest marsupials, the endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums (Burramys parvus), after two ‘genetically isolated’ populations bred in the wild for the first time. 

• Get planting and get social! Landcare speed planting is here

  24 May, 2011

  Since the iconic volunteer movement Landcare started with a group of farmers in St Arnaud 25 years ago, it’s grown into an organisation of thousands of volunteers continually finding new ways to connect with each other and the environment.

• Rosebud volunteers get their chance to help manage local land

  24 May, 2011

  Residents in Rosebud and surrounding areas are being invited to volunteer to be part of a Committee of Management that looks after some much-loved local reserves.

• 150 years of history back on display at Stanley State Forest

  24 May, 2011

  Facilities for tourists and visitors have re-opened in Stanley State Forest near Beechworth following significant recovery works after the Black Saturday fires. 

• Local project acknowledged for World Turtle Day

  20 May, 2011

  The celebration of World Turtle Day on 23 May 2011 provides an opportunity to highlight important work that has been undertaken to monitor the health and status of three freshwater turtle species that inhabit Barmah National Park.

• Overseas student volunteers begin their annual migration to the Wimmera

  20 May, 2011

  The annual migration of one of the Wimmera’s favourite species has begun with the arrival of nine overseas student volunteers ready to protect the Wimmera’s unique and valuable biodiversity.

• Saving the Growling Grass Frogs - what is large, warty, green and growls?

  19 May, 2011

  DSE researchers from Arthur Rylah Institute and local biodiversity staff have spent the past four months searching farm dams for a threatened frog species, the Growling Grass Frog, as part of a unique project.

• Deer dumper – 'Please, wake up to yourself'

  19 May, 2011

  A person going on a river-front walk in the township of Wangaratta has made an unpleasant discovery after someone illegally dumped the remains of a deer near a walking track.

• Bruces Road reopened

  19 May, 2011

  DSE advises that Bruces Road, which runs through the Colquhoun Regional Park and State Forest north-west of Lakes Entrance has been reopened between the Princes Highway and the Bruthen-Nowa Nowa Road.

• Grab your binoculars - it's Regent Honeyeater survey time!

  18 May, 2011

  Two nationally endangered native birds, the Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot, will be the focus of a nationwide survey this weekend (21 and 22 May 2011).

• The secret life of seagrass and reefs - scientists to gain greater insight into Port Phillip Bay

  18 May, 2011

  Elite teams of marine scientists are hoping to improve our understanding of life in the underwater world of Port Phillip Bay, with $3 million in research grants from the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE).