Donning striking orange, black, and blue fins, the empire gudgeon thrives in Logan’s river system and is now backed by a $1 million federal fund to preserve its habitat.
A stretch of Slacks Creek is set to be transformed from a concrete stormwater drain to a natural waterway, removing weeds and planting native vegetation to improve the habitat for local aquatic life.
The creek is home to a range of other native gudgeons, including the striped gudgeon, firetail gudgeon, flathead gudgeon, and western carp gudgeon, and flong-finned eel and sea mullet.
Concrete culverts and engineered barriers within streams and creeks can inhibit these creatures’ migratory pathways, as well as limit their access to food.
The project, managed by Logan City Council, will see a rock-ramp fishway and a series of horizontal concrete baffles installed to help fish swim up culverts.
New interpretive signage will also be installed around the creek in hopes to boost community awareness of the local flora and fauna.
The Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, said “we want to leave nature better off for our kids and grandkids”.
“… and that means repairing damage to our environment and better protecting it for the future,” she said.
“That’s why we’re investing $200 million in projects (country-wide) to revitalise our urban rivers and creeks.
“We want to support the groups on the ground who understand the needs in their community and are working to better manage and restore their local environment.
“Nearly half of all nationally listed threatened animals and a quarter of our threatened plants occur in urban areas – we need to act now to protect them.”
Local MP for Rankin, federal treasurer Jim Chalmers agreed it was important to take care of the environment for future generations.
“Ever since I was a little kid growing up in this area, I learnt to really cherish the experience of being around our local creeks and waterways,” Mr Chalmers said.
“We want to get our local waterways in better nick so our kids and their kids can continue to enjoy this really beautiful part of our local community for generations to come.
“With this million-dollar investment, we’ll clean up Slacks Creek, improving water quality and conditions for our native frogs, turtles, and birdlife.”
