PROJECT INFORMATION:

Making it possible to hear them growl here again!

After 6 years of project preparations, paperwork and planning, the reintroduction of Growling Grass Frogs (GGF) to the Winton Wetlands Reserve will begin in late 2022. 

A Wetlands Restoration Science Forum workshop in 2016 identified that rewilding of the Growling Grass Frog to the Winton Wetlands was feasible and a worthwhile objective for the restoration project. The Mokoan Ponds area of the reserve has suitable habitat for the species (assessed by GGF expert Dr Geoff Heard 2021)

Growling Grass Frogs were once common in wetland ecosystems but are now regarded as an endangered species in Victoria (FFG Act) and elsewhere in their natural range. They were once present at Winton Wetlands and have not been recorded in recent years and are now locally extinct. However, they are important species in an ecosystem as they are predators of other frogs and insects which is functionally different from other frog species. They are also large and know to be a crucial food source for predatory wetland birds, which the wetlands are also trying to support., Ultimately, rewilding of the species will help secure this species status locally and regionally, increase biodiversity on site and will restore critical ecological functions and processes to Winton Wetlands.

If a healthy population of GGF can be established on the reserve, the benefits will be three-fold:  1) it will aid in restoring ecological function and biodiversity to the wetlands themselves;  2) demonstrate the proof of concept of the method used to rewild the species in a wetland; and 3) it will create a valuable local ‘source’ population for the further rewilding events in other wetlands within the region.

(Photo Credit – Matt West)

Find out more background information – Growling Grass Frogs ‘coming home’ : The how and why

Fill out our Taskforce Growlers Expression of Interest form here