Isaacs Ridge Offset Area
Associated Development: Mugga Resource Management Centre expansion, Hume
Commonwealth approval: EPBC 2011/5808
Length of approval: 1 March 2060. Following this date, the offset area will be incorporated into the Canberra Nature Park.
Associated Nature Reserve: Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve
Where is Isaacs Ridge Offset Area?
The Isaacs Ridge Offset Area (36.9 Ha) extends the Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve. It is located across the road from the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre.
Why is it an offset?
Isaacs Ridge Offset Area has conservation objectives concerning Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Specifically:
- Box-Gum Grassy Woodland (White box - Yellow box- Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and derived native grassland)
What else is special about the Isaacs Ridge Offset Area?
Connectivity
The offset area extends the Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve. It is also part of a large, more or less contiguous wooded vegetation corridor that includes nature reserves within Canberra Nature Park through to the Murrumbidgee River Corridor. This includes:
- Red Hill and Mt Mugga Mugga Natures Reserves in the north
- Callum Brae and Jerrabomberra West Nature Reserves in the east
- Wanniassa Hills, Farrer Ridge and Mt Taylor Nature Reserves to the west.
Fauna
- Speckled Warbler (Chthonicola sagittata)
- Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera)
Flora
- Australian Trefoil (Lotus australis)
- Black Mountain Leopard Orchid (Diuris nigromontana)
- Black Tongue Caladenia (Caladenia congesta)
- Emu-foot (Cullen tenax)
- Small Knotweed (Polygonum plebium)
- Small Purple-pea (Swainsona recta)
- Prickly Moses (Acacia ulicifolia)
- Yellow Burr Daisy (Calotis lappulacea)
Find out about threatened flora and fauna. You can also find useful information through the NSW Government threatened biodiversity profile search and PlantNET.
Ngunnawal Country and People
Isaacs Ridge Offset Area is located on Ngunnawal Country, an ancient and diverse landscape managed by Ngunnawal people for tens of thousands of years. For time immemorial Ngunnawal people have maintained a tangible and intangible cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to these lands and waters.
The Heritage Act 2004 makes particular provision for recognising, registering and conserving Aboriginal places and objects. Under the Act it is an offence to damage, disturb or destroy any Aboriginal place or object. Find out more about the protection of Aboriginal places and objects.
What can I do in this reserve?
The offset area extends the Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve. Recreational activities within Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve include mountain bike riding, bushwalking and orienteering. Horse riding is permitted within the reserve, but access is restricted to designated trails. Horse riding is currently not permitted within the offset area.
The offset area is not located close to any of the main public access points into Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve, nor does it contain any major access tracks from the reserve. Public access is likely to be limited due to these factors. No new tracks are planned into or within the offset area and public access will not be promoted.
Low impact activities such as walking and orienteering are however, permitted within the offset area. Dogs are prohibited in the offset area.
Management
The long term management aim for the reserve is to conserve and improve the extent and understory condition of Box-Gum Grassy Woodland.
Monitoring and research reports
- Environmental Offsets Ecological Monitoring Program Report 2018-19 [PDF 8.0 MB]
- Environmental Offsets Ecological Monitoring Program Report 2019-20 [PDF 10.8 MB]
- Box-Gum Woodland Offset Monitoring - 2016 [PDF 4.4 MB]
More information
- Find associated publications on the Offsets Register.