Justice Robert Hope Park Offset Area
Associated Development: Residential Development, Block 9 Section 64 Watson and extension of Negus Crescent
Commonwealth approval: EPBC 2012/6418
Length of approval: 30 November 2033. Following this date, the offset area will be incorporated into the Canberra Nature Park.
Alternative name: Watson Woodlands
Associated Nature Reserve: Justice Robert Hope Park
Where is Justice Robert Hope Park Offset Area?
Justice Robert Hope Park (Watson Woodlands - 18 Ha) is in the northern section of the suburb of Watson, at the western base of Mount Majura. The offset area connects to Mount Majura Nature Reserve on the eastern side through partially cleared land.
Why is it an offset?
Justice Robert Hope Park 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)
- Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia)
Other MNES present on the site include:
What else is special about the Justice Robert Hope Park Offset Area?
Connectivity
Justice Robert Hope Park is on the lower slopes of Mount Majura Nature Reserve. The reserve forms a small part of a large woodland ridge system that stretches from the hills in Gungahlin, Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve and Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve , through to the Majura valley, supporting wildlife movement through this area.
Threatened fauna
- Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)
- Gang Gang (Callocephalon fimbriatum)
- Speckled Warbler (Chthonicola sagittata)
- Australasian Bent-winged Bat (Miniopterus schreibersii subsp. Oceanensis)
Threatened flora
- Hoary Sunray (Leucochrysum albicans var. Tricolor)
- Narrow Plantain (Plantago gaudichaudii)
- Smooth Flax Lily (Dianella longifolia var. Longifolia)
- Tick Indigo (Indigofera adesmiifolia)
- Yam Daisy (Microseris lanceolata)
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
Justice Robert Hope Park 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.
European heritage
Post European settlement, the surrounding land was used for agriculture, particularly grazing of livestock. The offset site was a rural lease until 2001.
What can I do in this reserve?
Pedestrian access points have been established in the fence line around Justice Robert Hope Park. Dogs are permitted on a leash.
Management
The long term management aim for the offset area is to protect and manage the Box-Gum Grassy Woodland community and habitat for woodland birds including the Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia).
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]
- Woodland Quality and Extent Mapping - 2017 [PDF 15.4 MB]
- Box-Gum Woodland Offset Monitoring - 2016 [PDF 4.4 MB]
More information
- Find associated publications on the Offsets Register.