Lower Balonne

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The research team at Narran Lakes during the May 2025 survey. Image: Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve
Lower Balonne
Native Fish
May 21, 2026

Narran Lakes fish surveys undertaken over the full flood cycle

Floods in 2024 and 2025 filled the Narran Lakes wetlands. In December 2025, the Lower Balonne Flow-MER team, led by Austral Research and Consulting, completed a third fish survey at Narran Lakes (Dharriwaa) which focused on the recession stage, when floodwaters began to recede.

Jane Howard
Patrick Pickett
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Dr Jennifer Spencer from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and Dharriwaa Elders Group River Ranger Izaiah Gordon checking a solarbar acoustic recorder during Narran Lakes waterbird surveys in February 2026. Image: Pat Johnston, Bullarah Fauna Pictures
Lower Balonne
Cultural Outcomes
May 21, 2026

Caring for Country, together

For more than 65,000 years, Aboriginal people have held a deep connection to land and water. This knowledge has been built through care, observation and cultural practice. But for generations, they have been excluded from decisions about managing Country.

Jane Howard
Zoe Sands
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Uncle Bill Speedy, Gwamu/Guwamu and Kooma Elder and Traditional Custodian (pictured third from left), spoke to the group. Image: Kate Brandis
Lower Balonne
Cultural Outcomes
January 30, 2026

Sharing Cultural knowledge from St George to Narran Lakes

A Flow-MER knowledge exchange journey from St George to Narran Lakes brought Rangers and water managers together with Elders to share cultural knowledge, learn from Country and strengthen understanding of environmental water outcomes.

Jane Howard
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The field team surveying lignum at Long Arm, an area of the Narran Lake Nature Reserve. Image: Rory Jackson
Lower Balonne
Native Vegetation
January 28, 2026

What the first Flow-MER vegetation survey found in the Lower Balonne

The first Flow-MER vegetation survey in the Lower Balonne recorded more than 180 wetland plant species, revealing strong responses to recent wet years alongside signs of drying and fire recovery across the Narran Lakes floodplain.

Jane Howard
Rebekah Grieger
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The length of a common yabby (Cherax destructor destructor) is being measured. Large numbers were encountered in the Narran River around Narran Park, May 2025. Image: Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve
Lower Balonne
Native Fish
January 27, 2026

Fish surveys at Narran Lakes reveal a system in transition

The first fish surveys at Narran Lakes since 2008 reveal a system responding unevenly to the return of water, with clear signs of recovery in some native species and continued absence in others.

Jane Howard
Dion Iervasi
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The team had some hard paddling to get through the Azolla, a tiny, native Australian freshwater fern (Image credit: William Hall).
Lower Balonne
Waterbirds
November 24, 2025

First Narran Lakes waterbird survey for the 2025-2026 water year

Flow-MER waterbird ground surveys were conducted at 10 sites in the Dharriwaa – Narran Lakes Nature Reserve in August 2025, the first for the 2025-2026 water year.

Jane Howard
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Narran Lake's Clear Lake, May 2025 (Image credit: Jane Howard)
Lower Balonne
Native Vegetation
November 24, 2025

Twenty years of Narran Lakes vegetation data

Vegetation survey data for Narran Lakes Nature Reserve, spanning 20 years (2004-2024), have recently been collated by the Griffith University Native Vegetation team, led by Dr Rebekah Grieger.

Jane Howard
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Highlights from the three-day Lower Balonne knowledge-sharing field trip.
Lower Balonne
River Flows and Connectivity
August 14, 2025

Following the flow: A knowledge sharing journey through the Lower Balonne

Researchers, Aboriginal Elders, and water managers journeyed through the Lower Balonne to share cultural knowledge and science on river flows. Their insights are guiding smarter water management for communities, wetlands, and wildlife across the river system.

UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science
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Featured image: Lower Balonne Flow-MER waterbird survey (L-R) Jennifer Spencer and Jo Ocock, Aug 2024. Credit: Dr. Kate Bandis, UNSW.
Lower Balonne
Waterbirds
February 17, 2025

Sounds of Narran: waterbirds calling at Narran Lakes (Dharriwaa) on the Lower Balonne floodplain

Acoustic recorders capture the diverse bird calls at Narran Lakes, revealing the rich avian life and helping scientists monitor and protect these vital wetlands.

UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science
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Artwork credit: Wiradjuri Artist Rebecca Salcole
Acknowledgement of Country

The Flow-MER Program team acknowledges the First Nations communities of the Murray–Darling Basin and pays respect to Elders past and present.

We acknowledge First Nations people as the Traditional Owners of the land, water and sky Country across the Basin and value the expertise, wisdom and enduring connections that have informed their care for Country over millennia.

We recognise the intrinsic connection of First Nations people to Country, and we value the enduring cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to the rivers, wetlands, and floodplains of the Basin. We are committed to working with First Nations people across the Murray–Darling Basin to build relationships in a meaningful and genuine way to support and empower them in reaching their aspirations.

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