DAVE Layzell MP, Member for Upper Hunter, has shared the news that the endangered Manning River turtle population appears to have bounced back from last year’s East Coast severe weather event.
The storm swamped the MidCoast, Hunter coast and the Upper Hunter in May 2025, causing significant disruption native animals in those environments.
Mr Layzell said in his newsletter, ‘State Matters’, that new monitoring had revealed encouraging signs and the endangered turtle population had returned to numbers comparable to pre-flood levels.
Surveys by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water showed the species had persisted in key habitats including the Barnard, upper Barrington and upper Gloucester rivers.
Monitoring also highlighted broader ecosystem recovery with underwater surveys recording strong recruitment of native fish species, including juvenile Australian bass, freshwater herring and freshwater mullet.
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