Grasslands of the Territory include a rich assemblage of flora and fauna species that combine into a unique ecosystem. These grasslands are a priority for protection and management as they contribute to our natural biodiversity, our history and heritage, and local amenity and community. Natural Temperate Grasslands are an Endangered Ecological Community in the ACT (Nature Conservation Act 2014) and Critically Endangered Ecological Community under the EPBC Act 1999. Other native and exotic grasslands in the ACT can also have some conservation significance as they support important populations of threatened fauna and flora.

Natural Temperate Grassland occurs in areas where few trees grow because of factors such as low temperatures, low rainfall and infertile or clay soils. Only 2% to 10% of the lower elevation grasslands in south-eastern Australia remain in high ecological condition, eight grassland species of the ACT are listed as endangered or vulnerable and some of the constituent plants and animals are under threat. Temperate grasslands are considered one of the most threatened Australian ecosystems. https://www.environment.act.gov.au/cpr/conservation_and_ecological_communities/grasslands. Extensive areas of native grassland in Namadgi National Park are to be field checked to determine whether they qualify as Natural Temperate Grassland.

More information on threatened species occurring in grasslands in the ACT can be found at: http://www.environment.act.gov.au/cpr/conservation_and_ecological_communities/threatened_species_factsheets

The 2017 ACT Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and associated action plans guide the protection, management and restoration of native grasslands and its component species for the next 10 years. See a summary of the strategy. This strategy supersedes Action Plan 28 ACT Lowland Native Grassland Conservation Strategy (Environment ACT, 2005).

Updates: This dataset was last updated in May 2018 and it is envisaged that continual updates will be made as new information comes to hand.

Fit for purpose: This mapping is fit for use at a 1:10000 scale. Significant advances are being made towards a high resolution vegetation map for the ACT that is suitable for use at scales ranging from broad regional planning to local planning and property planning. However, Natural Temperate Grassland condition can fluctuate widely depending on seasonal conditions and thus boundaries and presence may fluctuate.

Disclaimer: While all care is taken to ensure accuracy, the ACT Government does not warrant that the layers are free from error. © ACT Government