Abzeco completes Matted Flax-lily Translocation for the Mernda Rail Extension Project

Abzeco was commissioned to undertake translocation of Matted Flax-lily Dianella amoena (MFL) in accordance with the EPBC-approved Matted Flax-lily Translocation Plan for the Mernda Rail Extension Project.

This project follows a previous MFL translocation undertaken by Abzeco for the South Morang Rail Extension Project.  The approved plan identified 129 MFL plants on public land within a proposed new 8 km dual track railway line from the existing South Morang Station to Mernda. All plants impacted by the works were required to be salvaged for translocation into recipient sites. In total Abzeco identified and salvaged 125 plants from the works area. All plants were divided into sections and potted up to provide at least 6 clones from each, which produced 750 pots in total! These plants were held in the Abzeco nursery facility until July 2019 two when clones from each plant were planted out into the Quarry Hills Regional Park and a further two clones were planted into the Plenty Gorge Park, specifically selected,managed sites. The remaining two clones from each plant will be managed in our nursery as a contingency to replace lost plants until such time as the translocation has been confirmed successful.

Abzeco continues to manage and monitor the plants in our nursery. This project has been a huge success and clearly demonstrates that salvage and translocation by the Abzeco team is a viable option for MFL in situations where there it is not possible to avoid direct impacts.