"The Agnes River rainforest is bounded by the Grand Ridge Road to the north, the Toora/Gunyah Road to the west, Devil's Pinch Road to the South and Agnes No2 Track to the east.

The Agnes River headwaters contains some of the best mountain ash regrowth and cool temperate rainforest remaining in the Strzeleckis. A tiny section of these headwaters has been set aside as a flora and fauna reserve. Outside the reserve some of the spurs and gullies have suffered damage in the last 10 to 15 years, as forest has been cleared and spurs planted with mountain ash, but the proportion that could be classified as plantation is small. There remains large areas of native forest, mature mountain ash and messmate and cool temperate rainforest.

Within the rainforest, 4 rare rainforest species have been identified. They are; Tmesipteris elongata (A species of Forked Fern), River Hook Sedge, Slender Tree Ferns and Skirted Tree Ferns.

The reserve is dominated by mountain ash regrowth, with many mature and old-growth trees. Outside the reserve there are large areas of native forest and some strips of young mountain ash plantation only 10 to 15 years old. The native forest consists of numerous pockets of mountain ash and messmate regrowth (containing a considerable number of mature-age trees with hollows) and extensive Blackwood forest.

The Strzeleckis has lost almost all its mixed age/mixed species eucalypt forest. If what remains is not protected, all that will be left will be isolated in the tiny pockets at Gunyah and Tarra Bulga. The areas presently reserved are very small and are unlikely to be able to sustain a viable population of the fauna that are dependent on mature-age trees. This is likely to have a dramatic effect on the native fauna remaining in the Strzeleckis.

Greater Gliders are found in both the Franklin and Agnes headwaters, both inside and outside the reserve. Gliders require trees with large hollows in which to den during the day and raise their young. Greater Gliders also usually require a variety of eucalypts as they feed almost exclusively on the leaves, bud and flowers of eucalypts." Rainforest in the Strzeleckis by Elaina Fraser.

Franklin Cool Temperate Rainforest:

"The area between the Grand Ridge Road and Stronach's Road has been set aside as a reserve. This area is flatter than most rainforest areas within the Strzelecki's and the rainforest tends to extend in a wide band along each of the tributaries. Because of the width of the rainforest, mature and old-growth mountain ash can be found within the rainforest as well as on the spurs.

There are many examples of very old myrtle beech and sassafras and numerous skirted and slender tree ferns.

The rainforest also extends along those tributaries south of the reserve, between Stronach's Road and Red Hill Track and between Red Hill Track and Clay Track at the eastern headwaters of these tributaries.

In 1997 logging was carried out by Victorian Plantation Corporation in Stronach's Road and Red Hill Track (LEGL 93-83). No buffers were left around the rainforest. Clearing was carried out right to the edge of rainforest and debris pushed into rainforest gullies, causing damage to myrtle beech.

The damage to the rainforest has resulted in a number of trees dying of myrtle wilt. Myrtle wilt is dispersed by airborne inoculum, so this action has put the myrtle beech within the nearby Franklin and Agnes reserves at risk as well as those areas adjacent to the area logged. Myrtle wilt has since been seen in the Franklin some distance from Stronach's Road and a number of trees have also been seen to be dying of myrtle wilt in the Agnes catchment.

The headwaters of the Franklin River contains a significant population of Greater Gliders both inside and outside the reserve. Greater Gliders require old trees for nest hollows. The abundance of the Greater Glider in undisturbed forests is in strong contrast to its paucity in regenerated forest, which lacks old trees with hollows suitable for nesting. Its conservation is utterly dependent upon sympathetic forest management which retains buffer strips of old forest between coupes and preserves old habitat trees and their potential successors in small unlogged areas. Greater Gliders are destroyed in clear-felling operations.

"Dingo Creek Headwaters:

There is virtually no rainforest left in the headwaters of Dingo Creek, although there are still scattered Myrtle Beech trees.

Clearing and planting of mountain ash was carried out at Mount Mabel Track in the late 1980s. This activity has resulted in substantial erosion into the headwaters of Dingo Creek and has blocked the creek. Much of this area is now failed plantation.

A small area of Messmate forest remains between Dingo Creek headwaters and the Midland Highway just south of Chrities."
Rainforests of the Strzeleckis. By Elaina Fraser.

Geology inside the catchment: Lower Cretaceous sandstone, siltstone and mudstone with minor Pliocene sedimentary deposits. The catchment is undulating to hilly.

Soils: Porous earths, some acidic, molted duplex soils.

Average rainfall: 1150mm. The catchment is approximately 6640 ha in size with Hancock controlling just under 50% of the entire catchment. Catchment water use is approximately 1315 ML per year.

“A report on the South Gippsland Water Supply Catchments - October 1987 - Land Protection Division - Conservation Forests and Lands

p5 Before European settlement, all of the catchments . . . were covered with similar tall tree vegetation associations. However, the early settlers almost totally cleared the area of this vegetation for pasture and grazing management. Farming could not be sustained in many situations and regrowth of native species was allowed to occur, much of it since the 1930’s and as recently as the 1950’s. Much of the regrowth comprises scrub species and these are gradually being restored to the original species composition . . . Currently, approximately 50% of the Agnes River catchment and 30% of the Deep Creek catchment supports indigenous vegetation. . . Those areas of complete regrowth that do exist in these catchments are dominated by mountain ash, usually in pure stands. Associated species are messmate, manna gum, bluegum and Mountain Grey Gum, occurring mainly in the Agnes River Catchment. . .”