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34-601: Lake Pedder , once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania , Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range , the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the Serpentine and Huon rivers by the Hydro-Electric Commission for the purpose of hydroelectric power generation. Consequently, the lake

68-549: A lake the first stages of glacial recession melt enough freshwater to form a shallow lagoon. In the case of Iceland's Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, tides bring in an array of fish species to the edge of the glacier. These fish attract an abundance of predators from birds to marine mammals, that are searching for food. These predators include fauna such as, seals, arctic terns and arctic skua . Glacial lakes that have been formed for

102-550: A long period of time have a more diverse ecosystem of fauna originating form neighboring tributaries or other glacial refugia. For example, many native species of the great lakes basin entered via the Mississippi basin refugia within the past 14,000 years. Glacial lakes act as fresh water storage for the replenishing of a region's water supply and serve as potential electricity producers from hydropower. Glacial lakes' aesthetic nature can also stimulate economic activity through

136-793: A result of climate change and human activities. During the transition from the Last Glacial Period to the Holocene climatic optimum , soil development was enhanced, whereas early human activities such as deforestation have resulted in elevated soil erosion. These events can be reflected in geochemistry and isotope signatures in the lake sediments. Biodiversity and productivity tend to be lower in glacial lakes as only cold-tolerant and cold-adapted species can withstand their harsh conditions. Glacial rock flour and low nutrient levels create an oligotrophic environment where few species of plankton, fish and benthic organisms reside. Before becoming

170-495: Is also known, somewhat derisively, as the Huon-Serpentine Impoundment . As a result, the flooded Lake Pedder now has a surface area of approximately 242 square kilometres (93 sq mi), making it Tasmania's second largest lake. In early 20th century the original lake was named after Sir John Pedder , the first Chief Justice of Tasmania. The new artificial impoundment received the official name of

204-468: Is designed to cover a wide range of topics, including the development of conservation and other issues since that original founding date in April, 1972. Nine issues of The UTG Journal have been published since the re-start of the organisation in 2016. In the mid 1990s Lance Armstrong wrote a history of the politics of Tasmania in the 1990s. In the mid-2000s author Bill Lines also attempted to grapple with

238-813: Is generally acknowledged as the world's first Green party to contest elections. The party was formed on 23 March 1972, during a meeting of the Lake Pedder Action Committee (LPAC) at the Hobart Town Hall in order to field political candidates in the April 1972 state election . UTG contested ten state and federal elections between 1972 and 1977, with the highest vote of 9.9% in the Legislative Council election with Rod Broadby in 1975 (see Appendix 4, UTG Journal Issue No. 6, 2021). The United Tasmania Group's first President

272-573: Is only known by the type specimen collected from a beach on Lake Pedder, Tasmania in 1971. After the flooding of the lake, this invertebrate was never seen again. A 1996 survey that sought to determine whether the species still existed in the area failed to find any examples. Since 2003 the Lake Pedder Earthworm has been listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . An extinction claimed to have occurred after

306-522: Is the Southern Tibetan Plateau region from debris covered glaciers. This increase in glacial lake formation also indicates an increase in occurrence of glacial lake outburst flood events caused by damming and subsequent breaking of moraine and ice. The amount of sediment found in glacial lakes varies, and has a general stratigraphic sequence of organic muds, glacial clays, silty clays, and sands based on time of formation. Over time

340-739: The Tasmanian Greens and are now recognised as the world's first green party . The group that preceded the Tasmanian Wilderness Society – the South West Tasmania Action Committee continued after the flooding, with the knowledge that surveying and appraising other catchments in the south west and west of Tasmania was well underway by the HEC. Although increasingly sophisticated economic, environmental and engineering arguments were raised by

374-688: The Western Arthurs mountain range and the other at a modified water supply dam near Strathgordon . To coincide with the United Nations Decade of Ecological Restoration , 2021–2030, the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee is aiming to have the lake restored to its original state. The committee, convened by Christine Milne with support from Todd Dudley, Bob Brown , Paul Thomas and Tabatha Badger , plans to have an Ecological Management Plan to restore

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408-481: The Federal Government interfering with the sovereign rights of Tasmania". "There was a National Park out there, but I can't remember exactly where it was . . . at least, it wasn't of substantial significance in the scheme of things. The thing that was significant was that we had to double the output of power in this state in ten years in order [to] supply the demands of industry and the community. And this

442-609: The Tasmanian Government's policy of attempting to attract secondary industry to the State with the incentive of cheap renewable energy . The new Huon Serpentine impoundment, which filled after the dams were completed in 1972, drains into Lake Gordon via the McPartlan Pass Canal at 42°51′4″S 146°11′2″E  /  42.85111°S 146.18389°E  / -42.85111; 146.18389 . Together,

476-476: The amount of halogen and boron in the deposited sediments. The scouring action of the glaciers pulverizes minerals in the rock over which the glacier passes. These pulverized minerals become sediment at the bottom of the lake, and some of the rock flour becomes suspended in the water column. These suspended minerals support a large population of algae, making the water appear green. Glacial lake sediments also archive changes in geochemistry and pollen records as

510-602: The area, and many travelled to Lake Pedder before it was flooded to see what the issues were about. In 1971, a large number of people travelled to Pedder to see the lake before it was to be inundated, and a particular weekend in March of that year became known as the Pedder Pilgrimage due to the large number of people present. The protests included the United Tasmania Group who were the precursor to

544-826: The attraction of the tourism industry. Thousands of tourists visit the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon in Iceland annually to take part in commercial boat tours and every two to four years thousands visit the Argentino glacial lake in Argentina to witness the collapse of the cyclically formed arch of ice from the Perito Moreno glacier , making it one of the largest travel destinations in Patagonia. United Tasmania Group The United Tasmania Group ( UTG )

578-621: The broader scope of politics in Australia relative to greens politics in Patriots . Meanwhile the 2017 Master's Thesis of Canadian scholar Blake Allen produced an analysis of how the UTG, and their effect on Tasmanian politics, reshaped the Australian federal relationship in a favorable manner for successive national governments. In the late 2010s Paddy Manning researched and wrote a history of

612-475: The damming of Lake Pedder: Concerns over the construction of the dam revolved around the loss of the distinctive pink quartzite beach of the original lake, and an increased understanding of the unique nature of the wilderness quality to the south west of Tasmania. This developed further with the Franklin Dam issue. In 1994, a campaign group was launched called Pedder 2000. They proposed, unsuccessfully,

646-413: The draining and restoration of the lake to its original state. There is an ongoing low-key campaign with the same goal by the group known as the Lake Pedder Action Committee which remains active. As is the case in many land use, land ownership and territorial disputes, the name currently officially assigned to this body of water has considerable significance. It is also important in terms of understanding

680-630: The flooding is that of the Lake Pedder planarian ( Romankenkius pedderensis ), an endemic flatworm . Since 1996 this invertebrate has also been listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In 2012, the continued existence of this species was reported. The Pedder galaxias , an Australian freshwater fish, is considered extinct in its natural habitat of Lake Pedder and its tributaries, although it still exists in captivity and in two translocated populations, one at Lake Oberon in

714-472: The glacial lake sediments are subjected to change. As seen in the English Lake District , the layers of the sediments at the bottom of the lakes contain evidence of the rate of erosion. The elemental make up of the sediments are not associated with the lakes themselves, but by the migration of the elements within the soil, such as iron and manganese. The distribution of these elements, within

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748-549: The glaciation of the Little Ice Age , Earth has lost more than 50% of its glaciers. This along with the current increase in retreating glaciers caused by climate change has created a shift from frozen to liquid water, increasing the extent and volume of glacial lakes around the world. Most glacial lakes present today can be found in Asia, Europe, and North America. The area which will see the greatest increase in lake formation

782-464: The glacier such as moraines , eskers and erosional features such as striations and chatter marks . These lakes are clearly visible in aerial photos of landforms in regions that were glaciated during the last ice age . The formation and characteristics of glacial lakes vary between location and can be classified into glacial erosion lake, ice-blocked lake, moraine-dammed lake, other glacial lake, supraglacial lake, and subglacial lake. Since

816-455: The lake bed, are attributed to the condition of the drainage basin and the chemical composition of the water. Sediment deposition can also be influenced by animal activity; including the distribution of biochemical elements, which are elements that are found in organic organisms, such as phosphorus and sulfur. The amount of halogens and boron found in the sediments accompanies a change in erosional activity. The rate of deposition reflects

850-658: The lake since 1955. The role of the HEC as a surrogate wing of the Tasmanian government was perceived when the political or wider social dissent against the HEC power over the Tasmanian environment seemed impregnable. Tasmania's political leader, Premier Eric Reece and Allan Knight, the HEC Commissioner, were seen as the leading proponents of the 'damming' of Tasmania against any opinion to the contrary, and were not averse to taking their opinions to statewide and national advertising campaigns asserting their right to dam

884-557: The lake. Reece was well known for his staunch support of the HEC and its power development schemes on the Gordon River, which earned him the nickname "Electric Eric". In 1972, Reece approved the flooding of Lake Pedder, which proceeded despite a determined protest movement and a blank cheque offer from Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to preserve the Lake Pedder area. Reece refused Whitlam's offer, stating that he would "not have

918-610: The lakes form the biggest water catchment and storage system in Australia. Lake Pedder has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb). There were protests in Tasmania and mainland Australia at the flooding of the original lake, before, during and after construction of the dams. Protests began when in 1967 the Tasmanian Government revoked the status of the Lake Pedder National Park that had protected

952-542: The legitimacy of the official, gazetted name of Lake Pedder for the body of water that drowned it in 1972. Instead, they prefer to use the name Huon–Serpentine Impoundment. This name denotes the two major rivers dammed to create the current lake (Huon and Serpentine) and describes the technical status of the lake as an element of a hydro-electric scheme (impoundment) more accurately than the terms lake or reservoir. Bushwalkers sometimes informally refer to it as "Fake Pedder". The Lake Pedder earthworm ( Hypolimnus pedderensis )

986-705: The opponents of the dam, it was not until the Franklin scheme that either the Hydro or its defenders were even considering the critiques. In 1972, the Christian activist Brenda Hean perished with pilot Max Price in a tiger moth aircraft they were flying from Tasmania to Canberra to protest the damming of Lake Pedder; it was alleged that pro-dam campaigners had entered the plane's hangar and placed sugar in one of its fuel tanks. Hesba Fay Brinsmead , an Australian children's author and environmentalist, wrote two books about

1020-685: The original Lake Pedder and surrounding iconic ecosystems. Glacial lake Near the end of the last glacial period , roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills . As the ice age ended, these melted to create lakes. This is apparent in the Lake District in Northwestern England where post-glacial sediments are normally between 4 and 6 metres deep. These lakes are often surrounded by drumlins , along with other evidence of

1054-536: The original lake. Although the new Lake Pedder incorporates the original lake, it does not resemble it in size, appearance or ecology. The new lake consists of an impoundment contained by three dams: The dams were designed and constructed by Tasmania's Hydro Electric Commission (HEC) as part of the Upper Gordon River hydro-electric generation scheme. The aim of this scheme was to increase Tasmania's capacity to generate hydro-electricity in accordance with

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1088-535: The technical status of the body of water as a component of a hydro-electric scheme. From a technical, hydro-electric scheme point of view, the current Lake Pedder can be correctly termed a lake or reservoir as the water from Lake Pedder can flow into Lake Gordon via the McPartlan's Pass canal and is thereby connected to the Gordon power station. However, people opposed to the flooding of the original lake do not accept

1122-501: Was Dr Richard Jones and it lasted for five years, briefly reforming in 1990 for the federal election. A few of the 1970s candidates, including Bob Brown , went on to form the Tasmanian Greens and then ultimately, at the national level, the Australian Greens . On 2 April 2016 following a meeting, former members of the party re-started the group. The United Tasmania Group launched The UTG Journal in 2018. The journal

1156-523: Was the scheme that looked as though it could do a greater part of [the] job for us." A series of photographs in the 1976 Tasmanian Year book illustrated the process of flooding of the Lake Pedder area. Opposition to the flooding of Lake Pedder extended well beyond Tasmania and spread throughout Australia and internationally. The focus on the South West Tasmania Wilderness area as an environmental battleground increased interest in

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