Limnological and geomorphological considerations underlying Pedder 2000 - the campaign to restore Lake Pedder

Lake Pedder was a small lake in the wilderness of south-west Tasmania. It was flooded as part of an hydro-electricity scheme. At the time of flooding it had scarcely been investigated scientifically but several endemic species of animals and plants were recorded from there, particularly on, and interstitially in, the prominent sandy beach. A campaign called "Pedder 2000" has the aim of draining the impoundment and restoring the former lake. This carries the assumption that characteristic features of the lake survived inundation. This paper presents evidence that the lake retains many of its geomorphological features beneath the flood waters. It also examines, briefly, the possibility of re-establishment of some unique biota of the old lake.