A draft development plan for the Duntroon wetlands will be presented at a public meeting in Duntroon tonight.
The Duntroon and District Development Association and the landowner Meridian Energy have been discussing the possibility of community involvement in managing the wetlands.
The wetland was fed by springs and the source of water was not certain, but it was clearly from further inland. The water bubbled up just below the town and filled the wetland on the way to the Waitaki River, DDDA chairman Mike Gray said.
There were many native wetland plants and aquatic species in the area and, to flourish naturally and to be appreciated, some environmental intervention and protection was necessary.
The Lower Waitaki River Management Society has shown interest in the project and offered assistance, Mr Gray said.
A project development plan has been prepared and will be presented by ecologist Diana Robertson, from Boffa Miskell, at 7.30pm in the Duntroon Hall.
The purpose of the meeting was to determine the level of community interest and support for the project.
It would not go ahead without significant community support, he said.
