Tasmania’s wedge-tailed eagles are an important part of our natural environment, and Tasmanian Irrigation takes seriously its responsibility to protect environmental values. As part of this commitment, Tasmanian Irrigation is undertaking wedge-tailed eagle monitoring on its current construction projects in the Northern Midlands and Sassafras Wesley Vale areas.

The monitoring involves aerial assessments by helicopter of known wedge-tailed eagle nests to determine whether the nests are active during the current breeding season.

Knowing whether a nest is active is an important part of planning construction activities near eagle habitat. The information gathered will help Tasmanian Irrigation plan the timing of project activities and put appropriate measures in place to minimise potential disturbance to eagles.

The assessments will be undertaken by specialist ecologists and are associated with the Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme and the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation.

The aerial assessments are planned for the week commencing Monday, 26 October 2026, across parts of the Northern Midlands and Sassafras Wesley Vale areas.

Landholders and community members may notice helicopter activity while the assessments are underway. Tasmanian Irrigation recognises that helicopter activity can sometimes disturb livestock and is providing advance notice to landholders and communities in the areas where the assessments will occur.

The timing of the assessment flights is weather dependent and may change at short notice.

Environmental monitoring forms an important part of Tasmanian Irrigation’s approach to planning and delivering irrigation infrastructure while protecting the natural values of the areas in which it operates.