WYNDHAM council will have to fork out $50,000 to restore critically endangered vegetation at Little River after vandals tore up a grassland reserve.
Parts of the Little River Road reserve, home to the spiny rice flower and other threatened grass species, have been destroyed by tyre tracks and may take years to repair.
The vandalism follows a similar incident at Mount Cottrell a week earlier, when motorbike riders left a trail of destruction through Cobbledicks Ford reserve.
Council is appealing to residents for information to help authorities hunt the vandals behind the damage.
Iramoo ward councillor Peter Gibbons said the vandalism was a massive blow to Victoria’s native remnant grasslands, most of which are within Wyndham.
Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, offenders can receive a fine of $46,200 or seven years’ imprisonment, Cr Gibbons said.
