The Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve is a summer feeding ground for Latham's Snipe which is a relatively rare waterbird protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and listed under the international migratory bird agreements with China (CAMBA), Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROKAMBA).

The area has cultural and historical significance as a meeting place between the Ngunnawal people who together with the Ngambri, are the traditional custodians of the Canberra region.

Neighbours include the Ngarigo from the tablelands to the south, the Wolgalu from the high country to the south-west, the Wiradjuri from the inland north-west, the Gundungurra from the north, and the Yuin from the coast.

Other local species (prior to abrupt changes following European settlement and subsequent land clearing) included kangaroo, wombat, echidna, birds, fish, snakes and lizards.

Non-animal food, fibres and medicine were drawn from the area’s diverse forest, woodland, grassland and aquatic flora.

Jerrabomberra Creek, also called Girimbombery or Giridombera, is recognised by the Ngunnawal people as a spiritual pathway that guided visitors from the south to the central corroboree grounds in an area now lying partly underneath Lake Burley Griffin.

These skills were put to local use in 1925 when, during a record flood, cadets built a pontoon bridge to restore access to southern Canberra.

This was a temporary version of a much larger embankment (the Causeway) in the plan by Walter Burley Griffin, which would have carried both railway and roadways, and retained an enormous East Lake, which would have covered the floodplain.

The floods of 1922 and 1925 made these smallholdings unviable, and they were replaced by commercial dairy leases in 1926, as part of efforts to boost local food production for the rapidly growing capital city.

Starting from around the mid-1970s, environmental advocates called for the floodplain wetlands to become a nature reserve, because of the area's diverse wildlife and its potential use for education, ecological research, and public engagement in relation to conservation and the environment.

Principles for managing the Wetlands area were influenced not only by its value for education and research but also by the nearness of urban residential and light industrial zones and the Canberra Airport.

In 1974 the possibility that the wetlands would attract more large spiralling birds, such as pelicans, spoonbills, herons and ibis, was first identified as a potential hazard for aircraft.

As part of its work the Trust aims to understand, rebuild and showcase the biodiversity and cultural values of these two sites, and to facilitate environmental research.

Volunteer activities at Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve mostly involve Friends of Jerrabomberra Wetlands (a group set up to care for the nature reserve), and include weeding and planting and assisting in specialist-led operations such as monitoring water quality, monitoring birds, and undertaking surveys of other fauna (such as frogs and platypus).

All palaearctic waders including the Latham’s Snipe are known to spend the middle months of each calendar year (the austral winter) summering in the highly productive feeding grounds in northern Asia, thousands of kilometres away from Jerrabomberra Wetlands.

Individual Snipe at the Wetlands have been fitted with leg bands, and they are the focus of an international project to understand the ecology of the species and their critical habitat requirements.

The Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus) and the Painted Snipe (Rostratula australis) are other endangered bird species seen at the Wetlands.

Platypus (Ornithorhyncus anatinus) are among other notable native fauna using the Wetlands, Molonglo River and Jerrabomberra Creek, as are Eastern Long-necked Turtles (Chelodina longicollis), the Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster), frogs and fish.

Although it is considered a common species, there is evidence that populations are declining, especially in the Murray River system, of which Jerrabomberra Wetlands is part.

The habitats here, which include both ephemeral ponds and permanent wetlands, provide the ideal environment for breeding, foraging and sheltering for these species.

Threats to frogs include: introduced pest species (such as cats and foxes), pathogens, and water quality issues.

Common Carp disturb sediment and uproot aquatic plants, and this results in turbid water and an altered wetland ecosystem.

The grasslands (66% of the area) are dominated by agricultural grasses and weeds mostly introduced (overseas species), with a scattering of native plants that have self-established.

[23] Pest plants also occur at the Wetlands, and they are subject to continual removal by the Friends group and by ACT Parks and Conservation Service staff.

A revegetation program aims to replace these plants with riparian and native tree species (e.g. casuarinas), which should improve fauna habitats.

Kelly’s Swamp and Jerrabomberra Billabongs are deep ‘window’ wetlands intersecting the loamy sand and gravel groundwater aquifer.

[24][3] Four water sources have been identified across the reserve: (i) direct rainfall, (ii) surface run-off and/or stormwater from the adjacent industrial area, sewage treatment ponds and turf farm, and future residential developments nearby, (iii) flooding of the Molonglo River and Jerrabomberra Creek across their floodplains, and (iv) groundwater.

Data from water-level monitoring of groundwater bores show that there are no connections between the aquifer and Lake Burley Griffin or the Causeway Channel to the west, nor with the Molonglo River to the north.