Located north-east of Echuca-Moama, the Barmah-Millewa 'Forest' straddles the Victoria-NSW border and covers about 66,600 hectares. Barmah-Millewa forest resembles a triangle in shape with its base running roughly north-south. The 'Forest' includes several lakes, wetlands, Moira Grass plains and sand hills. In places, on higher ground, Black Box is the dominant tree. But Red Gum is the dominant tree around wetlands and along the rivers. Callitris Pine is the dominant tree on sandhills. aeolian sandhills or lunettes mark the edge of a once larger Moira Lake. The forest is called Barmah Forest in Victoria (28,500ha; light grey on map below ~ parts of which form a State Park) and Millewa State Forest, Gulpa Island State Forest or Moira State Forest in NSW (38,100ha; darker grey on map below).

The Living Murray initiative lists this forest as one of six icon sites in the Murray-Darling Basin to be protected for their ecological significance. One icon site (Os significant environmental asset) is Barmah-Millewa Forest.

The other Living Murray icon sites are
* Gunbower-Koondrook-Perricoota Forest
* Hattah Lakes
* Chowilla Floodplain, Lindsay and Wallpolla Island
* The Coorong, lower lakes and river mouth, and
* the river channel itself.

Barmah-Millewa is a wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention and consideration is being given to nominating it as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because of its importance to the endangered Superb Parrot. It is an important breeding ground for a number of birds, including Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Nankeen Night Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Intermediate Egret, Great Egret and Australian White Ibis.

The Barmah-Millewa Forest provides habitat for numerous threatened plant and animal species, including birds, fish and reptiles, and supports colonies of breeding waterbirds during appropriate seasonal conditions.

The Living Murray initiative aims to enhance forest fish and wildlife values, ensure successful breeding of thousands of colonial waterbirds in at least three years in ten, promote healthy vegetation in at least 55% of the area of the forest (including virtually all of the Giant Rush, Moira Grass, River Red Gum forest, and some River Red Gum woodland).

Because of irrigation, natural river flow patterns differ from those which existed pre-European settlement. The river now flows at near bankful through The Narrows (see below) throughout summer, whilst winter-spring floods are usually neither as deep nor as prolonged.

In attempt to restore a natural flooding and drying regime to the forest, a number of environmental works and measures have been completed or are planned. There are in excess of 50 water management structures, including regulators, pipes, culverts and earthen banks. To enable native fish to move up and down river, fish ladders have been, or are being, installed at obstacles such as weirs. Some of the fish ladders have traps aimed at reducing the number of the introduced European Carp, a fish which increases river turbidity and competes with native fish.

Choke'. It is important that 'The Choke' (The Narrows), a landform of considerable significance, itself not be interfered with. The very existence of the Barmah-Millewa wetlands depend upon channel capacity being exceeded during late winter and spring. The wetlands should then be allowed to dry out over late summer and autumn. A by-pass channel could be good news for the forest if it is only used in summer and autumn. On the other hand, if a by-pass is used all year, including late winter and spring and early summer, causing a reduction in the depth and duration of flooding, it could spell doom for the wetlands. The Victorian Government has established a group to assess the proposal and the leader believes that the project will not go ahead if the environment will be worse off as a result. Some NSW irrigators between Tocumwal and Barmah are particularly concerned.

Hundreds of years ago the Murray flowed north of Echuca, along the course of what is today called Green Gully. It was the Goulburn River that flowed through what is now Echuca. Tectonic activity caused the land to the west of the present Barmah-Millewa Forest to be uplifted by between 8 and 12 metres along a north-south fault line, sloping back down to the west (the Cadell Tilt Block). The Cadell Fault Line runs between Deniliquin and Moama. The same fault may continue south from Echuca to, say, Runnymeade (Lake Cooper and Green Lake lay immediately east of this fault). The westward course of the Murray was blocked and a huge lake formed as a result. Earth movements along this fault are still occurring. The uplift was thought to have occurred about 16,000 years ago, give or take a few thousand years.

Over the years, the Murray tried to escape from this lake. Gulpa Creek is an early attempt. Eventually the waters flowed around the northern edge of the tilt block as The Edward (alongside which Deniliquin is now built) and south as The Narrows. The Edward rejoined the old course of the Murray near Barham. The Goulburn may have also blocked for a time. Eventually, the Murray also found an escape to the south (The Narrows) and flowed into the Goulburn. The Narrows is a perched river with natural silt jetties separating it from the remnants of a once larger large, Moira Lake and Barmah Lake. Most rivers flow in a valley but The narrows is actually higher than the land either side, its natural levees preventing the river from spreading out over a vast area. In flood times , The narrows (Barmah Choke) cannot carry as much water as other parts of the river system, so the surrounding flat land is flooded. The fault also created numerous braided channels which distribute flood waters throughout the forest.

Frequent flooding enabled a red gum forest be be created, with Banksia and native Pine dominating aeolian sand ridges which mark the retreating edge of prior lakes. Local rainfall alone cannot support the forest.

The Moira and Barmah Lakes are separate only because of natural levees formed as the Murray passed through the lake, and they are but a remnant of their former size. Hut Lake, the Reed Beds, the Gluepot, Duffys Lagoon and Duck Lagoon are just some of the other fragments of a once huge lake.

Today, extensive red gum forests grow along the Murray River between Cobram, Deniliquin and Echuca-Moama. The forest is usually referred to as the Barmah Swamp and most visitors keep to the Victorian side. Barmah Forest, much of which is a State Park, lies between Cobram and Barmah on the Victorian side of the Murray River.

Water regulation (using dams and regulators) and extraction (e.g. for irrigation) have changed river flow patterns, with much higher summer flows. Some wetlands have been permanently inundated, resulting in environmental degradation. Rehabilitation schemes have been under taken (e.g. of the Moira Lake wetlands and Reed Beds) and the Barmah-Millewa Forum was set up to co-ordinate management of the forest. It has now been replaced by site managers ( one from each State) and a number of committees (see below).

An area of around 1,500ha, which includes Moira Lake and the surrounding Moira Grass plains, has been declared a flora reserve and cattle have been excluded. Where appropriate, a fence has been constructed around much of the reserve (the Moira Channel and Murray river serve as unfenced boundaries. Timber extraction in the area has ceased and an extensive restoration programme is well under way. Access via Cobb Highway north of the Shepparton turnoff and immediately north of Moira Channel. A rehabilitation plan for the wetland has been developed by the NSW Murray Wetlands Working Group, NSW State Forests and the Department of Land and Water Conservation. Summer flows can now be excluded from the wetland, simulating natural conditions.

Stage 3 of the Moira Lake Restoration Scheme is about to commence. At considerable cost, the Moira Channel is to be 'relocated' so that it takes off downstream of, and skirts to the south of, Moira Lake. The part of Moira Lake which the channel presently crosses is to be rehabilitated.

Whilst the forest and its wetlands attract lots of tourists and brings lots of money into the region, there's another benefit: the Barmah-Millewa wetlands are habitat for large numbers of ibis which each day travel to surrounding farms, preying on insect pests that feed on crops and pastures. At night, large numbers of bats leave the forest in search of insects, supplementing the work of the ibis. This natural pest control service has been valued at over $650,000 per annum.

A large volume of environmental water was released to the forest over the spring and summer of 2005-06, triggering a major bird and fish breeding event. Three species of Egret (Great, Intermediate and Little) all bred successfully. Other birds also bred successfully, including Nankeen Night Heron, White Ibis and Straw-necked Ibis.