ENDANGERED: Turtle expert Craig Latta, Opposition leader John-Paul Langbroek and conservationist Bob Irwin met at the site of the proposed dam yesterday. Mr Irwin said he cannot rest without fighting for the river to run free.

Renee Pilcher/ Gympie Times

LIKE the critically endangered Mary River turtle he’s trying to save, conservationist and genuine bloke Bob Irwin doesn’t particularly like to go on show.

But yesterday he made an exception in a “final hour” plea to Environment Minister Peter Garrett to halt the proposed “ill-conceived” Traveston Crossing dam.

The controversial $1.8 billion project was approved last month by the State’s Co-ordinator-General, subject to 1200 conditions.

The future of one of the last free flowing rivers on the east coast of Australia is now in the hands of federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who can ask for an extension past the November 18 decision deadline in deciding whether to grant the dam approval or block its construction.

Irwin, founder of the Beerwah Reptile Park (now Australia Zoo) met with Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek and Member for Gympie David Gibson to discuss the impact the dam would have on the Mary Valley, the natural environment, the people and the irreplaceable fauna that live there.

Mr Irwin quietly inspected the stretch of the Mary River that flows free beneath the Traveston Crossing Bridge.

“Beautiful,” he said, summing up the idyllic spot.

Turtle expert Craig Latta pointed out the “riffle water”– bubbling water essential to the breeding cycle of both the Mary River turtle and the “vulnerable” Queensland lungfish, and the deeper water hole the riffle water flows into – were all part of the delicate environmental balance these unique creatures need.

“I didn’t think in my lifetime I’d be around to see animals become extinct,” Mr Irwin said.

“I cannot rest without fighting for this beautiful Mary River.”

Mr Langbroek urged people to get off the Bruce Highway and venture west to see what would be lost should the dam go ahead.

“At 1.3 times the size of Sydney Harbour, the proposed dam would block one of the last free flowing rivers on the east coast of Australia,” Mr Langbroek said.

“The area has very significant ecological and environmental values.” Put simply, once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Included among the rich biodiversity found in the footprint of the dam are at least five endangered species. Mr Irwin said the Burnett River had already been ruined by constructing Paradise Dam.

“What they have done to the Burnett River is turn it into a drain.”

David Gibson said Labor had “toyed with the people of the Mary Valley and toyed with the environment”.