Archives for October 2012

Working strategically to manage Mackay’s pests

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Over 2700 exotic plants and 73 exotic animals have been introduced into Australia, severely impacting agriculture systems, urban areas and the natural environment. To combat the invasion and prevent new pest incursions in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Region, Reef Catchments works closely with the Mackay Regional Pest Management Group (MRPMG).

Together, we implement strategic pest management projects across the region.
Established in 2002, the MRPMG consists of organisations whose core business involves the provision of pest management information and expertise.

To articulate and promote best practices, the Regional Pest Management Strategy Mackay Whitsunday Isaac 2011-2014 was written for the MRPMG by Reef Catchments and published in January 2012. The aim of the strategy is to coordinate pest management across the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Region and to ensure that best practice principles are carried out in a consistent and efficient manner.
The Strategy breaks the region into 4 landuse types: Grazing; Intensive Agriculture; Urban, Transport Corridors; and Disturbed Verges.

Within these landuses, pests—either plant or animal—were selected out of a regional pest list compiled by technical working groups. The selected pests were evaluated by a landuse-prioritisation tool to determine their level of impact on the landuse. For example, the top pests for the Grazing landuse were Giant Rats Tail Grass, Mimosa pigra, Lantana, Parkinsonia and Sicklepods.

Based on the Strategy and the organisational aim, the MRPMG will be exchanging a series of letters with current and future organisations to:

  • Confirm continual participation of a representative in pest management meetings and relevant activities.
  • Identify the key pest management actions undertaken that align with the Strategy.
  • Confirm stakeholder pest management actions and commitments each year.
  • Seek stakeholder reports on the progress of the actions each year.
  • MRPMG will compile an annual report that showcases combined efforts towards strategic pest management.

Through these communications, MRPMG co-ordinates the flow of information between organisations involved in pest management, enables organisational representatives to discuss pest management issues, identifies and promotes the achievements of organisations through an annual MRPMG reporting process, and provides evidence of a strategic pest management approach to support future funding applications.

 

Weed of the month: Parthenium

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Each month the Mackay Regional Pest Management Group will help you to identify weeds that degrade pasture, poison animals or outcompete native species. October’s weed is Parthenium.

Features of Parthenium Weed (Parthenium hysterophorus)  

  • An erect, much-branched, vigorous growing annual herb
  • Height: up to 2 metres
  • Stems: woody with age.
  • Leaves: Pale green, deeply lobed and covered with fine soft hairs
  • Flowers: tiny, creamy white and in numerous distinctly 5-cornered heads about 4mm across adorn the tips of the many stems in other words the large open branched terminal sprays
  • Seeds: black, wedge shaped and approximately 2mm long, attached are 2 white spoon like appendages

Flowering period

Parthenium Weed generally flowers in spring and early summer.  It produces flowers and seeds through its life and then dies in late autumn. During summer, Parthenium can flower within four weeks and if the conditions are right, it can flower and seed all year long. Seed can be spread by wind, water, contaminated soil and stock feed and harvested material, vehicles, machinery, stock and other animals.

The damage of the weed

Parthenium will invade:

  • degraded and over gazed land
  • land that has weak pastures or sparse ground cover along with heavily stoked areas around water points and yard
  • disturbed areas
  • roadsides

Parthenium not only reduces pasture quality, it also can cause dermatitis and hay fever in humans.

How to manage Parthenium

If your property is free of Parthenium:

  1. Ensure that all machinery has been adequately washed down
  2. Do not allow people to drive their vehicles over your property
  3. Prior to moving new stock into your pastures place them in withholding yards to ensure any weed seed drops off them
  4. Pay particular attention to these areas for weed emergent (weed seedlings) and check pastures and paddocks regularly

If your property is infested with Parthenium:

  1. Ensure that it will not spread to road corridors, neighbouring properties.
  2. An active weed management plan will be need and it is best to get in touch with your local landcare or local council for assistants with desgining one.
  3. Control options include; Herbicide control, Biological control and a limited amount of burning providing pasture cover is established very soon after fire.

Parthenium_hysterophorus_flower

Image: Parthenium hysterophorus flower by Nesnad

Collecting field data on local rivers

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Reef Catchments has been working with Australian Rivers Institute Geomorphologists collecting field data from areas of streambank failure along the O’Connell and Andromache Rivers as part of the Reducing Sediment Pollution in Queensland Project, which is being undertaken across three Queensland Catchments.

The aim of this research is to develop an integrated channel and catchment erosion model, tailored to Queensland conditions, which can be used to efficiently target rehabilitation actions throughout the state.

Researchers, with the assistance of Reef Catchments staff and volunteers from our regional Landcare Groups and CQUniversity, conducted Rapid Geomorphic Assessments (RGAs), Jet Testing, and Borehole Shear Tests, collecting data that will be input into the erosion model.

What’s an RGA?

A Rapid Geomorphic Assessment involves:

  • Determining the relative stability index of the bank by completing a channel-stability ranking scheme assessment.
  • Recording the species of vegetation present (including location, height, structural form, percentage cover and root information).
  • Collecting streambank/terrace information such as bank heights, slope length and angle, the type of material present, moisture content, the compressive strength of the soil, shear strength of the bank, root density, and maximum depth of exposed roots.

These assessments are a quick geotechnical investigation which gives an idea of soil strength and the point at which shear resistance will be exceeded and streambank failure will occur.

Thanks to O’Connell River and Andromache River land managers

Reef Catchments and the Australian Rivers Institute researchers would like to extend a big ‘thank you’ to the wonderful land managers who have made the project possible by providing access to the rivers through their land, which has been very much appreciated.

The next steps

The research team have moved north to the Normanby Catchment but will be returning around the end of November to complete the project in our region.

Rehabilitating the O’Connell River with engineered log jams

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The O’Connell River drains one of the largest catchments in the Mackay Whitsunday region flowing from high in the Clarke Connors range to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. It has an expansive catchment area of more than 83,000 hectares.

As one of 10 priority catchments under the federal government Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, the O’Connell River is an important area for the Mackay Whitsunday community. In an effort to promote river health, Reef Catchments has been coordinating the development of the O’Connell River Streambank Stabilisation Demonstration Reach that includes the construction of three engineered log jams (ELJs) designed to reduce bank instability and erosion.

Reef Catchments has been working in close partnership with the Australian Rivers Institute of Griffith University, Pioneer River Improvement Trust and a team of O’Connell River land managers on the project. The demonstration reach is located on a 300 hectare grazing property in one of the upper reaches of the river.

Construction of the ELJ structures has just been completed on the wide section of the river where the high unstable outside bank was taking the full sheer force of the river flow, causing soil erosion and sediment run-off. Over time, the structures should change the behaviour of the river, helping to re-align the channel, while also creating pools and in-stream habitat.

Constructing the ELJs has not been light work. The three structures required around 90 logs each up to 8 metres in length, most with intact root balls. The root balls are critical in stabilising and anchoring the structures into the river bed and bank.

The O’Connell River Streambank Stabilisation Demonstration Reach is funded through Australian Government Caring for our Country and Queensland Government with assistance from the Rio Tinto Hail Creek Mine Community Development Fund.

Collaborating to protect the rare Proserpine rock-wallaby

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The sailing catamaran ‘Wild Cat’ left Mackay Marina before dawn. Crewed by Wild Mob and Reef Catchments staff, the catamaran was on a passage through rough seas and overcast conditions to Gloucester Island. After picking up a team of volunteers from Griffith University at Airlie Beach, the ‘Wild Cat’ reached Gloucester Island late afternoon in time for us to establish our base camp for the next 9 days.

That evening a team briefing was conducted by staff of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Our task: a comprehensive survey of the endangered Proserpine rock-wallaby with the goal of improving our understanding of the biology and ecology of the rare unique species.

In much improved weather, calm seas, and blue skies, morning routines were quickly established with captured wallabies being safely and carefully examined. Wallaby health was ascertained under expert veterinarian supervision before they were released back into their natural habitat. In the afternoons, volunteers and staff made major efforts in removing weeds toxic to the wallabies, such as pink periwinkle, and habitat altering weeds, such as rubber vine.

60 Proserpine rock-wallabies were examined. The data collected will provide invaluable information that will guide conservation of the species. Weeds within four areas of habitat, critical for wallaby survival, were removed as part of ongoing management strategies by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and hundreds of kilograms of marine debris removed from the island.

As our only way to access remote wallaby habitat areas was by small boats, opportunity arose to remove marine debris from turtle-nesting beaches and in areas where seabirds might suffer entanglement from rope, nets and other plastics. Libby and Dave Edge of EcoBarge Clean Seas transported the marine rubbish to the mainland after first collecting data describing the type and amounts of debris as part of a nationwide research project designed to find ways of reducing this threat to the marine environment.

Working together, Reef Catchments, Wild Mob, Queensland Parks and Wildlife, and Eco Barge Clean Seas helped to protect and preserve the wallabies.

During the survey, it seemed that the natural environment rewarded the team for its efforts. Humpback whales made regular morning transits around our workboats and flotillas of manta rays provided a spectacular backdrop in the afternoons.

The collaboration continued when Reef Catchments and the Office of National Parks Minister Steve Dickson issued a joint media release about the survey of the Proserpine rock-wallabies on Gloucester Island. Featured in newspapers Courier Mail, Daily Mercury, Whitsunday Coast Guardian and Whitsunday Times as well as radio station ABC Tropical North, the survey was well-received by local and state-wide press in September.

Watch The Cane Tube Round two winning films!

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First prize – Cane-mation

A big congratulations to Lachlan Hughes and his team, who created the awesome multi-plane, stop-motion animated short film Cane-mation. Lachlan and his team have won $8,500 for their efforts on the creative clip, which took them longer than five weeks to create. The film is comprised of 3000 digital photographs played back at 25 frames per second. All the elements were hand crafted from felt, paper, cardboard, balsa wood and an array of other materials including refined cane sugar and coffee beans. It also features an original composition on the electric guitar.

Written by: Lachlan Erle Hughes, Kerryanne Hughes
Animated by: Emily Howard, Lachlan Hughes
Narration by: Kerryanne Hughes
Original Composition by: Joshua Howard
Sound Design by: Daniel Van Werkhoven

Second prize – Sweet Aussie Cane grower Rap

Congratulations to James-Anthony Callea who composed a quirky rap about Australia’s sugarcane industry. James’ imaginative and creative clip was given points for the judges for also including many of the innovative changes sugarcane growers have made on farm, resulting in environmental wins. In addition to winning second prize, James has also won the most viewed prize, for gaining more than 4000 views! Congrats James!