Archives for February 2018

Value of trees on your property

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Cattle hiding among trees in the bush.

Reef Catchments has been involved with trial sites in plantation forestry throughout our region, as part of the five year Queensland Government Natural Resource Management Investment Program funding for sustainable forestry.

Plantation forestry has risks and we have seen less than ideal results due to the nature of growing in a cyclone prone region.

Our Forestry Working group met to discuss the outcomes of the program to date and discuss ongoing opportunities.

The consensus was that native forests tend to withstand these conditions better than plantations in our trials and suggested we focus more attention on native forestry. Harvesting native timbers can be an additional income stream for landholders currently operating grazing, horticulture or sugarcane operations. However, landholders should be aware, there are a number of legislative requirements. With the right advice and planning, you can make use of native vegetation as an asset to your property. Native timber provide ecosystem services and a potential dual income from well managed selective native forestry.  There are three operational mills in our region and local silviculture experts to assist you in deciding when and which trees to maintain and harvest.

Ecosystem services 

  • rainfall inception – change droplet size and velocity hitting the soil surface in our seasonal heavy rainfall area
  • cycle nutrient – utilise deep roots to bring nutrients up and deposit them on the surface when their leaves fall, where grasses can access them
  • biological activity – areas under trees usually have higher levels of biological activity than open pasture

Best practice and legislation 

For more information on the legislation and best practice, you can access a number of resources online including “Managing Native Forest Practice: A self-assessable vegetation clearing code” and the relevant legislation for forestry operations including:

  • Planning Act 2016 (Qld)
  • Vegetation Management Act (1999)
  • Nature Conservation Act (1992)
  • Work Health and Safety Act (2011)
  • Environmental Protection Act (1994)
  • Biosecurity Act (QLD) 2014

Reef Catchments and landholders ready to repair widespread cyclone damage

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Man in yellow shirt looking across as paddocks with storm clouds over head.

Oaky Creek erosion project is the first in a line of land remediation works. 

The works are a result of Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast bringing with it destructive winds up to 260km/hr and record rainfall along the Central coast.

There was widespread damage throughout the region to infrastructure, water courses and crops. Across Queensland, the estimated damage to cane and other crops was $270 million.

Locally, significant rainfall in the region resulted in substantial erosion along the creeks and rivers, the loss of many hectares of productive land, and tens of thousands of tonnes of sediment washing out to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Seeing the need to support landholders, CANEGROWERS Mackay partnered with Reef Catchments and the Whitsunday Rivers Improvement Trust to fund an assessment of the impact caused by the cyclone to the regions waterways.

The assessment (undertaken by Alluvium Consulting) included a week of in-field surveys and site inspections. It identified a number of significantly impacted sites and creek lines throughout the Mackay Whitsunday region. This helped Reef Catchments secure funding under Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) Category D, jointly funded by both State and Federal Governments. The application was successful for both Stage 1 ‘urgent’ and Stage 2 activities.

Reef Catchments is working with landholders to undertake a number of much needed remediation projects.

One creek significantly impacted was Oaky Creek, a tributary of Sandy Creek 20 kilometres south-west of Mackay. The creek experienced extremely high rates of channel migration, which threaten assets including farmland, roads, the irrigation scheme and electricity poles. Significant volumes of cobbles were deposited within the channel and through the floodplains. Left unaddressed there is the potential of a meander cut off, which will cut straight through a cane paddock.

To remediate the creek, Reef Catchments has again engaged Alluvium Consulting to develop a creek stability assessment and implementation plan. The stability assessment is broken into three stages:

1) Project Inception – learn the history of Oaky Creek / identify major issues of the stakeholders / identify management objectives
2) System Understanding – assess changes to channel / assess bed and bank stability and flood characteristics / predict future changes to the creek
3) Waterway restoration plan – Develop a range of management options / discuss options with stakeholders / develop a program of works

Early February (Tuesday 6th ) saw the first of three community consultation meetings organised by Reef Catchments to assist in developing the stability assessment. Stakeholders attending the meeting included: landholders from the creek, CANEGROWERS Mackay, Mackay Regional Council, Ergon, Sunwater, and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The assessment is expected to be completed by the middle of April and will outline a plan to remediate and stabilise the creek, including prioritisation of sites.

Alluvium Consulting will be using the latest technologies and skills to develop the plan including the creating a Digital Elevation Model of Difference and 2-dimensional Hydraulic modelling. However, involved landholders are key to understanding the systems and how events impact on the creek.

Works to be undertaken are expected to be completed by the end of 2018 and will include a range of stabilisation options such as rock toes and revegetation.

Traditional Owners develop the MWI TORG Strategic Plan 2017 – 2027

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The region’s Traditional Owner Reference Group (TORG) consists of members of the Juru, Gia, Ngaro, Yuwibara, Koinmerburra, Barada and Wiri people.

Traditional Owners in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac (MWI) region have taken an active regional role with the development of their new Strategic Plan 2017-2027.

The strategic plan will be used by the MWI Traditional Owner Reference Group (TORG) to seek support from its partners to deliver cultural heritage environmental management programs, as well as community communication and education programs.

The group is an established not-for-profit entity, and aspires to make our region a leader in proactive cultural heritage and environmental management.

The MWI TORG are representatives of the seven tribal groups of Country bound by the MWI Natural Resource Management boundary. Collectively they consist of members of the Juru, Gia, Ngaro, Yuwibara, Koinmerburra, Barada and Wiri people.

They are committed to managing, maintaining and protecting their peoples’ tribal lands and sea.

Together, they discuss, develop and deliver opportunities to build capacity within the group and share cultural heritage and environmental values.

The MWI TORG Strategic Plan 2017 – 2027 presents a high-level document for the direction, aims and goals of the MWI TORG as they develop from an advisory body to a more active agency in the region.