Ord Land and Water was one of the winners of the Western Australia Weeds Committee Invasive Plants Award at the recent State Landcare Awards night in Bridgetown. The award recognises the group’s achievements in the control of neem trees around Kununurra and its ongoing weed project on Lake Kununurra. The group was also a finalist two more categories, Landcare Professional Award and the Community Group Award. Coordinator Dick Pasfield traveled to Bridgetown to accept the Award and a cheque for $1,000 on behalf of the group. In his acceptance he acknowledged the work done by his Project Officer Blu who has been the backbone of the neem project since it started in 2006. The award was shared with the Esperance Weed Action Group’s Coral Turley demonstrating weed control is a priority right across the state and country groups are leading the way in participation. As well as controlling weeds Ord Land and Water’s current projects include erosion control, fire management and litter reduction.
East Kimberley Fire Forum - March 2008
The East Kimberley Fire Forum was held by Ord Land and Water and Landcare Australia in late March, three sessions (indigenous, community and land-mangers) were held over two days. All sessions had good participation and some good issues and actions came out of them. One of the main points of interest was the response of the State Minister for Police and Emergency Services to the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) Review into Fire Management in the Kimberley and other Rangeland Regions. Although the minister did not attend the forum a letter was received from the minister, in which he recommended that the Minister for Environment be contacted. The minister for Environment has to date not responded to questions relating to how the State Government intends on addressing the recommendations in the review.
The EPA Review into Fire Management in the Kimberley and other Rangeland Regions was initiated in response to ongoing concern over the intensity and scale of late dry season fires that have been causing large amounts of the Kimberley to be burnt every year. From this report came key recommendations which are currently sitting with the Minister for Environment.
The general feedback from the East Kimberley Fire Forums’ three sessions supported these recommendations.
Common messages from the three fire forum sessions were:
- Fire regimes have changed and are having negative impacts;
- Cool early burning does limit the extent of hot late season fires;
- Inter-property & inter-agency cooperation is improving control of wildfire;
- The opportunity in the future for fire management to provide financial outcomes.
Future aspirations for fire management in the East Kimberley are:
- Cooperative burning programs across tenures;
- Increased engagement of pastoral industry;
- Additional funding to; encourage ‘cells’ of cooperating land owners, implement aerial fire suppression & support local volunteer fire brigades;
- Local Shires supporting and accepting fire management plans;
- Increased support for indigenous ranger groups to do fire management planning, obtain equipment, training & implement fire management;
- Provide pastoralists with a simple guide on how to achieve fire permits for late season fires for woody weed control;
- Reduce volunteer probation time to one or at least by one month;
- Recognition from State bodies and support for fire management to protect values beyond their State responsibilities;
- Be able to communicate as a group to funding bodies;
- Education program for the broader community to promote the idea that irresponsible burning is wrong and to promote an understanding of good & bad fires;
- Produce posters to educate the broader community about the link between fire and wildlife.
Erosion Banks Installed in Ord Catchment - May 2008
As an extension to the erosion workshops OLW has been running across the Ord catchment a couple of demonstration sites were installed during 2007. The first site is situated on red loamy soil typical of pastoral land south and west of Lake Argyle, whilst the second site is situated on sandier soils just a few kilometres north of Kununurra.
The pastoral site consists of a number of banks placed across an actively eroding gully system. The banks serve as a silt trap and reduce erosion by slowing the flow of water off the hills. Of the eleven banks installed nine held up over the wet season successfully retaining silt within them whilst the gullies started to fill with trash. Follow up work will begin in July 2008 to repair the broken banks and install more if required. The second site had a number of check banks installed across a badly eroded firebreak that was responsible for diverting the course of several small creeks that ran through several private properties. All these banks held over the wet season and some of the erosion scars are starting to infill.
Weed Control on Lake Kununurra - July 2008
With just over 9,000 ha of neems destroyed work has started on evaluating the success rate of the initial work and how much re-infestation could be expected.
Three sites have been gone over between once and twice more they are –
- Weaber Plain Monitoring Site: 29hectatres.
- Lake Kununurra monitoring site: 140 hectares.
- Cave Springs monitoring site: 160 hectares.
The Weaber Plain site showed a 38% reduction in plants after two periods of control but the there was an unexpected reinfestation of seedlings from a tree unsighted in an adjoining property.
The Lake Kununurra site showed a 34% reduction in plants after one control period. Work is currently underway on the second control period. There are expectations that this percentage of control will increase significantly
The Cave Springs site showed a 95% reduction in plants after two periods of control.
Both the Weaber Plain and Lake Kununurra sites were classed as very heavy to medium density infestations (over 1,000 trees/ha) while the Cave Springs site was classed as a medium to light infestation.
See project report
Neem second time through - July 2008
With just over 9,000 ha of neems destroyed work has started on evaluating the success rate of the initial work and how much re-infestation could be expected.
Three sites have been gone over between once and twice more they are –
- Weaber Plain Monitoring Site: 29hectatres.
- Lake Kununurra monitoring site: 140 hectares.
- Cave Springs monitoring site: 160 hectares.
The Weaber Plain site showed a 38% reduction in plants after two periods of control but the there was an unexpected reinfestation of seedlings from a tree unsighted in an adjoining property.
The Lake Kununurra site showed a 34% reduction in plants after one control period. Work is currently underway on the second control period. There are expectations that this percentage of control will increase significantly
The Cave Springs site showed a 95% reduction in plants after two periods of control.
Both the Weaber Plain and Lake Kununurra sites were classed as very heavy to medium density infestations (over 1,000 trees/ha) while the Cave Springs site was classed as a medium to light infestation.
See project report