Old salt plains providing a habitat at Moree

After decades as the end of a bore drain, a 15-acre area on 'Gunyanna', near Moree, had been reduced to a virtual desert, but after a little initiative and plenty of hard work, groundcover is now providing a home to bird and insect life.

"The old bore used to serve several properties and one of the drains ended on our property," said Bill Newcomen Jr, of WB ML WB Newcomen Partnership.

"So for the past 60 or 70 years, during winters, this area was under water for about five months of the year. The runoff was very salty, and it was basically a flat dry plain with a high salinity problem, where nothing grew. It was extremely susceptible to further soil erosion by wind."

Funding

In 2003 the Australian Government gave the Partnership more than $3,500 to help bring the salt plain on the 6,000-acre property back to life.

Activities

The Newcomens made sure they put that funding to good use. "The first thing we did was fence the whole area off to protect it from the 1,800 sheep we run on the property," Bill said.

"Then we ploughed up the affected country to break up the hard crust that had settled over the years and to give seed a reasonable opportunity to germinate."

The Newcomens then scattered Saltbush and native grass seeds and planted some trees. When they can, Bill and his father still collect saltbush seeds to scatter on the site.

Achievements

"The saltbush has done quite well despite the current drought, and is providing that basic colonisation of plants you need before any more progress can be made," Bill said.

"In the long-term, we'll add other species, but first we needed that groundcover established.

"Galvanised Burr (or Roly Poly) has colonised the area, and although it's not a desirable plant, we see it as a pioneering species. The Roly Poly prevents erosion and provides shelter to the native animals, and in time the native grasses should establish themselves."

Already insects and birds have taken advantage of the habitat, with Zebra Finches and quail nesting within the site, while kangaroos and wallabies often graze the former salt plain.

"In the long-term, if we can get 500 to 1,000 saltbush plants established - as well as a good selection of native grasses - it'll protect the area against drought and supplement our production while providing a habitat to native species."

More information

• Karen Schubert, Catchment Management Authority Community Support Officer: (02) 6757 2554 or karen.schubert@cma.nsw.gov.au

Australian Government NRM Team
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
1800 552 008 (toll-free)

DEWHA  | DAFF  | australia.gov.au  | NAP  | NHT 
Caring for our Country is an Australian Government initiative jointly administered by the Australian Government departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts