Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Reversing Mosquito Creek erosion one rock at a time
Rock by rock and fence post by fence post, a three-man team has reversed major erosion damage on Mosquito Creek Headwater at Delungra.
Each afternoon after he finished his day-to-day work on the property, landholder Russell Johnson - with the help of his father and a friend - carted a few loads of rocks to the banks of Mosquito Creek Headwater from another part of the property, two kilometres away.
"We moved more than 1,000 cubic metres of rock, a lot more than we thought we would," Russell said.
"We used the rock to put in five rock drop flumes 200 metres apart. These slow the flow of water as it goes from one level to the next.
"By the time it gets all the way to the bottom of the waterway, it's still travelling at low velocity, reducing erosion to the banks."
Funding
In 2003 the Australian Government gave more than $15,000 to Russell to fence off a headwater gully going through his 3,500-acre property, as well as to reduce erosion and replant native vegetation.
"We had a major erosion issue that created even more problems as it washed sediments into the creek, which eventually flows into the Gwydir River," Russell said.
Activities and Achievements
Russell and his small team erected four kilometres of fencing along the banks of Mosquito Creek Headwater, creating a 200-metre plant corridor between the fences. But getting the plants to grow proved quite a challenge.
"In many places the banks were very steep, which created some issues with getting native plants to come back, so we did some major earthworks to level eroded banks,' Russell said.
"We planted 200 trees and with the weather we've been having, getting them established was very difficult. But they're now about 80 centimetres high and starting to look after themselves.
"We also had a huge weed problem in the eroded areas, and we've eliminated most of that.
"You wouldn't recognise it as the same place. It's now entirely covered in groundcover and the native plants are back."
It only took 12 months for Russell to go a long way towards restoring the biodiversity on his property, but he has no intention of stopping there.
"There are other areas which are not as bad, but still need some work, and I'm hoping to do something similar there," he said.
More information
- Russell Johnson, Landholder: (02) 6724 9100
- Mark Whitten, GWYMAC Community Support Officer: (02) 6721 0219 or gwymac@bigpond.net.au
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