Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Hunter River rehabilitation project
Two hundred years of logging, clearing, pumping, and grazing has permanently altered the flow and landscape of the Hunter River, but a 10 kilometre stretch near Muswellbrook is undergoing a complete metamorphosis.
The Upper Hunter River Rehabilitation Initiative, which started in 2002, is a five-year project that has not only seen the once weed-riddled riverbank regain its health, but also provided an opportunity for research.
Funding
The Australian Government provided $179,000 towards the rehabilitation of the site, joining the Australian Research Council, the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority, the New South Wales Departments of Natural Resources and Lands and Primary Industries, Newcastle Ports Corporation, Mt Arthur Coal, Bengalla Mining Company and Macquarie Generation.
Activities
The Hunter River once contained a large number of logs which were removed to speed up flows, creating erosion and habitat loss. So part of the project has involved reinstating logs, sourced from coal mining operations and development sites in the Hunter Valley.
"We've also planted tens of thousands of trees and shrubs along the stretch from locally-sourced seeds to rehabilitate a weed-dominated area," Project Manager Dan Keating said.
"We contracted two nurseries to collect seeds and grow the plants, which four Greencorps teams, Department of Lands works crews and private contractors then planted."
While the drought had an impact on the young trees and shrubs, the positive results of the replanting effort are already evident.
"If we'd had an average year we would have been fine, but the below average rainfall had an impact and we did lose a number of trees due to the drought," Dan said.
"But we've seen significant physical changes, with a lot of the remaining trees now four to five metres high.
"At the outset the site was about 98 percent weeds and many of the native species we planted weren't found anywhere along the 10-kilometre stretch. There was virtually nothing there; everything there now is basically our work. It had a real impact."
The drought did provide a valuable experience, with the team modifying the replanting approach in subsequent plantings.
"We're taking a much more considered approach in managing the drought as a priority and we've had greater success with the most recent plantings," Dan said.
The research aspect of the project, undertaken by Macquarie University, the University of New England, Griffith University and the NSW Department of Fisheries is investigating how the rehabilitation efforts influence sediment flow, the distribution and abundance of fish, weed ecology, carbon and nutrient cycling, and the hyporheic zone (underwater).
More information
- Dan Keating, Project Manager: (02) 6542 4433 or dkeating@dnr.nsw.gov.au
- Upper Hunter River Rehabilitation Initiative website: www.hcr.cma.nsw.gov.au/uhrri/
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