Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Murray region managing roadside reserves
They're a far cry from a national park, but those roadside reserves that drivers rush past with barely a glance can be vital for conserving native plants and animals.
"In a highly modified agricultural landscape, roadsides frequently contain the last really important remnants of native vegetation," said Craig Reid, Murray Catchment Management Authority's (CMA) Public Lands Natural Resource Officer.
"Places like roadside reserves, travelling stock reserves, railway reserves and other publicly owned lands are reasonably undisturbed. This makes them very important for habitat and biodiversity, and as a source of native seeds."
Funding
Craig's role is to identify and conserve plants with a high conservation value located on publicly owned land in the Murray CMA region. The Australian and State Governments are supporting this work with funding of more than $1 million over four years.
Activities
"You can find examples of significant or threatened communities like Grassy Box Woodland and Boree Woodland beside roads or in travelling stock routes, beside railways and on other areas of reserved public land," Craig said.
"They've survived here because the areas haven't been extensively modified or cleared. And if you protect the plants you give the birds, possums, gliders, insects and lizards that depend on them a chance.
"Roadsides can provide connections between remaining forested areas and they frequently have large habitat trees, although the understorey where the animals feed is often a weak point and in some places needs to be re-established."
Roadside vegetation also plays a key role in tackling salinity by protecting agricultural, environmental and infrastructure assets.
"Native roadside plants have the ability to balance the landscape and the soil-water system by controlling groundwater recharge and reducing the extent and cost of road maintenance works," Craig said.
Part of Craig's task involves finding the gaps in the vegetation corridors on public land. He works co-operatively with public land managers, including Local Government and Rural Lands Protection Boards to develop management plans for significant vegetation sites.
These plans look at how to maintain and improve the sites including identifying and managing threats from rabbits and weeds as well as from roadworks, overgrazing, ploughing firebreaks and firewood collection.
Craig sees accredited education and training for local government staff working on the roads, including machinery operators, gangers and crew leaders, as helping overcome these threats.
More information
- Craig Reid, Murray CMA Natural Resource Officer: (02) 6051 2212 or craig.reid@cma.nsw.gov.au
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