Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Halting erosion at Yarraman Creek
Severe drought across NSW has left the soil bare and vulnerable to erosion, with Yarraman Creek being one of its victims - but one farmer near Yarraman is hoping to change this.
Yarraman Creek is a valuable tributary of the Namoi River, which feeds from the Great Dividing Range onto the vast Southern Liverpool Plains. It provides habitat and a protected corridor for the movement of many native plants and animals in the productive agricultural landscape.
"Yarraman Creek runs through the middle of the property with big paddocks on either side, but the creek and gullies were suffering from severe erosion," landholder David McCathie said.
"A couple of major floods in the mid-1990s and in 2000 made things much worse, and we could see the erosion was becoming a major issue. So we wanted to help reverse that and prevent any further damage."
Funding
In 2003 the Australian Government provided David McCathie, through Yarraman Landcare Group, with more than $21,000 to protect Yarraman Creek with fencing. The funding also went into the installation of an alternative water supply for the 700 head of cattle David runs on his 1,000-hectare property.
Activities
David said his first priority was to prevent cattle as much as possible from accessing the creek.
"We put in a well and a main tank at the top of the hill and we reticulated the water to the paddocks, with a watering point in every paddock so cattle no longer needed to access the creek," he said.
Contractors dug the dams while David, with the occasional help of a neighbour, worked on the fencing whenever he could find a little spare time.
"Over about 12 months we put in about two kilometres of fencing, trying to pick the areas worst affected by erosion," he said.
Achievements
The fencing has been successful in keeping cattle from parts of the creek, while the new watering system ensures a good supply of water for his stock; but David isn't going to stop there.
"In the future, when the weather is not so dry, we'd like to plant native vegetation along the creek banks to help stabilise the soil even further. But at the moment it's too dry for anything to survive," he said.
"We also hope to fence off the whole creek, another three kilometres each side, to protect it from cattle and help native plants regenerate.
"Once this is all completed it'll help a great deal in controlling runoff and erosion."
More information
- David McCathie, Landholder: (02) 6747 4036 or mccath@northnet.com.au
- Anne Ferguson, Namoi Catchment Management Authority Media and Public Relations Officer: (02) 6742 9202 or anne.ferguson@cma.nsw.gov.au
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