Old Man Saltbush flourishes in far west New South Wales

Members of the Bohda Aboriginal Pastoral Company have planted 300,000 Old Man Saltbush seedlings to restore over 1,070 hectares of salt scalded country.

The seedlings were planted at Willoring Station 30 kilometres from Goodooga in New South Wales to increase groundcover and minimise further erosion from wind and water runoff.

Funding

The project received more than $24,000 from the Australian Government and the Western Catchment Management Authority (CMA) matched this funding.

Activities

Western CMA Community Support Officer Tanya Muccillo said there had already been an obvious improvement to the land.

The sown area had already shown a marked increase in Old Man Saltbush as well other groundcover species.

"Old Man Saltbush was used because of its tolerance of drought conditions, ability to withstand high salt levels in the soil, ability to boost productivity of grazing stock, and because it's native to the area," Tanya said.

Scalds can occur as a result of salinity, wind and water erosion and heavy, long-term grazing. The red clay soils where they can be found form an impenetrable barrier to seeds and water which prevents growth. Scalds can range from a few metres to many square kilometres.

Achievements

Following the successful planting, Bohda Aboriginal Pastoral Company and the Western CMA held a field day to showcase the project.

Tanya said the field day was an opportunity to show people the benefits of planting and good grazing management.

"They also learnt about the agronomical aspects and seedling establishment from the guest speakers who have done a lot of work with Old Man Saltbush," she said.

Bohda Aboriginal Pastoral Company representative Rex Skuthorpe said the benefits of planting Old Man Saltbush included:

1. re-introducing native species
2. restoring scalded country by increasing groundcover
3. minimising further erosion from wind and water runoff
4. planting other groundcover species
5. cultivating plants with high drought tolerance
6. guaranteeing fodder during dry times
7. boosting productivity of grazing stock

More information

1. Bert (Blackie) Gordon, Western CMA Aboriginal Community Support Officer: (02) 6828 0117

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

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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