Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Improving environmental management in the Ord
Native plants barely stand a chance against insidious weeds around the shores of Lake Kununurra in northern Western Australia, where introduced pests displace Australian flora and damage the RAMSAR-listed site.
Funding
But native species in the area now have a fighting chance thanks to a weed control project funded with over $200,000 from the Australian and State Governments through the Rangelands NRM Co-ordinating Group. The Ord Land and Water Group is taking the lead on the project.
Activities
Run in partnership with Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley, work targets only pests in small infestations but which have the potential to cause serious damage if they're allowed to go unchecked.
Ord Land and Water Coordinator Dick Pasfield said salvinia was a good example because although it covered only a small portion of the 200-hectare lake, it had the potential to carpet the entire surface, choking out native plants and wildlife and impacting on recreational activities.
The lake, which was formed after the completion of the Diversion Dam in Kununurra, is used extensively for sailing, rowing and skiing. It supports several tour boat operations and is the landing field for float planes.
"Hopefully our efforts will eradicate salvinia and get other weeds like leucaena and coral vine under control on unallocated Crown land and foreshore reserves," Dick said.
"Despite the excellent work already undertaken, 'weeds being weeds' means the rescue effort will be ongoing. Now we've made inroads we have to knock off regermination that occurs each year. We've been successful to date but we know they'll be back."
Achievements
The strategic weeding work, which covered pockets along 55 kilometres of the lake's shoreline, took place over 12 to 18 months with the help of community volunteers, state department employees and members of Greening Australia.
While only manageable weeds were targeted, if the work crew came across other weeds of national significance - such as parkinsonia - they didn't escape the project's control measures.
"There are numerous weeds around the lake but we were only after those that could become a bigger problem in the future - the pests within the boundaries of us being able to knock them on the head," Dick said.
More information
- Dick Pasfield, Ord Land and Water: (08) 9169 2222 or dick@olw.com.au
- Ord Land and Water website: www.olw.com.au
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