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Welcome to the Murray-Darling Basin monthly e-letter with reports of happenings across the Basin. Contributions are welcome. Please send items (no more than 150 words) to the editor at leone@netspeed.com.au Online html versions are
available at:
Please feel free to pass this e-letter along to anybody who might be interested. To subscribe online go to http://mdbc.gov.au/communications/s-scribe To be removed from the mailing list, please reply to this message with "unsubscribe" in the subject heading. This newsletter currently has 1100 subscribers. (See also The Living Murray website at http://www.thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au) In this issue:
Newly constructed fishways and navigable passes at Locks 9 & 10 were officially opened during the Week in October. The new fishways are part of the MDBC's $45 million "Sea to Hume Dam" project through The Living Murray, which aims to provide continuous passage for native fish from the mouth of the Murray River to Hume Dam, a distance of about 2300km. This enables native species to complete a range of life cycle requirements, including breeding and feeding, up and down the River. "Preliminary indications are that thousands of fish are waiting to negotiate their way through this new fishway, including large species like Murray cod through to smaller species like Carp gudgeon," said Jim Barrett, manager of the Native Fish Strategy. The vertical slot designs allow fish to pass the weir by gradually negotiating a number of pools at a small gradient. They complement the fishways already completed under the project at Locks 7, 8, 15 and the barrages near the Murray Mouth. "In 116 sampling days, a tri-State monitoring team has recorded almost 40,000 fish migrating through the fishways at an average of 338 fish per day. This number can rise as high as 2,000 per day during peak migration periods. "The fishways are also passing a wide size range of fish with individuals as small as 20mm and Murray cod as large as 1100mm successfully negotiating the fishways," he said. The tri-State team has also implanted PIT tags (microchips similar to those used in cats and dogs) into almost 20,000 fish. The fully automated tag detection systems installed within each fishway have revealed that some fish, such as Golden perch, undertake large distance migrations (up to 700km within a few months), whilst others are more localised and stay within a home range. Construction also included new navigable passes that eliminate the need for divers to undertake the risky activity of reinstalling needle beams at the floor of the navigable pass sections of the weir, after floods. The next fishway will be at Lock 1 near Blanchetown, South Australia, with construction due to begin within a fortnight. For more information
on fishways go to www.mdbc.gov.au/NFS
$4.8m Buronga scheme
upgrade keeps more salt from Murray
The scheme, opened by NSW Minister for Natural Resources, Mr Ian Macdonald, was funded mainly by the NSW Government with the balance coming from other partner governments of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) - South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Government. "This is an example of the NSW Government's commitment to water reform. The key issue for us is improving the environmental health of the Murray Basin through delivering real results on water savings, reform and salinity," Mr Macdonald said. "While the Buronga Scheme has been in operation since 1979, it was badly in need of an upgrade. It will provide significant benefits for NSW and downstream communities within several years". Australian Government Parliamentary Secretary for Water Malcolm Turnbull, who also attended the opening, said his government's recent $500 million addition to MDBC funding would expedite the completion of other salt interception scheme works and other critical projects designed to improve the health of the Murray River. The Buronga project is one of nine salt interception schemes located along the Murray River as part of the broader MDBC Basin Salinity Management Strategy, which together prevent about 450,000 tonnes of salt entering the system each year. For more information
on salt interception go to www.mdbc.gov.au/salinity/basin_salinity_management_strategy_20012015/salt_interception_scheme
Unique MDBC artifacts
highlight touring exhibition
"The River: Life on the Murray Darling" is a collaboration between the South Australian Maritime Museum and the Australian National Maritime Museum. The exhibition opened in Adelaide in late October and will, over the course of the next two years, wind its way through river communities in three States before reaching Sydney in 2008. Important MDBC river related artifacts on loan to the exhibition include two replica River Murray Medals, historical photographs that have recently been preserved and beautifully packaged, along with information and education material. The exhibition draws on collections and stories from regional museums and local historical collections in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It explores the social and political history of the landscape through personal stories, associations, emotions, memories and local places. From Adelaide it will be hosted in locations such as Murray Bridge, Deniliquin, Hay, Griffith, Albury, Wagga, Sydney and Canberra, where it will ultimately wind up at the National Archives of Australia. The exhibition has been funded from the "Visions of Australia" Touring Exhibition Program of the Australian Department of Communications, Information Technology and Arts. For more information
and to find out when the exhibition will be in your area, go to www.history.sa.gov.au/maritime/exhibitions/river.htm
Basin Ministers
hear latest community advice
The CAC is a formally appointed group of people with a wide range of expertise and networks throughout the Basin. They advise the Ministerial Council, from a community viewpoint, on critical natural resource management issues including indigenous issues within the Basin. At their meeting with Ministers in September, CAC members advised Council that they believed additional funding would restore community confidence in The Living Murray Initiative achieving it's objectives by 2009. They also said that a suite of market based measures, including water purchase for environmental outcomes and works based solutions, must be supported by an overarching clear communication framework. The CAC advised there was acknowledgement that this issue was causing concern for both irrigators and local community leaders responsible for regional development and other water derived industries. Another discussion looked at State based approaches to water recovery and community readiness for market purchases, including exit fees, water characteristics and deliverability, with key issues including:
For more information
contact Linda Kelly, CAC Executive Officer, on: (02) 6279 0532 or linda.kelly[at] mdbc.gov.au
Largest environmental
rescue effort since Federation to continue
The announcement was made in a media release from Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell and Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Hon Peter McGauran. They said new programs, based on good science, would build on the success of the $3 billion Natural Heritage Trust and the $1.4 billion National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. "We are taking a comprehensive, continent-wide approach to managing our natural resources, and have already achieved some amazing results," Senator Campbell said. "Australian Government funding has already helped to protect over 8 million hectares of wetlands, treat 400,000 hectares of land for salinity and erosion, and help some 800,000 volunteers get involved in on-ground work". "We want to keep this momentum going, so we've been talking to communities, industries and our state and territory government partners and hearing their views about how best we can keep this vital work going". "The responses we've had have been consistent across the country. Australians value the support that the Australian Government has provided to protect our land, water and coasts and they want us to continue to provide that support". For more information
and to read the complete statement go to www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2006/mr03oct06.html
Dams: the challenges
of the 21st Century
Convenor Ian Landon-Jones says operating and managing Australia's dams has become a greater challenge in recent years due to heritage, environmental, community, security and climate change issues. "Each year the dams industry faces new challenges particularly as dams are getting older, our workforce is not getting any younger and funds are getting tighter," he said. "The industry needs to face up to these challenges, develop and implement new solutions and take advantage of new opportunities. "The conference that will explore each of these current issues, discuss how they have been managed, what are current best practices and what can be done in continuing to tackle these issues in the future," he said. The conference will include a pre-conference tour, technical conference, and instrumentation workshop. Organisers say the technical conference will provide an ideal forum to discuss these issues and explore new ideas. For more information
go to www.ancoldconference.com.au/frontpage.php
Managing sustainable
grazing in a drought
The free forum, with practical demonstrations by other landholders and local rural agencies, was an initiative of the Lower Murray Darling CMA's Board to highlight and disseminate important practical methods to managing stock in times of drought. Organisers said the forum enabled landholders and farmers to be able to utilise what they have on their properties to create "on the spur of the moment" practical tools to ensure their livestock remain healthy and market ready. Landmark SA donated a $1,350, 24-bag Bromar feeder as a gate-prize. Local rural agencies helped with demonstrations and displays while the program included discussions about ground cover, integrated grazing and cropping, cattle/stock containment area, organic production and other topics. Local butcher Naz Tassone and the Mildura Abattoirs outlined the meat requirements that butchers expect from farmers to ensure that the "paddock to plate" product is acceptable to the retail meat market. For more information call
(03) 5029 7202
Farmers spend
$3.3bn on natural resource management ABS
This money was spent managing or preventing weed, pest, land and soil, native vegetation or water-related issues on their agricultural holdings. More than $1.1 billion was spent on weed prevention and management, while land and soil-related activities accounted for $900 million of total expenditure. The grain growing industry spent almost $800 million on natural resource management (NRM), followed by the beef cattle industry ($639 million). Cotton agricultural establishments undertaking NRM spent an average of $243,000 per establishment, well above the national average of $28,000 per establishment. Most (86%) farmers reported having at least one NRM issue on their holding, with weeds and pests topping the list. Weed and pest management were also the most common natural resource management activities farmers undertook nationally. The majority (92%) of agriculture establishments performed some form of NRM activity. Two-thirds of farmers felt there were barriers which prevented them from improving their NRM practices. The lack of financial resources and lack of time were reported as the greatest barriers, while insufficient or conflicting information was not considered a major barrier. These findings are from the ABS's first dedicated nationwide natural resource management survey, which asked farmers to report the extent of NRM issues on their holding and the activities they undertook to prevent or manage them. The findings from this survey, including types of management activities and practices, areas affected and areas being managed, have been made available at the national, state and regional level. For more information
go to www.abs.gov.au and search for
"Natural Resource Management on Australian Farms 2004-05 (cat. no. 4620.0)".
Community groups
learn to share natural resources
The one-year project will be funded from the Forging Partnerships program, a joint initiative of the Natural Resource Advisory Council (NRAC) and the NSW Government. NRAC provides stakeholder advice to the State government on natural resources management in NSW and represents a wide cross section of community, industry, environment and government organisations. Project activities will focus on three workshops across the catchment with guest speakers for leadership and innovation, TAFE short courses on governance and meeting procedures, funding for study tours and subsidies of up to $500 for eligible individuals to attend NRM forums and conferences. "Forging Partnerships will encourage the development of a co-operative approach between various groups towards the shared responsibility of managing natural resources such as water, native vegetation and soil," NSW Minister for Natural Resources Mr Ian Macdonald said. "The aim of the program is to improve communication and education on these issues, while encouraging community involvement in natural resource management." he said. The outcomes will strengthen community networks and leadership in the LMD catchment and increase the capacity of land managers to deliver improved NRM outcomes on the ground. For more information call
(03) 5021 9460 or go to www.lmd.cma.nsw.gov.au
Western NSW landholders
urged to join fight on major pest
Mesquite is classified as a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) because of its invasiveness, potential for greater spread and its huge economic and environmental impacts. The Lower Murray Darling Catchment Management Authority (LMDCMA) and the Broken Hill Rural Lands Protection Board (RLPB) have joined forces in a coordinated public awareness and eradication program in western NSW. LMDCMA Chair Mark King says, "While the current infestations are of concern to the Broken Hill region, all efforts to control its spread and its final eradication is of nationwide importance. "The coordinated effort between all parties and the complementary programs show a targeted approach and by the end of the program, the environmental impact of Mesquite will be diluted. "As a flow on from the eradication of this weed, it will also destroy the safe refuges for feral animals (such as wild cats and pigs)." he said. $614,000 funding for the program is from the Australian Department for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's "Defeating the Weeds Menace" over a three-year period. A mail-out of a comprehensive brochure on Mesquite control recently went out to landholders in the region around Broken Hill, and the districts of Milparinka, Pine Creek and up to Wilcannia. The brochure will help landholders to identify the weed and to be more aware of the distribution, ecology, management, control and legislation that are needed to keep control and eradicate the menace. It is expected that a large number of landholders will apply for the DAFF "Defeating the Weeds Menace" program funding and RLPB will undertake coordinating landholder applications and spray contractors. Another player in this eradication program is the Broken Hill office of the Department of Natural Resources. Their Weeds Officer will map, via GPS, all mesquite locations. For more information
call Broken Hill RLPB office on (08) 8087 13378 or go to www.lmd.cma.nsw.gov.au.
Young ag research
winners 'cure crocs & grow gold'
The Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Hon Peter McGauran, announced the Award winners at a ceremony in Parliament House, Canberra recently. He said the awards encouraged growth and development in rural industries, while also providing the impetus to launch the careers of promising young innovators. The recipients, aged 18 to 35, each receive up to $10,000 to complete a project of long-term benefit to Australia's agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food or natural resource management industries. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) sponsors the awards, along with the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and ten other Rural Research and Development Corporations and Companies. The Awards are coordinated by the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS). In addition to the prizes awarded for the industries and interests of each of these agencies, an award is given for each State and Territory. For more information
and a full list of this year's winners, and details of their projects,
go to www.daff.gov.au/scienceawards
What makes
for successful tree planting?
In late 2005 forty-one landholders, revegetation practitioners and nurseries from across southern NSW were interviewed to learn about their tree planting experiences. The results of these interviews provided insights into tree planting knowledge and success (see www.betterbush.org.au). However, as the interviews were conducted with only a small number of people in one part of Australia, our aim is to broaden our focus to see whether these results are consistent across the country. So if you are involved with either tree planting or direct seeding CSIRO and Greening Australia researchers would like to hear from you, regardless of how much experience you have. You can participate in the study by completing an online survey at www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=477080 Organisers say it should take about 15 minutes to complete and put you in the draw for a $1000 contribution towards your tree planting or direct seeding projects. For more information
about the project contact Sonia.Graham@csiro.au
Trip of a lifetime
for River Murray Youth Council
The Youth Council is a project of the South Australian Murray Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board (until recently known as the River Murray Catchment Water Management Board). The trip was funded and supported by the SA Murray-Darling NRM Board and the Australian Government. Organiser Rebecca Keynes said the trip presented the students with a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to gain on-ground knowledge about river ecology, environmental projects and the multiple uses of River Murray water. During the trip the students visited the Vinifera and Barmah Forests, Kerang wetlands, Ruby paddle steamer, Hume Dam, Charles Sturt University, River Murray research establishments, Headwaters National Park, Murray 1 Power Station and a rice farm. On the return journey the students delivered a presentation and song about their experiences to staff and members of the SA Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management (NRM) Board. Organisers said they were amazed at how easily the students recalled facts including information like weir recommission dates and quantities of salt removed from the Pyramid Creek salt interception scheme. For more information
go to www.samdbnrm.sa.gov.au/
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