Watercourse protection after the Cudlee Creek bushfire (#47)
William Hannaford
1
,
Billy-Jo Brewer
1
- Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu, Mt Barker, SA, Australia
- In December 2019, 23,000 hectares of the Adelaide Hills were burnt in the Cudlee Creek bushfire, including over 1000km of watercourses mainly on private grazing properties. A proportion of these watercourses were fenced, mostly with timber posts that burnt in the fire. Sedimentation, erosion, habitat loss, livestock damage and weed invasion were major concerns post fire.
- Grants were obtained for watercourse OGW restoration and landholder education. Protection of permanent waterpools was a high priority. Native plant giveaways and surveys provided initial landholder engagement, then a monthly newsletter. Well attended riparian events and a number of community groups were established. Over 20km of watercourse was fenced mostly in steel, many kilometers of willow were controlled and many more were revegetated.
- On ground works like steel fencing and willow control provided instant tangible outcomes with long term benefits. Inexpensive dam syphoning systems enabled clean water for livestock and environmental stream flows. Revegetation outcomes were mixed. Planting abilities of landholders/contractors was variable and grazing by herbivores was higher than expected.
- Quality steel fencing and best practice willow control are expensive and need substantial public investment. There is future risk that landholders will graze fenced watercourses and not follow up with weed control. If the new Biodiversity Act SA is adopted with new covenants, these important biodiversity assets could be much better protected. Furthermore, the type and amount of revegetation needs serious consideration prior to project commencement on private land, as lack of follow-up management and feral/native herbivores can be a serious risk.
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