More than 22,000 pond apple trees have been hand treated along creeks in the Upper Murray region this year in an effort to blitz the invasive species that is being spread by flood. Following the treatment of 115 hectares last year, ground teams have expanded their search to take in Corduroy and Boar Creeks in the Murray catchment.

A weed of national significance, pond apple was introduced to Australia in 1912 as grafting stock for commercial custard apple crops and is now a major environmental weed in the Wet Tropics. Removal work is part of Terrain NRM’s “Fish Homes and Highways” project and is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust.

Terrain’s Deb Bass says the spread of pond apple is especially worrying for its potential to impact mangroves.

“Pond apple forms dense stands in swampy areas and is capable of replacing mangrove or freshwater wetland ecosystems if left unchecked. We’ve treated approximately 150 hectares this year.”

Seeds are usually spread in big quantities in flood waters so the ground team is working from the upstream reaches out toward the coast. Feral pigs are also proving to be prolific seed spreaders.

“Whilst pond apple is not considered good to eat by humans, feral pigs think the fruit is pretty tasty.  The weed team are guaranteed to find big clumps of pond apple when they follow the pig tracks into the forests,” said Ms Bass.

The silver lining is that the seed bank is only viable for two years. Some weeds have seeds that will germinate many years later, but pond apple can be effectively controlled by treating the same area two years in a row.

Ms Bass said it is critical that weed management programs are properly funded and managed.

Native fish will be able to access more habitat for more of the year, when eight of the highest priority fish barriers in the Murray and Lower Herbert catchments are remediated later this year.

These catchments are a diversity hotspot for diadromous freshwater fish species – which means the adults spawn in estuaries, and the juveniles migrate upstream where they mature into adults.

After extensive surveying work, hundreds of barriers preventing fish movement were assessed and prioritised for remediation work as part of the Fish Homes & Highways project being delivered by Terrain NRM and funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust.

Now, design work is being finalised with one barrier set for work to start shortly.

Trent Power from Catchment Solutions is a specialist in fish passage designs. He says that working in creeks and rivers is difficult at the best of times.

“Work has to be done in dry season when the water flow is at its lowest, and it needs to be complete before wet season starts which can potentially wash a remediation site away if it’s unfinished.”

One of the remediation sites is a rock weir on the lower part of the Herbert River, known as Gedges Crossing, which cuts off 250km of potential upstream habitat for small fish during certain parts of the year.

“Things that stop fish aren’t necessarily a barrier all year round. For instance, the water level at Gedges Crossing only drops enough to create a barrier in the late wet and through the dry season. But those really small fish like baby barras and empire gudgeon certainly can’t get through when flows are low. They can’t jump, and at this size their swimming ability is poor. Anything more than a 10-20 cm drop can stop them in their tracks” said Trent.

A rock ramp fishway design is being considered for the weir. This is a common solution to barriers under three metres in height.

Rocks are strategically placed to influence the flow of the water in a way that makes it possible for a small fish to swim upstream. If you think of it as an underwater staircase, the fish can rest on top of each stair before tackling the next.

Cane growers in the Murray River catchment have help at hand to address productivity constraints.

Sugar Research Australia is working with growers as part of a new project to support the industry’s long-term sustainability.

Project Manager Cathy Mylrea said the project would include extension officer support, financial incentives, demonstration sites and field days with practical demonstrations in the paddock.

She said previous programs had targeted specific practices to improve nutrient management.

“We want to find out what constraints growers have and what they see as the issues, and then support them to address those. For example, if a grower has blocks that are continually low-yielding, we want to work together to figure out why,’’ she said. “It might be due to soil type, drainage issues, or pests and disease. When we know what the root cause is, we have an opportunity to provide services or financial support to address the issue.”

The project will include grower support to create whole-of-farm management plans and to update existing nutrient management plans.

Increases in farm efficiencies and productivity will also bring reef water quality benefits.

James Donaldson from Wet Tropics Waterways said the Murray River catchment had made good progress towards dissolved inorganic nitrogen reduction targets, as reported in the recently released Reef Water Quality Report Card 2020.

“These results reflect the hard work being undertaken by the agricultural industry, and farmers should be congratulated,’’ he said. “While progress towards targets is positive, we know we’ve still got work to do.”

The project in the Murray catchment is part of a broader “Mobilising the Mossman and Murray” project, which is funded by Terrain NRM through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust.

Can a small fish make its way up the rivers and tributaries in the Lower Barron, Mossman and Daintree catchments? That’s the basis for a project that’s assessing if infrastructure like weirs, dams and culverts are stopping fish moving upstream to nursery and breeding grounds.

These river catchments are hotspots for diadromous fish species like barramundi and jungle perch – adults spawn in estuaries and juvenile fish migrate upstream to freshwater habitat where they mature into adults.

More than 1600 potential barriers have been identified as part of a new project aiming to improve recreational fishing outcomes by improving waterway habitat connection.

Terrain NRM’s Lana Hepburn explains that a number of factors determine which barriers would be most beneficial to remediate to get good recreational fishing and ecological outcomes.

“The goal is to open as much habitat upstream as we can, so we look at where the barrier is in the catchment. If it’s closer to the coast it’s potentially blocking more upstream habitat – so the distance between each barrier is important too.

“We also look at how connected a waterway is to the ocean. Barriers in rivers that connect to the ocean would be prioritised over small tributaries that flow into different creeks and rivers before hitting the ocean,” Lana said.

Some barriers are only obvious in low flow conditions during winter, but fish need to be able to migrate at different times of the year.

A field team from Terrain NRM, Wet Tropics Waterways and Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation’s Yirrganydji Land & Sea Rangers have now physically inspected hundreds of barriers to assess their priority for remediation.

A tour of mangrove wetlands at Kukujum, or Ellie Point, is one of the activities planned for an event on 8 September at Cairns Airport.

Recreational fishers and lovers of coastal wetlands can visit a restricted access area in Cairns, learn about a new project to help fish move more freely through the mangrove habitat, and share their own knowledge of fish in the region.

Hosted by Cairns OzFish Unlimited Chapter, in partnership with Dawul Wuru’s Yirrganydji Land and Sea Rangers, Cairns Airport, Terrain NRM, Wet Tropics Waterways and James Cook University researchers, the event is aims to celebrate fish life and raising awareness about fish migratory habits.

OzFish’s Geoff Collins says for healthy fish stocks, we need well-connected free-flowing waterways.

“The Wet Tropics has some of the highest fish diversity in the country, but that diversity and the recreational fishing opportunities it affords is dependent on healthy and well-connected fish habitat.

“Our native fish need to move between wetlands and through waterways to access different habitats for different parts of their life cycle. Barriers, which can take many different forms, prevent them from finding food, from breeding and from escaping predators or degraded waterways.”

Dams, weirs and vertical drops caused by road crossings and culverts can stop fish in their tracks, as can high velocity water through pipes. Desktop studies have shown there are thousands of potential barriers in different Wet Tropics catchments.

Since 2009 the Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program (P2R) has been looking at changes in contaminant loads and linking on-ground practice changes with water quality and flow data.

It brings the work of many projects together, providing a framework for evaluating and reporting on progress to the 2025 targets in the 2050 Reef Water Quality Improvement Plan.

Yearly water quality science forums provide an opportunity for farmers and extension officers to hear directly from the scientists behind the science, and will include an update on the Scientific Consensus Statement review.

The Innisfail forum is specifically focused on the Johnstone, Tully and Murray Catchements.

The forum is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland government’s Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program and the Natural Resources Investment Program.

Wet Tropics farmers are being congratulated for reducing nutrient, pesticide and sediment run-off, following the recent release of the Reef Water Quality Report Card 2020.

The Wet Tropics region achieved the biggest reduction in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) across Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef catchments for the reporting period of July 2019 – June 2020. The Johnstone River Catchment was a standout, recording a 6.4% reduction in DIN. Very good progress is also being made in the Mossman, Tully and Murray River catchments.

Fiona Barron, the Wet Tropics Paddock to Reef Coordinator, said farmers had been working hard for over 10 years to change farm practices and reduce the runoff of nutrients, pesticides and sediment.

“As a region we are a hotspot for dissolved inorganic nitrogen because of our high rainfall, short sharp rivers and intensive agriculture along the coastal plain,’’ she said. “It’s really encouraging to see that we are making good progress on reducing DIN. We’re now halfway towards our target of a 60% reduction by 2025.

“These results reflect the hard work being undertaken by the agricultural industry including through some big projects like SmartCane BMP, Reef Trust Repeat Tenders, the Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership (WTSIP), the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project (MIP) and the Upper Johnstone Integrated Project. And, of course, there is lots more work happening beyond the reporting period that the Reef Water Quality Report Card 2020 covers, which will continue to bring even greater improvements.”

Ms Barron said farmers were adopting a range of different practices that were helping to improve both productivity and water quality. They include matching fertiliser inputs more closely to crop requirements, improving soil health, cover cropping and minimal tillage, and trialling innovative treatment systems such as bioreactors and constructed wetlands.

She said the scale and complexity of the task involved in improving water quality meant there was a time lag between on-ground action and quantifiable results.

“Improving Reef water quality isn’t an overnight fix. We began delivering Reef water quality programs in 2008, which really isn’t that long ago considering what is involved. There is obviously more work to be done but it’s good to see some reward for effort.

“We all have a responsibility to help reach these environmental targets. It’s not just up to agriculture but the entire community, from industry in the region to urban areas,” said Ms Barron.

The Reef Water Quality report cards report progress towards the targets and objectives of the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan, which is nested within the Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan – Australia’s overarching framework for protecting the Great Barrier Reef until 2050. The report card reports the achieved reductions in nutrient and sediment loads, and pesticide risk, entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon as a result of investments in on-ground actions.

The results presented in the Reef Water Quality report cards are produced by the Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program (Paddock to Reef Program), which estimates reductions in terrestrial pollutant run-off discharging to the Reef and links on-ground practice changes with water quality outcomes.

Growers wanting to learn more about the science behind the Paddock to Reef Program and the Reef Water Quality Report Card 2020 are invited to a water quality science forum on Thursday 12 May in Innisfail. The forum will focus on the Johnstone, Tully and Murray catchments. RSVP details here.

Explore the Reef Water Quality Report Card 2020 results in full.

National park areas at Crater Lakes and Wooroonooran have been connected following a community revegetation blitz.

Tablelands residents Elaine and Michael McAuliffe have joined a growing number of private landholders who are hoping to conserve key forest habitats in the Wet Tropics. Located in a priority wildlife corridor used by endangered rainforest species, including the Southern Cassowary, the couple has received a Rainforest Resilience Grant through Terrain NRM to revegetate their property and help connect national park areas.

The grants are part of Terrain’s Building Rainforest Resilience project, which supports willing landholders and threatened species recovery groups to improve or protect important habitat. Activities include revegetation, weed management and habitat protection. This project is supported by Terrain through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Terrain’s Rainforest Leader Tony O’Malley said the program is aiming to reconnect and buffer large fragmented areas of habitat.

“We are working closely with threatened species recovery teams which are advising us on the grants process,” he said.

“The Cassowary Recovery Team, for example, has identified six priority corridors in the Wet Tropics and much of the land is outside protected national park or world heritage area. We offer landholders in those corridors resources for conserving and improving their patches of rainforest.”

The McAuliffes had already planted more than 6,000 trees on their ex-dairy farm block since buying it in the 1980s, and they used Terrain’s grant money to engage local contractor Mark McCaffrey for more revegetation work with support from local landcare group, Trees for the Evelyn and Atherton Tablelands (TREAT).

“Lots of the revegetated parts of the property now look like natural forest. Unfortunately, I did get some bad advice back in the ’80s and there was a section where I planted 1000 Caribbean pines, which aren’t the right thing at all, and they all blew over in a cyclone,” said Mr McAuliffe.

“For years I’d been thinking about filling in the area where the pines fell in so when I found out I could apply for a Rainforest Resilience Grant I grabbed the opportunity with both hands… I’m 80 years old now and reveg is hard work on the knees and back so I’m glad to have the support! I was inspired by the work being done on the western side of Lake Eacham, connecting the Crater Lakes and Wooroonoonan.”

Known for its distinctive shrieks, rattles and gurgles, the endangered Yellow-bellied glider (Wet Tropics) is getting a helping hand with some extra habitat upkeep.

Tall eucalypt forest in a narrow strip on the western edge of the World Heritage Area is home to the glider but the habitat is threatened by alteration and fragmentation. There are only three known remaining local tableland populations of the Wet Tropics sub-species of gliders left.

Terrain NRM’s Dr Andrew Dennis said the Gilbey Forest, on state forest and adjacent private land near Herberton on the Atherton Tablelands, is the habitat for one of the populations but weed infestations are putting the habitat at risk. Lantana camara, a transformer weed of national significance, is a particular concern in the area as it can drastically change ecosystem condition and function.

“Yellow-bellied gliders live in ‘dens’ in large rose gums in tall eucalypt forest and their survival depends on what remains of that habitat being in top notch condition. The right mix of species must be able to grow and recruit new den and feed trees, but lantana forms dense thickets that can stop young trees from growing and prevents critical forest regeneration,” he said.

Now, a one-off weed control program funded by the Queensland Government’s Natural Resources Investment Program and delivered by Terrain NRM, will control an area of significant lantana infestation.

The program builds on existing, longstanding work by the Yellow-Bellied Glider Project volunteers of the Tree Kangaroo and Mammal Group. The group has been looking after parts of the Gilbey Forest for decades and monitoring resident gliders. They have partnered with landholders, traditional owners, scientists, schools and other community groups to care for and manage the area.

Yellow-bellied gliders rely on two main habitat trees. They live in the hollow limbs of soaring rose gums where small family groups live in “dens”, and they tap the trunk of the red mahogany for its clear, sugary sap.

Dr John Winter, part of the team caring for the glider, has been involved with the fluffy gliders since the seventies.

“Back then nobody much bothered with the wet sclerophyll forests – they were actually completely overlooked for years and years. These days they are far more prominent in people’s minds as an important ecotonal habitat.”

Pond apple, a major environmental weed, has been surveyed and removed from 115 hectares of land in the Murray catchment near Tully, in an effort to improve wetland habitat.

Introduced to Australia as grafting stock for commercially grown custard apple, pond apple has become a serious weed in Queensland. It is listed as a weed of national significance.

Aquatic weed management is part of Terrain NRM’s Fish Home & Highways project, which is improving fish habitat connectivity in the nationally significant wetland and coastal ecosystems of the Murray and Lower Herbert catchments.

Terrain NRM’s Deb Bass said the pond apple removal work builds on previous control efforts by Cassowary Coast Regional Council and Girringun Aboriginal Corporation in 2008 and 2015.

“Thanks to that work we had a good idea of areas to prioritise, and work was focussed along Warrami Creek. We’ll do a follow-up of the 115 ha next year to make sure everything has been caught, and we’ll then expand to take in more of the area previously surveyed.”

Local business NQ Forestry was contracted to undertake the on-ground control efforts.

The pond apple being targeted was along a creek line, so applying herbicide via stem injection is recommended. This minimised herbicide runoff and off-target impacts. However, each original stem maintains its own sap stream which complicates control – every single stem has to be cut and injected, not just the main stem.

“Pond apple control is labour intensive work, but this method is very effective and if we are consistent with control work we have a good chance of local eradication,” said Ms Bass.