Section 5 Case studies - Weeds Australia

Case Study 6
Cooperative approach between
land managers and local
government
Summary
In the Snowy River Shire Council area, a diverse
group of land managers have demonstrated
that pooling resources, knowledge and goodwill
returns significant gains when controlling
serrated tussock across a large area. Their
efforts began in 1998 when they formed the
Berridale-Rocky Plains Landcare Group and
were able to obtain funding to employ a project
officer to coordinate a serrated tussock control
program. With serrated tussock now much better
controlled, land managers continue to ensure the
weed does not once again reach unmanageable
levels.
The problem
In 1997 it became clear to a group of farmers in
the Snowy River Shire that serrated tussock was
infesting their land and the surrounding area at
an alarming and uncontrolled rate. Infestations
occurred even though each land holder
attempted to contain serrated tussock on their
own land by the application of herbicides.
The problem for these farmers was compounded
by the fact that there were other land holders
in the area, many absentee, who were making
no attempts at all to control the tussock. Wind
blown seed infested from these uncontrolled
areas continuously reinfested previously cleared
areas.
The approach
In 1998, the Berridale-Rocky Plains Landcare
Group formed to challenge the serrated tussock
problem, among other weeds. The group formed
a partnership with the Snowy River Shire Council
and set five objectives:
1. A coordinated approach. A project
officer was engaged to coordinate the
project. The Council provided the officer
with office facilities, a vehicle at a
competitive rate and worked closely with
him without compromising his role as a
Landcare Coordinator. The project officer
facilitated communication between land
Key messages
• When dealing with widespread
infestations of serrated tussock over
many landholdings, it is important to
implement a coordinated approach.
• Ensuring that land managers have
both the skills and resources to
participate in a control program is
essential to success.
• Even after the objective of the
program – control of serrated tussock
– has been reached, the long-term
success can only be assured with
ongoing follow up.
holders, helped develop integrated plans
for controlling serrated tussock depending
on the specifics of the situation, vetted
and supervised contractors, provided an
educational and informational role, and
networked with other groups such as the
Serrated Tussock Working Party and Monaro
Regional Weed Committee.
Maps produced detailing the locations of
serrated tussock infestations provided a
significant mechanism for directing effort
and planning best approaches. The mapping
exercise showed that of the 104,000
hectares originally thought to require
attention, only 36,000 hectares should be
targeted for control.
2. Involving all land managers. At the
outset, the project officer wrote to four
hundred land holders telling them about
the project and inviting them to become
involved. Major landholding neighbours:
National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the
Rural Lands Protection Board, agreed to
cooperate. The aim of the project was to
encourage land holders to become involved
without Council having to resort to legal
action. Instead, land holders were offered
a number of incentives, which increased
their capacity and resources to deal with the
weed problem.
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