Section 5 Case studies - Weeds Australia

Case Study 8
Emergency planning for new
serrated tussock infestations
Summary
An emergency response plan – drawing on
local, regional, state and national management
resources – has been developed and applied
following the discovery of a single serrated
tussock plant on a Tasmanian roadside more than
100 km from the nearest known infestation. The
plan identifies the stakeholders and the actions
they need to undertake in order to manage the
infestation site and prevent spread.
The problem
A passing motorist spotted a flowering
serrated tussock plant growing on a highway
embankment in Tasmania’s north-west, more than
100 km from the nearest known infestation. The
plant was growing in a major transport corridor,
with multiple land managers at or near the site.
There was therefore an urgent need to control
the plant, survey surrounding areas, determine
the source of the infestation, inform and bring
together key stakeholders, and develop a longterm
hygiene and monitoring strategy to prevent
further infestation.
The approach
The Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries
and Water (DPIW) was informed of the discovery
by the regional Natural Resource Management
(NRM) weed officer, who had himself been
contacted by a local agricultural supply company
which had been given a sample of the plant
by the motorist. Confirmation of the plant’s
identity resulted in the implementation of an
emergency response plan. The first step was
to identify all the stakeholders responsible for
managing the site and adjacent land. In this
case it included the state agency responsible for
highway management (and more importantly,
the contractor they employed to manage the
roadside reserve), the local government, the
regional NRM organisation, and the owners of
surrounding private property. An on-site meeting
was organised for DPIW staff, weed managers
from the NRM region and local government,
and the contractor. The purpose was to inform
managers of the exact location of the serrated
tussock plant, undertake physical control of
any other serrated tussock plants, and provide
training in identification. This meeting took place
within 72 hours of the original notification, and
provided an excellent opportunity to discuss
future site management and hygiene protocols
Key messages
• Investing in the training of land
managers in serrated tussock
identification can prevent new
infestations and protect valuable
industries.
• Developing early response plans with
clearly defined roles is valuable in
order to manage new infestations,
especially where there are multiple
land managers involved.
• Cooperation between different levels
of government and land management
significantly increases the chances of
success.
• Communicating with all stakeholders
is vital if new infestations are to be
appropriately managed.
• Eradication sites must be monitored
at least twice a year in order to detect
new seedlings and prevent seeding.
with the contractor. In the following week
adjacent land holders were informed of the
discovery and provided with identification and
management materials. They were also notified
that formal property inspections would be
undertaken by DPIW staff in the coming weeks.
At the time of the initial inspection, six seedlings
were identified and removed. It was therefore
concluded that the plant must have been
present for at least one flowering season prior to
detection. Adjacent properties (which included
sheep and cattle grazing, and horse stables)
were surveyed on foot, with the search radius
extending for 1 km from the original infestation.
The search was extended downwind from the
infestation by an additional 500 m, and any
recently cultivated areas within 1.5kms were also
surveyed. No other serrated tussock plants were
found.
All stakeholders were informed of the survey
results. Monitoring has continued at six-monthly
intervals. In the first six months a further 13
seedlings were removed. In the next (and most
recent) six months, 32 seedlings were found. All
of these have arisen within two metres of the
parent plant.
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