Top End Tidbits – ‘tis the season to be controlling!
Darwin River Cabomba Eradication ProgramCabomba is an aquatic weed that can choke waterways and impacts fisheries. The Weed Management Branch is intensively controlling the only known infestation of cabomba in the Territory with the aim of eradicating it once and for all. Shark™ herbicide is currently being applied in affected areas of Darwin River. Preliminary results are positive showing a marked decline in cabomba health and extent, but the program will be on-going. The Darwin River Quarantine Zone remains in place to prevent cabomba spread and to keep
people away from herbicide treatment areas. Anyone found in the Quarantine Zone can be fined on the spot or may potentially face Court. The Weeds Management Act stipulates a minimum $11 000 penalty if found guilty for breaching an established Quarantine zone.
Gamba Action Program - creating jobs and ensuring compliance!It’s that time of year again when gamba grass is on the radar for the Weed Management Branch. The return of the Gamba Action program (GAP) for the 2017/18 season is upon us. The Weed Management Branch has been running an annual assistance program since 2010, providing free herbicide and free spray equipment hire to assist land owners and holders with the control of gamba on their land. Until last year, it was purely an assistance program; however, last control season the Branch launched the GAP with a focus on compliance
and enforcement to align with the department’s responsibilities under the Weeds Management Act. To increase weed contracting industry capacity in the community, the Weed Management Branch conducted two contractor workshops in August 2017, in Katherine and in Darwin, with the aim of supporting and growing the industry and further increasing landholder compliance. The workshops were well attended in both regions with 18 participants in Katherine and over 30 in Darwin. For more information on the GAP program and herbicide and equipment outlets, please visit: www.nt.gov.au/gamba.
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Sagittaria is on the move – have you seen it?It is time for sagittaria to flower again, making it easier to see! If you find plants that you suspect are sagittaria notify the Weed Management Branch immediately on 8999 4567 or weedinfo@nt.gov.au In August 2016, 28 sagittaria plants were sold by Darwin and Katherine retailers, and to date 23 of these plants have been found and collected by weed officers. The Weed Management Branch would like to thank everyone who has called in a suspected sagittaria sighting over the last year. Although these results are great, there may be at least five mature sagittaria plants out there and we still need your help to locate them as well as any older plants that may have gone undetected. Flowers are shown in the picture. Don't let sagittaria impact on your boating and fishing activities. This high-risk aquatic weed could irreversibly and quickly choke our aquatic habitats if allowed to escape from Top End gardens or ponds.
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What’s crackin’ around Katherine
Knowledge is power: Gamba grass in KatherineThe Weed Management Branch team is putting in a huge effort to improve its understanding of where gamba grass is growing around the region. Realising the threat of gamba grass, the Weed Management Branch, in collaboration with the Jawoyn Rangers, have surveyed over 3 500 km2 of land. These surveys found that gamba grass has spread significantly over the past few years. The Branch is now planning to increase the Katherine community’s knowledge of gamba grass and the threat it poses to the environment and the region. Watch this space. The Gamba Action Program will start again in Katherine also. Free herbicide and spray equipment hire will be available from 32 Crawford Street in Katherine on Friday afternoons between 2 and 4pm.
On the hunt for partheniumThe Weed Management Branch is on the lookout for parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus). Parthenium is a declared Class A weed in the NT and a Weed of National Significance. If you think you may have seen parthenium, or have this weed on your property, do not attempt to control it. Contact the Weed Management branch immediately for assistance. Weed Officers will be conducting property inspections throughout the Wet season. For more information on parthenium, visit: https://nt.gov.au/environment/weeds/list-of-declared-weeds-in-the-nt/parthenium.
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Blitzing neem in KatherineFollowing on from the highly successful 2015 program, the Katherine Neem Blitz will be rolled out again this 2017-18 wet season from 11 November to 9 December 2017. Neem (Azadirachta indica) is a declared Class B weed, meaning measures need to be taken to limit its growth and spread. Prevalence of neem in the Katherine township area is of major concern due to its impact on biodiversity and the aesthetic appeal of the town and the river corridor. Control of neem on private property is a critical step
towards complementing efforts undertaken by the NT Government and the Katherine Town Council in reducing its spread across all land types and tenures. Follow-up inspections and surveys from the 2015 program indicated that provision of herbicide was a highly effective way to encourage neem control on private land. The program is only running for a short time so get in fast! Get your herbicide from 32 Crawford Street in Katherine on Friday afternoons between 2 and 4pm. For more information on neem, please visit: www.nt.gov.au/neem.
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Around the ground in Tennant Creek
War declared on cacti in Tennant Creek - ‘Bin It, Don’t Spread It’Tennant Creek residents are encouraged to ‘Bin It, Don’t Spread It’ and carefully remove declared Class A cacti from their gardens. Declared cacti include prickly pears and rope cactus as well as many varieties of Opuntia and Cylindropuntia (collectively referred to as opuntioids). Landholders are encouraged to chemically control or dig out their cacti and dispose of all plant material securely into garbage bags. Handle the cacti with care, and
please don’t transport it yourself. Place the bagged cacti in your bins for kerbside removal to the waste management facility. Waste containing cacti will be buried at the dump to prevent cacti re-sprouting and spreading further. These cacti have been declared across Australia because of their impacts which include environmental damage and injury, pain and suffering to stock and native animals through spine impalement and lodgement of spiny segments in skin and mouth areas.
Tennant Creek Girl Guides in Coral Cactus BustCongratulations to the Tennant Creek Girl Guides who jumped in to lend a hand and earned a component of their EnviroGuide 2017 badge after playing a vital role in a recent coral cactus bust. The girls were involved in removing cacti from the top of a hill with an ironstone outcrop in Tennant Creek. They did an incredible job cleaning up the entire section. The group was led by local Weed Management Officer Naomi Cassilles Southgate and Parks and Wildlife Community Engagement Officer Susie Armes. Awesome work girls!
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Epenarra Station is saying goodbye to rubber bushEpenarra station manager, Bernie Parker, along with station staff Dan Dodgson and the Epenarra community, have successfully treated all known rubber bush along the Frew River on Epenarra Station. The area treated is within sites of national conservation and botanical significance. This dry season, Bernie Parker, station staff and the local community have gone above and beyond and spent more than 320 hours on the project. Bernie has been in continual contact with the Weed Management Branch to develop best weed practices, and provided the
Branch with detailed weed data. This project was in part supported by Territory Natural Resource Management (TNRM) through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, and coordinated through the Barkly Landcare Association and Epenarra Station. Due to the success of the project and engagement of local community members, this inspires further support for control of key weeds in the area. To complement this project and to build the local communities weed identification and control of weeds in the region. District Weed Officer Naomi ran weed management training coordinated by Central Land Council. More than 15 Aboriginal community members, station staff, and key community stakeholders attended. Training was undertaken at the community and on Epenarra station. Rubber bush is increasingly becoming an issue in the Davenport and Murchison Ranges, and having an involved manager and a trained local community is invaluable. This rubber bush project and related training has increased the communities’ and stations capacity to collect data, identify and manage weeds in the greater region.
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Bringing the Finke Back from the BrinkWith the release of the statutory Weed Management Plan for Athel Pine (Tamarix aphylla) in March 2017, the Weed Management Branch has been working closely with affected landholders within the Finke River catchment to undertake follow-up control along the Finke River on Horseshoe Bend Station. This 80 km section of the Finke River on Horseshoe Bend Station has not had follow‑up control for 5 years. Limited funding and restricted management knowledge has made management of this section difficult to control. Several river flows over the last couple of
years have also provided ideal conditions for the growth of athel pine in the area. Four and a half weeks between March‑September 2017 were spent successfully controlling all new athel pine outbreaks in this area. The area is now under control and the land manager is now in a much better position to meet the ongoing management requirements of this weed. A strategic, integrated control program for athel pine on the Finke River has been managed by the Northern Territory Government’s Weeds Management Branch since 1989. More recently, the development of the Athel Pine Working Group, involving relevant stakeholder groups in the Finke River catchment, has led to more coordinated control in affected catchment areas.
Insectopia – biocontrol agents on the loose
Salvinia weevil release in KakaduSince April 2016, a concerted effort has been towards the active management of salvinia in Kakadu. In nearly all areas of the NT, management of salvinia relies almost entirely on biological control and wet season flushing. Salvinia has a highly successful biological control agent (the weevil, Cyrtobagous) that has been deliberately reared and distributed to salvinia infestations since 1981. Recently, the Weed Management Branch provided advice to the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation
(GAC) to construct a weevil rearing facility in Kakadu to facilitate the management of salvinia outbreaks. By August 2017 the level of weevils in the GAC facility were at levels high enough to harvest for release. A release was made on Malabanjbanjdju Billabong with great success. This project was recently covered by the ABC on its Landline program. For more information please visit: www.nt.gov.au/salvinia.
Success for the mimosa biocontrol programSince 1979, 15 biocontrol agents have been released for one of the NT’s worst weeds, mimosa (Mimosa pigra L.). Six of these are considered to have been successful by reducing plant growth, flowering and seed production. A 10‑year study has tracked the mimosa soil seed bank as an indicator of biocontrol success and has detected a massive reduction in the soil seed bank since 2005. Given that the long-term control of a weed requires reduction and elimination of the seed bank, this is good news for landholders managing mimosa. For more information on mimosa, visit: www.nt.gov.au/mimosa.
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Nessie the mimosa warriorNessie ‘the mimosa flee beetle’ (Nesaecrepida infuscata) is one of the successful biocontrol agents that was first released in the Top End in 2007. Since then, Nessie has stepped up to be the most successful biocontrol agent of mimosa in the Territory that has been released to date. Nessie targets mimosa leaves which opens up the canopy and allows for grass establishment in and around the mimosa infestation, in turn suffocating seedings and allowing fire in as another control method. If you
would like to know more about Nessie and controlling your mimosa infestation, please contact Bert Lukitsch at the Weed Management Branch on phone: (08) 8999 2380 or email: bert.lukitsch@nt.gov.au.
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Upcoming Events11 November - 9 December 2017 Katherine Neem Blitz Program launch in partnership with Territory NRM 1 November 2017 - 20 April 2018 Gamba Action Program (GAP) begins (Darwin and Katherine) www.nt.gov.au/gamba 21 - 23 November 2017 Territory NRM conference (Darwin) https://www.tnrmconference.org.au/
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