Maintenance Requirements:

• Weed control – Follow up weed control in spring to ensure the seedlings have minimal competition leading into summer. Herbicide applications need to be undertaken carefully, hand spraying around seedlings or using grass selective herbicides
• Tree guard maintenance – Tree guards were installed with stake facing the prevailing wind to minimise movement but will need monitoring, particularly post significant wind/weather events. Staged removal will be required.
• Fence integrity/maintenance to ensure live stock are kept out.

Challenges:

• The weather was a challenge, having a late cold start made spraying difficult for getting the creeks ready. Also, the cold wet winter delayed planting and made access difficult
• The weed control was delayed due to weather restrictions
• Some of the plants suffered due to being planted too soon after herbicide application
• Tree guards were only installed for one third of the shrub/tree species – those that are prone to predation and damage from adverse weather conditions
• One of the main challenges that Tim and Zoe have faced was trying to manage the grass on the creek-line. They said that this is an ongoing issue as the grasses along the creek-line are a mix of legumes, annual grass and other ground covering weeds. They are finding the management of these grasses extremely difficult and are unable to eradicate them completely.
• The build up of undesirable grasses have caused blockages in the water flow in shallower areas of the creek-line, causing flooding which has killed out pastures in the surrounding area and during the wetter months the stock now stand in water which is suboptimal.
• Plant survival is an issue, specifically during the summer months. They find that in large areas, watering the plants is not practical. Maybe more established seedlings are needed. 

Outcomes

Tim has found that in some areas the banks have stabilised well. However, he is unsure if it due to the planting or due to the undesirable grasses growing.

Tim and Zoe recommend not doing large areas at one time unless you have the resources for larger scale watering and weeds management . Instead, they suggest shorter sections all along the creek lines with as many breaks as plantings. Doing this may make the grass control easier and eliminate the traffic that stock may create in other areas. 

They would recommend the program, dependent on the situation.

In reasonably level low lying land, they don't recommend due to the flooding risk, however, in very defined deep eroding creeks with some aspect to the land it is likely to be productive.

Tim and Zoe found the weed management their biggest barrier. The labour requirement to manage the weeds was too high on their commercial farm, and they believe that their well managed pastures do just as much to keep the integrity of creek banks and management of that system is much easier. 

According to Tim, the main value in using the Lower Blackwood LCDC to assist with this project was the knowledge and access to all the relevant people to get the job done properly so that it lasts.

Project and Funders

This project is a part of Healthy Estuaries WA – a State Government program that aims to improve the health of our South West estuaries.

This case study also forms part of the Lower Blackwood LCDC's project 'Scott River Action Plan Implementation Strategy and On-ground Action'. This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program.