THE West Midlands Group (WMG) is excited to announce a new initiative to support on-ground activities that lead to improved management strategies for the Minyulo Brook catchment.
The Minyulo Brook is a prominent natural feature of the Dandaragan area that winds through many farming properties across the region and is fed by local runoff and natural springs.
The initiative will commence in 2021, with the first project to engage growers along the Minyulo Brook and more broadly across the catchment, which is estimated to be about 120,000 hectares, in workshops and rehabilitation activities to control and ultimately eradicate the invasive weed, spiny rush.
WMG executive officer Nathan Craig said the Dandaragan based not-for-profit grower group needed to support sustainable land management practices into the future to achieve its vision of a sustainable farming community.
"Our soils and waterways are key components of our landscape, with many landholders keen to leave their properties in better condition than when they started," Dr Craig said.
"One of the key issues of the Minyulo Brook is the establishment of the invasive weed, spiny rush, which has led to a reduction in the area available for grazing and displaced many of the native rush species.
"The first step is to engage with landholders, industry and traditional owners, the Yued Noongar people, to create a shared vision that drives good natural resource management into the future to allow everyone to enjoy it."
Supported by Iluka Resources, the project will concentrate on invasive weed control and preparing the sections of waterway closest to the Dandaragan township for future revegetation activities.
Iluka Resources operates the Cataby Mineral Sands Mine which intersects the lower western end of the Minyulo Brook catchment, where efforts are already underway to protect riparian zones and promote foraging habitat for the Carnaby's cockatoo.
"Iluka has a strong interest in supporting regional catchment care programs and the WMG spiny rush eradication project aligns well with our commitments," said Cataby Mine operations manager Mel Henderson.
This initiative begins the process to develop a management plan for the catchment to control and eradicate spiny rush in the short-term and to develop management practices to enhance the waterway in the medium-term.
In the long-term the initiative aims to identify and deliver co-ordinated catchment-wide activities that increase the sustainability of land management, such as eradicating invasive species such as spiny rush and improving the Carnaby's cockatoo habitat along the creek.