Wetland Dreamings

Message from the Chairman

Since the last newsletter much has happened.

"In regards to our staff Deb has been on maternity leave for the past 12 months and has recently returned. In the interim, Paula had taken over and carried out the senior role very well with great assistance from Trish. The Group has recently appointed Duncan Vennell as the Central Murray Project Officer based in Deniliquin. Duncan joins the Group with a great reputation for community leadership, so welcome Duncan from us all."

"The Wetland Funding Programs have been launched. This is quite exciting and the Group looks forward to assisting many landholders and other groups in protecting and improving wetlands throughout the Murray Valley."

"As in the previous 2 years the Wetlands on Private Properties Project continues to produce some wonderful results. The interest shown in the project this year by the community was most encouraging with 87 applications received. We intend to continue this most successful project in the future."

"The Group has been successful in being a service provider to the Murray and Lower Murray-Darling CMA's for wetland rehabilitation projects. Mark King has been announced as the CMA Chairman. Well done Mark!"

"This year in particular is shaping up to be one full of changes both in governmental structures and how we approach the future management of resources such as water. Currently there is much discussion in relation to the proposed Regional Water Trusts - in which the Group hopes to have some involvement. However, despite all these changes the Group will continue to strive towards achieving as many on-ground results as we can."

Howard Jones.

Major Projects Round-up

The MWWG is currently involved in a number of differing projects. Listed below are a few of the major projects and information on their progress:

Wetlands Watering on Private Properties:

• The monitoring for this season's (2003-04) project is drawing to a close.
• A total of 49 private wetlands (totalling 902 ha) received environmental water during the project.
• Like previous years, all wetlands have responded tremendously with good vegetation and bird responses recorded.

Thegoa Lagoon:

• In August 2003 Environmental flow allocation resulted in flows entering and filling the Lagoon. The flows ended the recent drying phase which commenced in December 2000.
• Monitoring of the birds (Sunraysia Bird Observers), flow rates (DIPNR), groundwater levels and vegetation (MWWG), and water quality (MDFRC) have been conducted during the filling.
• A summary report on the filling will be produced in May 2004.
• A report comparing sheep trampled sediments to non-trampled sediments, commissioned by the MWWG, will be produced in May 2004.

Wetlands Watch Guide - Edition 2:

• New and revised copies of the Wetlands Watch Guide - A Field Guide for Monitoring Wetlands are now available. For a copy please contact Trish Alexander on 02 6023 1822.

Stevens Weir:

• Further delays are being experienced with the Fishway at Stevens Weir due to uncertainties about the proposed hydro development scheme.

SE Riverina Wetland Mapping Project:

• Originally a State Wetland Advisory Committee (SWAC) funded project, the MWWG has provided additional funds to enable the completion of the project.
• The project aims to map wetland areas in the West Corugan area between Billabong Creek and the Murray River.
• The project has identified 720 wetland areas in the region.
• The project is due to be completed by June 2004.

Help with Conservation Activities

Would you like to do some rehabilitation works on your wetland but need some more hands to lighten the load?

Well contact Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA). For over 20 years CVA has developed and implemented community involvement with volunteers from Australia and overseas by assisting landowners and managers in practical conservation activities for the betterment of the Australian environment.

Assistance can be given in a wide range of conservation activities including;

• Bush / Wetland revitalisation
• Revegetation works
• Seed collection
• Fencing
• Plant and animal species surveys.
• Woody weed removal
• Boardwalk and track construction
• Erosion control

Projects of duration of 1 day to several weeks can be organised and as Conservation Volunteers Australia is a 'not for profit' private organisation there is a cost recovery charge of $500 per day.

Southern inland NSW is covered by a Regional Office at Wagga Wagga and the Regional Manager, Brian Crick, can be contacted on 02 6920 1099 or emailed at bcrick@conservationvolunteers.com.au to provide further details on how this assistance works.

Bush Telegraph's Water Challenge

From October to December last year listeners of ABC Radio National's Bush Telegraph show were asked to take note of how they use water and to decide on how best to manage 1,000 ML. The MWWG were pleased to be part of the 'Water Challenge', a new and exciting initiative.

So what did the listeners decide?

With 2003 being the United Nations International Year of Fresh Water, the Bush Telegraph show wanted to do something different to make people aware of how much water they use and the complexities of managing such a valuable resource.

The first part of the Challenge was to make people aware of their consumption of water. Listeners and guests (including mainland capital city water managers, regional water managers, and ABC personalities) were asked to monitor their water use for six weeks. Each week water meter readings from around the country were submitted and compared with other users.

Then the Challenge stepped up a gear. After submitting 5,000 water meter readings the show's listeners were given the responsibility of how best to manage 1,000ML. For 4 weeks 4 different options were presented on how the water could be used, at the end of which listeners had to choose their preferred option. The option with the most votes was considered the 'winner'.

The four options included:

1. Murray River - Release the 1,000 ML down the Murray River to provide some variability to flow and river level and to assist in keeping the Murray mouth open.
2. Barmah-Millewa Forest - Add the 1,000 ML to the Barmah-Millewa Forest environmental allocation for release at an appropriate time.
3. Private Wetland Watering - Use the water to flood small private wetlands in the Murray Valley in NSW.
4. Water Trade - Trade the 1,000 ML on the open water market with approx. value of $75,000 (value will fluctuate) with the proceeds to be managed by the Murray Wetlands Working Group (MWWG) for environmental rehabilitation works in the Murray Valley.

MWWG staff and members were invited to help with the presentation of the options and through interviews explained the benefits that each option could provide to the environment. As well as the 'experts', local landholders, fishers, and agriculturalists were interviewed to provide a more 'on-ground' perspective to the discussion.

"To be asked to be involved in such an exciting and novel initiate was a great opportunity for the MWWG" explains project officer Paula D'Santos. "The show not only provided a fabulous chance to explain to such a large audience how an environmental water allocation can be used to better the environment, but it also enabled us to highlight some of the complexities involved with managing such parcels of water".

The 1,000ML that was 'donated' to the show is part of the Moira Lake Water Savings which the MWWG currently manages on behalf of the NSW government. Moira Lake is an ephemeral wetland located in Millewa State Forest (part of the Barmah-Millewa Forests). The water savings (calculated to be approx. 1,955 ML) were incurred after regulators were installed on the Lake preventing regulated high summer flows from entering the Lake. Through the exclusion of the regulated flows the Lake is now able to undergo essential drying phases which helps to maintain a diverse and highly productive wetland system.

On December 17th it was time to announce the winning option for the 1,000ML. A live to air broadcast was conducted from Hume Dam and many who had either participated in the discussions or were interested in the Challenge turned up at the broadcast. After much anticipation Option 2: the Barmah-Millewa Forest was announced as the most favoured option for the use of the water. This water will be used, in conjunction with natural floodwaters, to flood the Barmah-Millewa forests - as to when that happens depends on the rain!

Broadcasters Alecia Brown and Stuart Higgins discuss the project's success. Photo courtesy Trish Alexander and Stuart Higgins

"It was interesting to see what the listeners had chosen," said Paula. "The voting period coincided with a time where there was a lot of media focus on the Living Murray, with the Barmah-Millewa listed as one of its 6 sites. Option 3 - the use of the water on private wetlands - was the least popular and suggests that the public is still uncomfortable with public resources being used on private land. With the majority of wetlands in the Murray Valley existing on private properties the voting illustrates that there is a real need to continue to work closely with landholders and the wider public and show that protecting areas on private land contributes to the greater good for all."

The MWWG would like to especially thank Stuart Higgins, Alecia Brown and all the crew of the Bush Telegraph show, as well as the listeners. For more information on the Bush Telegraph 'Water Challenge' log on to http://abc.net.au/water/

AEW Allocation Use in 2003-2004

New CMA Chairs Announced

Congratulations to Cr. Mark King for being selected as the Chair for the new Lower Murray-Darling Catchment Management Authority (CMA).

The Chair for the Murray CMA is Mr. Kelvin Baxter. It is anticipated that the CMAs will be up and running in the near future.

ASL Early Career Excellence Award

Congratulations to Dr. Ben Gawne on being awarded the 'ASL Early Career Achievement Award' at the 42nd Australian Society for Limnology (ASL) Congress held in Warrnambool, Victoria in December 2003!

The award acknowledges the contributions that Ben has made to international limnology in both theory and application.

Ben is currently the Director of the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre managing three laboratories located in Albury, Mildura and Goondiwindi (and he's a MWWG member too!). With an ability and enthusiasm to engage wide cross sections of the community, Ben has made significant contributions to helping the scientific community and general public in better understanding of our rivers and wetlands.

MWWG Membership

The MWWG would like to welcome its new project officer, based in Deniliquin, Duncan Vennell.

Duncan started with the Group in February, and will be focussing on the Wetlands on Private Properties project whilst also assisting with a number of other projects in the Deniliquin region.

Having completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Parks, Recreation and Heritage at Charles Sturt University in Albury, Duncan has also gained valuable experience in natural resource management through his employment as a Green Corps Team leader and by assisting in a fish-breeding program run by NSW Fisheries in Narrandera.

"I would Iike to thank the MWWG for giving me the opportunity to work on such an exciting project, the chance to work with community groups and private landholders in conservation and enhancement activities of wetlands. Along with, sharing the information with the wider community of the need to protect these important ecosystems." Duncan said

At the last MWWG AGM, held in Dareton in November, a new Executive Membership was elected. Howard Jones was re-elected as Chairman and Judy Frankenberg retains the position of Vice-Chair. The other Executive Members include Ian Davidson, Adrian Wells, Andrew Christy, Brian Sharp, with Deborah Nias and Paula D'Santos filling the roles as treasurer and secretary respectively.

A special thanks goes to David Leslie, who stepped down as an Executive Member. The Group would like to thank David for his time, effort and invaluable contributions made over the past few years.

MWWG ASL Student Prize - 2003

Christina Mykytiuk (left) receiving the 2003 NSW MWWG ASL Student Prize from project officer Paula D'Santos.

At the recent joint Australian Society for Limnology / New Zealand Limnological Society Congress (ASL/NZLS), held at Warrnambool Victoria, this year's NSW Murray Wetlands Working Group Student Prize was awarded to Christina Mykytiuk of Murdoch University, Western Australia.

The Prize, valued at $100, was awarded to Christina for her paper presentation entitled "Factors affecting the occurrence of submerged macrophytes on urban wetlands in the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia".

The Swan Coastal Plain (SCP), located near Perth, Western Australia, is an area that once supported a multitude of wetlands but has now lost many of its wetlands due to the expansion of urban development. Estimated as having only 30% of its original wetlands left, the SCP's remaining wetlands are under increasing pressure from disturbance and degradation.

In wetland complexes such as the SCP submerged macrophytes, or aquatic plants, are an integral component of the system. However, due to an increase in degradation the plants are fast disappearing from urban wetlands. The aim of Christina's Honours research was to determine the factors affecting the occurrence of submerged macrophytes and then use this information to develop strategic management plans for the restoration of the Swan Coastal Plain, and other, wetlands.

After setting up field and laboratory experiments focussing on the biomass of the plant water milfoil (Myriophyllum limnophilum), Christina found that the occurrence of the submerged aquatic plants was mostly related to seasonality and nutrient concentrations in the wetland

• Grazing by waterbirds and the invasion of dominant species such as cumbungi (Typha orientalis) were also identified as having an effect on the plants. The nutrient results indicated that when there was a high level of nutrients, such as when sediments had a lot of organic matter, there were fewer or no plants present; whilst when the nutrient concentrations were low, such as in sandy sediments, the plants covered more area in the wetland.

The MWWG Student Prize is awarded to a student (Honours/Masters/PhD) for the presentation of either a poster or paper that has direct relevance to wetland management, preferably with community involvement. It is aimed at recognising the valuable contribution that such research studies can make to natural resource management and to provide encouragement for students to continue their excellent work.

Experimental work for Christina Mykytiuk's Honours Project located in Swan coastal plains, WA. Photo courtesy Christina Mykytiuk

Now having finished her Honours project, Christina explains, "The findings of this project has implications for the restoration of submerged plant communities in our urban wetlands. This information can be used to help managers understand the system better and improve the management of our urban wetlands". Christina has identified that the first and essential step towards restoring the wetlands is to look at the nutrient concentration levels. A reduction in nutrient levels can be achieved by minimising the amount of drainage and urban run-off that enters the wetland, whilst the removal of organic rich sediments can also reduce nutrient concentration levels. Other recommendations include the protection of young plants from waterbird grazing and to prevent the domination of plants such as cumbungi in the system.

After 7 years of being in existence the
Murray Darling Water Management Plan (MDWMAP) Steering Committee, chaired by Mr. Vin Byrnes, has completed its task of producing a management plan.

The MDWMAP is aimed to minimise environmental risks whilst optimising economic opportunities in the Lower Murray-Darling region.

• reduce environmental degradation by facilitating piping of the Euston and Pomona water delivery systems;
• develop a predictive model for cultural heritage management; and
• provided access for irrigators and potential developers to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) which helps in identifying and avoiding degradation of sites that are culturally rich &/or are of high conservation value.

Congratulations to Vin and his Committee on the conclusion of a successful project !