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Home>INVASIVE WEEDS UNDER ATTACK THIS SUMMER
| Towong Shire Council and the Upper Murray Blackberry Action Group have joined forces to tackle invasive weeds along local roads this summer.
Action group spokesperson Lyn Coulston said together the action group and council had successfully applied for $38,000 of funding during 2008-2009 to attack roadside weeds and run education programs to help community members identify noxious plants.
“So far we’ve held two weed identification programs at Shelley for Council staff run by the Department of Primary Industries, and two at Talgarno and Eskdale for interested community members,” she said.
“We’re planning two more sessions in the Upper Murray later this year and we’ll be notifying people as soon as the dates are set.”
Mrs Coulston said to help residents identify and control pest weeds, the action group and council have developed WEEDeck, an easy-to-use, pictorial and informative guide to priority weeds found within the Towong Shire. The WEEDecks are available to the public at the DPI education sessions.
Council’s Technical Services Director, Gary Mawby said some of the Shire’s roadsides would be sprayed for blackberries again this summer. Blackberry is one of Australia’s 20 Weeds of National Significance (WONS) so priority is given to mapping and treating infestations along local roadsides.
“We’ll be starting the program within the next few weeks, targeting Tallangatta and Bethanga first, which had shortened programs last year because of the extreme weather conditions,” he said.
“When plants are water stressed, they shut down and don’t absorb the chemicals. Continuing the spraying program last summer would have been a waste of resources.
“Because of that decision to discontinue, we now have extra resources this season, which is far more conducive to successful blackberry control.”
A new round of funding for roadside weed control will be announced by DPI within the next few weeks. This will enable Council to apply for funds for weed treatment and roadside mapping in 2009-10.
MEDIA CONTACT: Aaron van Egmond, Acting Chief Executive Officer - (02) 6071 5100.
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