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News>Assistance to control weeds on Towong roads
| Towong Shire Council has recently been allocated over $80,000 of funding from the Victorian Government for the long-term management of weeds on local roads.
Ms Juliana Phelps, Chief Executive Officer, said that the funding was a welcome announcement after several years of confusion over the responsibility for the management of roadside weeds and pests.
“A working party established back in 2010 by the former Government reviewed the arrangements for managing weeds and pests along roadsides and recommended that Councils be required under legislation to prepare and implement approved Roadside Weed and Rabbit Control Plans,” said Ms Phelps.
Council is now in the process of preparing the required Control Plan and the majority of the funding will be used for the ongoing control of blackberry.
In the past, Council has been successful in obtaining funding for blackberry control on an annual basis.
“It is very satisfying to drive around the Shire and find grasses and native species reoccupying those areas that were previously home to tangled and invasive thickets of blackberries,” she said. “This funding will enable us to continue our treatment program and make sure that our roadsides stay clear of blackberries,”
Local farmers have also played their part in controlling blackberries on local roads.
“We really appreciate the effort of landholders who have treated blackberry outbreaks on roadsides that are adjacent to their properties, this has definitely helped us to achieve the high level of control evident on our roadsides throughout the Shire,”
Ms Phelps also praised the work being done on rural properties by Landcare and the Upper Murray and Mitta to Murray Blackberry Action Groups.
“The Blackberry Action Groups have collaborated with Council to keep this noxious weed under control across the Shire,” she said
Residents who have noticed outbreaks of blackberries along local roads are encouraged to contact Council so that treatment can be arranged this season. The funding allocated to Council for this purpose however is only available for local roads and not roads that are the responsibility of VicRoads.
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