River is slowly dying Conservationists:

THE Collie River is being choked by introduced trees and slowly dying, according to two local river conservationists.

Dennis True and Ed Riley believe the health of the river needs to be addressed, if Collie is to welcome recreational tourism to its waterways.

“It looks terrible,” Mr True said.

“We’re promoting tourists to our town, and they’re looking at fallen trees.

“The river downstream of Soldiers’ Park is brown, and the river upstream of Soldiers’ Park near the swinging bridge is in the exact same condition.”

Mr True said the brown water was obviously caused by a chemical reaction in the river ecosystem.

“We don’t know what causes it, but the river should be a greeny colour,” he said.

“There was none of this sort of stuff in the river when I was a kid.”

Mr Riley said introduced trees have shallow root systems and cause problems when they fall into the river.

“Our natural trees contributed to the food chain,” he said.

“When we cleared the river in 1964 after the floods, those native trees were cleared away too.

“We lost the natural tree canopy, which provided shade to the river and, if a tree fell, it provided a habitat.

“After we knocked down all the natives, we went silly with introduced species - such as wattles and eastern state eucalypts. These introduced species pollute the water, and they don’t provide an effective form of habitat, or a source of food.

“They are trapping silts and toxicity, gases and all sorts of things. The river cannot function properly.”

Mr Riley said it was ridiculous to think tourists would be able to use the river for recreation.

“Swimming, canoes, kayaks - how are you going to get people in there?” he said.

“It is not visually attractive. The criticism from locals is fine, but when tourists are talking about it, it is time to do something about the problem.”

Mr Riley’s friend, Jack Walsh, recently wrote to the Collie Shire about the state of the river after he visited Collie. He also wrote a Letter to the Editor, which featured in the Bulletin’s January 12 edition.

He did not receive a response from the shire.

Mr Walsh lives in Perth and was previously a councillor for the City of Cottesloe. He spent much of his childhood in Collie, swimming in the river. He visited Collie in December last year for the first time since 1956.

After seeing the state of the river, he recently told Mr Riley he wouldn’t “even dip a toe in the river” in its current state.

In his Letter to the Editor, Mr Walsh wrote, “I despair for the once magnificent