MANAGING RICE GRASS AND SEA SPURGE The Robbins Passage—Boullanger Bay wetlands in the Circular Head municipality cover approximately 28,000 hectares including tidal mudflats, beaches, estuaries, sand flats, salt marshes and sandy and rocky islands. Migratory birds depend on the area for food and shelter, as do many resident species of shorebirds. To protect and enhance the wetlands, a project was undertaken with the North West Environment Centre to coordinate sea spurge and rice grass weed mapping and management planning. The plan encompassed community-based weed control works and community awareness raising activities, particularly focusing on local weed management and weed hygiene. The goals of the plan are: •To engage and empower local users and the broader community to undertake weed control activities. •To enable the early identification and location of invasive weeds. •To minimise the natural, cultural and economic impacts of weeds through the prioritisation of weed control activities.
•To enable communitybased control, and where possible eradication, of weeds affecting the Robbins Passage and Boullanger Bay wetlands. •To monitor, evaluate and learn from weed control activities undertaken in the Robbins Passage and Boullanger Bay wetlands and other environments. Outcomes from a habitat vulnerability assessment, undertaken by the University of Tasmania, examining the implications of sea level rise in Robbins Passage-Boullanger Bay were also shared with the community to increase natural resource management engagement in these important wetlands.
Rice Grass infestation (Source: J. Howaldt).
INFORMATION SHEET ROBBINS PASSAGE— BOULLANGER BAY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The project was delivered by the North West Environment Centre, supported by Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management (NRM) through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country
PO Box 338 30 Marine Terrace Burnie Tasmania 7320 Phone: 03 6431 6285 Fax: 03 6431 7014 E-mail: nrm@cradlecoast.com www.cradlecoastnrm.com.