Rice Grass projects in the Cradle Coast Region There are two Rice Grass removal projects to protect Coastal Saltmarsh currently underway in the region.
Circular Head Coastal Saltmarsh Project Rice Grass (Spartina anglica) was purposely planted in the Duck River in the 1950’s to stabilise the banks and improve the visual amenity
of
mudflats.
Rice
Grass
is
an
aggressive aquatic weed that clogs up waterways and displaces native Coastal Saltmarsh. It prevents resident and migratory shorebirds from feeding and reduces access to boat ramps and oyster leases.
Spraying is scheduled during low tide events and is dependent on favourable weather conditions, and this summer was wet and windy. With access to Rice Grass across mudflats also an
issue,
challenge.
spraying
certainly
presents
a
A one-week harvest closure needs to be negotiated with Oyster farmers before spraying takes place. This year, March was the big spray week with weed contractors using 4WD trucks with long hoses, quad bikes and knapsacks. The dedicated Circular Head Landcare Group found early morning low tides often had low winds. They walked 77 kms of coastline, totalling 364 hours of volunteer time, looking for and spraying small Rice Grass outliers. In total, 123 kms of coast, covering 833 hectares was treated between December to March during the 2020/2021 Rice Grass spraying season, an incredible effort. This project is supported by Cradle Coast Authority, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
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