Partnerships for natural resource management

Dumaresq Island riverbank restoration

In 2019 Council in partnership with a local landholder was successful in obtaining a $40,000 Habitat Action Grant from the Department of Primary Industries to address a significant erosion issue and improve fish habitat on the Manning River at Dumaresq Island. Prior to the works, a two-meter-high bank was being dramatically eroded into the Manning River. Sedimentation of such a high degree not only clogs up our estuary but also smothers seagrass – an essential habitat for many aquatic species.

The project resulted in the erection of stock exclusion fencing to keep cattle off the riverbank, which was planted with over 500 native trees. Major weed infestations of bamboo and camphor laurel were removed to allow for natural regeneration. The riverbank itself was restored via the construction of 410m of rock fillets which create an artificial reef that simultaneously protects the bank while creating an environment suitable for mangroves and saltmarsh. In time, the clearer water may even see the return of the sea grass community.

Environmental works such as these return the environmental functionality of the area. The saltmarsh and mangrove vegetation provide habitat and food for fish, thereby increasing their chances of survivorship. These plant communities also act as a buffer, filtering out nutrients from the land and preventing erosion – thereby helping to create a cleaner and clearer Manning River for our fish and our community.

MidCoast Council’s Natural Systems team and HLLS have a shared mission to enhance and protect biodiversity, ecosystems, water quality, creeks, rivers and estuarine, coastal and marine environments. In 2019 both organisations commenced a process to formalise this partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase the efficiencies and benefits of working together and achieve far greater outcomes than could be achieved alone.

Key projects that have come out of the initial stages of this MOU include the Beyond the Shed project targeting intensive poultry farmers; the Karuah Catchment Management Grants