>Jon Wren (now that is a name with history at least in Victoria - ask the
author Frank Hardy) wrote :
>...
>Father wanting to sub divide a portion of it back in 1992 and Waynes
>desire to have a "clean park" in 1997
This desire to have "clean parks" is unfortunately fairly widespread. The
council in Kununurra in the Kimberley of WA wanted to 'redevelop' Lily
Creek lagoon opposite town which is surrounded by typha reeds and is the
easiest site to see White-browed Crake, Green Pygmy Geese, Oriental Reed
Warbler (summer), Comb-crested Jacana, etc plus very nearby there is Little
Bittern and Little Grassbird, etc plus hundreds or freshwater crocodiles.
They tried burning the typha. They tried spraying with roundup at dawn.
However it would not be beaten. This typha is very tough when the
conditions are suitable! Everyone complained that it looked very ugly
(well it was burnt!). They wanted a swimming area close to town. The
typha seeds were supposed to be aggravating people's asthma (I doubt this
as the seeds would be too large??), clogging the filters at the power
station, and a breeding ground for mosquitoes (again I doubt that this was
the main source for the mossies).
I was in Kununurra in August and fortunately nothing had happened, probably
due to a lack of money or maybe the typha was just too tough?? I had
raised the issue with CALM (the conservation department trying to kick out
the protectors of the Giblet jarrah forest block in the south west but that
is another story) but they didn't really seem to want to know.
The typha is a native species, but was previously controlled by the rise
and fall of the river levels. The water level is now fairly constant and
the whole Ord River from Kununurra to the Lake Argyle dam is lined with
typha. Great for crakes, but probably not great in general?
Frank
|
