R & J Frankenberg wrote:
Russell questioned what use spillways and structures might be in wetlands.
Structures can make the difference between a wetland being degraded, or
diverse and healthy.
I'm also involved with manipulation of floodplain areas to improve their
health. (Please note that our group has decided (belatedly) that
'wetland' is a misleading term for something that isn't always wet).
Several thousand dollars of NHT and other money, plus many hours of
volunteers' time has been spent around Morgan, SA in environmental
studies, development of management plans (to be flexible and adaptable,
as circumstances change) and design and installation of new structures.
The highest priority at the 2 sites I'm involved with has been to open
up embankments and silted-up pipes, installing extra and bigger
culverts, to enable the free flow of water through the floodplain when
we get a high river. At the same time, we will have the option of
operating fish screens or water-blocking mechanisms to hold back or
release water and/or larger fish, if it seems likely to be advantageous
to the environment.
This has been a slow process, mainly because of the high level of
community consultation and approval that is needed, but after several
years of planning and preparation (and help from our Riverland West
Local Action Planning Officer aka Peter Waanders) we are actually
getting the job done. Very satisfying. Now all we have to do is hope for
a good flow of decent water to come down the Murray and we can learn
from others' experiences and our own trials, how best to manage things!
The best is yet to come.
Anne Green
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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