MRCCC Projects

Current Projects of the MRCCC

The MRCCC currently coordinates 6 Community Waterwatch networks involving 70 volunteers who monitor water quality at over 100 sites on waterways throughout the Mary River Catchment every month. Using field equipment provided by the MRCCC, volunteers monitor temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and in some networks, phosphate and nitrate levels.

The Western Mary Catchments Grazing Landscapes project is currently full steam ahead in the Munna catchment (near Biggenden) and the Wide Bay-Widgee catchment (near Kilkivan).  Funded by the National Landcare Program and supported by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, this project assists graziers in the Munna, Wide Bay and Widgee sub-catchments to improve grazing land condition with the goal of improving property level productivity and sustainability.

The 2008 Mary Program of Rivercare is a three year catchment wide project is addressing the multiple issues of water quality, weed control, revegetation, erosion and threatened species habitat through a range of initiatives on over 150 properties from the headwaters of the Mary down to Tinana Creek in the Fraser Coast Regional Council. Funded by the Burnett Mary Regional Group and local government throughout the catchment, the Mary Rivercare Program is a great example of a collaborative on-ground project strongly supported by landholders who willingly contribute their labour and time to improving the condition of the catchment. Click here to download a copy of the Rivercare Grant Application form for landholders.

Over the warmer months, the MRCCC’s Living with Threatened Species project with Eva Ford at the helm has been surveying creeks in Caloundra, Maroochy, Noosa and Cooloola shires for rare frog species including the Giant Barred Frog, Cascade Tree Frog and the Tusked Frog.  Recently, the frogs have been a little quiet in some areas, possibly as a result of the on-going dry season. The presence (or not) of frogs in riparian areas provides an indication of the quality of stream habitat, enabling on-ground works to be targeted and threatened species habitat to be protected and conserved.

Eva has also been working with the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly Recovery Network with the aim of restoring Birdwing habitat throughout the Mary.  The former range of the butterfly included a colony at River Heads, right at the mouth of the Mary River.  Enemies to the butterfly include weeds such as Madeira Vine and Dutchman’s Pipe, which out-compete the native Pararistolochia, one of the Birdwing’s principal food sources. If you are interested in planting Birdwing feed vines on your land, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Dale Watson has compiled a report on works undertaken around the catchment for the Recreational Fishing grants program. This project involved installation of large woody debris on Elaman and Obi Obi Creek, with the dual purpose of improving instream habitat for a range of aquatic species including the Mary River Cod, and improving water quality by reducing erosion and sediment entering the stream. Conondale and Widgee school students also had an opportunity to learn more about water quality and aquatic life through the project, which was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

MRCCC Staff have also been working with the BMRG as a Regional Liaison Officer for the Mary Catchment. This role involves helping individuals, landcare groups and local government develop applications for strategic on-ground works and actions aimed at achieving the targets in the BMRG’s Country to Coast NRM Plan. Over the next year or so, we will also be looking at the progress of a number of project sites in the catchment.

The MRCCC continues to support the Lake Macdonald Catchment Care group who are working with the CSIRO to continue their research into finding a biological control agent to combat Cabomba caroliniana, one of Australia’s worst aquatic weeds. A south American native imported for the aquarium trade, this weed now infests Lake Macdonald in the Noosa Shire to the tune of 90 tonnes per hectare, all possibly because someone emptied a fish tank into a creek somewhere in the catchment. Commonly called Fanwort, this weed aggressively colonises waterways, destroying aquatic biodiversity and increasing water treatment costs.

For more information about these or other MRCCC projects, please call the MRCCC Resource Centre in 07 5482 4766 or email mrccc.org.au