Livestock traffic, reduced vegetation, unseasonably high rainfall and naturally steep riverbanks all contributed to significant erosion issues along Macintyre Brook near Inglewood for land managers Boyd and Jane Bignell.
So when the graziers heard of funding to protect the riverbank and improve water quality for native fish, through the Australian Government’s $7.5 million dollar Fencing Northern Basin Riverbanks Project, they jumped at the opportunity to get involved.
Under the Fencing Northern Basin Riverbanks Project Jane Bignell said they installed 750 metres of fencing and several off-stream watering points on “Mumbulu”, with the aim of restricting livestock access to the brook.
“The fencing around the water course really complimented the extensive amount of fencing work we have already completed on our property,” Jane Bignell said.
“We have 94 hectares on the Macintyre Brook, and about half of that would be irrigated, and the other half is dryland. We grow hay and fatten lambs that we bring in from our sheep enterprise, which is out west,” Mrs Bignell said.
“The fencing helps us with stock management so we can keep our stock out of the brook and reduce erosion and degradation of the banks because the sheep were actually watering on the brook. They made tracks, and then when it rained it led to erosion problems,” she said.
“I think this will also improve the quality of the water, because the stock are not muddying it up; so it is doing the environment some good in that way as well.”
“The fencing helps us with stock management so we can keep our stock out of the brook and reduce erosion and degradation of the banks because the sheep were actually watering on the brook. They made tracks, and then when it rained it led to erosion problems,” she said.
The Bignells are not the only family in Southern Queensland to access funding through the Fencing Northern Basin Riverbanks Project and affect change in the health and quality of the waterways traversing their farms.
Southern Queensland Landscapes has been supporting the delivery of the Northern Basin Riverbanks Project along with the Queensland Government.
Project Coordinator, Leanne Stevens said 66 land managers are collectively installing over 510 kilometres of fencing and off-stream watering points across five catchments within the Murray-Darling Basin region.
“This project is helping to stabilise those riparian areas, reduce erosion and encourage potential regrowth of native flora along those waterways, which further stabilises those banks, and it helps land managers to better manage their livestock by making sure that they are where they need to be,” Leanne Stevens said.
“They are not chasing them down the river, pulling them out of the neighbour's paddocks, or contributing to erosion issues along the waterways,” Ms Stevens said.
“It is important to protect the waterways and the native fish that inhabit the creeks and rivers because the Northern Basin is the top end of the Murray Darling Basin, and what we do at the top of that basin has flow-on effects for the entire basin,” she said.
“So, protecting those waterways from livestock reduces the amount of sediment going into the waterways. It helps to preserve the water quality, which has beneficial impacts on fish habitat, protecting over 50 species of native fish that inhabit those waterways and that has lots of flow-on effects through the whole of the Murray Darling.”
“They are not chasing them down the river, pulling them out of the neighbour's paddocks, or contributing to erosion issues along the waterways,” Ms Stevens said.
Although its early days for the Bignells and full benefits of fencing the waterways are yet to be realised, Jane Bignell expects the creek banks will start revegetating immediately and through this the banks will be bolstered against future erosion.
“We have had this fantastic season at the moment, so we have not actually assessed the whole thing, but I think after this we will have a fairly good idea,” Jane Bignell said.
“It is quite a steep bank, and before the fencing went in the sheep wandered down in the same place each time. They leave quite a mark, so I imagine that is starting to vegetate over,” Mrs Bignell said.
“The funding allowed us to complete a project which was ongoing over a considerable amount of time. Financially, we were able to receive $6,000 towards materials, and that allowed us to keep going,” she said.
“Taking part in the project was a very easy process once we got started and we had some help putting the application together and submitting it.”
For more information on the Northern Basin Fencing Project visit: https://www.sqlandscapes.org.au/northern-basin-riverbanks-program
The Australian Government funded Fencing Northern Basin Riverbanks Project (QLD) is a $7.5 million dollar investment to support works to benefit farms and fish. Southern Queensland Landscapes with support from the Queensland Government is working with local community, Aboriginal organisations and riparian land managers to deliver the project before June 2023.
