A team of workers braved wintery conditions to remove willow trees, including the highly invasive pussy willow, from streams in the Mt Buller and Mt Stirling areas earlier this month.
The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GBCMA) engaged Biik Environmental to undertake invasive willow control in headwater streams of the Goulburn Broken Catchment.
Biik Environmental is a works crew established by the Taungurung Land and Water Council to provide cultural and natural resource management services across Taungurung country.
The work is part of the Victorian Government’s Headwater Willows Project, which has catchment management authorities working together to control the spread of invasive willows in streams along the Great Divide.
The GBCMA’s Jim Castles said it was crucial work because the pussy willow was the most invasive willow in Australia.
“It’s a real problem because the pussy willow reproduces from small pieces of the plant or cuttings travelling downstream and by dispersing fluffy seeds via wind and water.
“That’s why it’s important to control pussy willows in headwater streams to reduce the amount of seed dispersal into streams and wetlands.
“Pussy willow seeds can spread up to 100 kilometres via water,” Mr Castles said.
He said it was great to see the Biik Environmental crew working on country to remove willows from high up in the catchment, to help avoid further spread downstream.
“It’s a shame to see the prevalence of the willows in what is otherwise a pristine natural environment. The crew is doing a terrific job removing them.
“The workers used hand saws and pruners to remove the stems which were then carted out of the treatment area to avoid resprouting.”
The works crew also mapped willow infestations in the Bluff, Mt Eadley Stoney and Mt Lovick areas in preparation for willow control work later this year.
Darren Detez and Cheikh Diagne from Biik Environmental services (left) with GB CMA Project Officer Jim Castles in a Mt Stirling wetland.