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Timbarra River, Sheepyard Creek and the Eastern Freshwater Cod

At the end of 2019, prolonged drought impacts and then widespread bushfire, followed by subsequent rainfall, saw some of Australia’s most precious and unique waterways destroyed.

Thanks to the Landcare Australia Aquatic Wildlife Habitat Bushfire Program, OzFish and Landcare Australia have joined forces to help threatened species which suffered from the Black Summer fires.

1800 trees

shrubs and grasses planted

1.8 kms

of riparian zone restored

Over 70 species

sited since the recovery

Recovering after the fires

Sheepyard Creek is a tributary of the Timbarra / Rocky River in the Clarence catchment near Tenterfield NSW and is home to the eastern freshwater cod Maccullochella Ikei and the large Suttons crayfish Euastacus suttoni.

This site was absolutely devastated in the Long Gully bushfires, not only burning out precious habitat but also opening the steep gullies that feed the Timbarra River to erosion and heavy sediment loads threatening the water quality for the all the species of this area.

OUR WATERWAYS NEED YOUR HELP!

OzFish is calling upon all existing Chapters and Landcare NSW groups affected by bushfires, as well as any community members interested in making a positive contribution to their local waterways.

The power of partnership

Since the fires, lantana and exotic weeds had taken over the gullies and creek beds choking out the natural light and native plants. After surviving the worst drought in recorded history, months of bushfires and then a massive rain event dumping over 220mm in a week, it was time to act!

Landowners Peter Shand and Ada Rosier contacted their local OzFish chapter to see if they could assist and the OzFish / Landcare Restoring Fish Habitat in Bushfire Affected Areas project was the perfect start to healing this beautiful site.

Native wildlife making a return

Landowners have cleared woody weeds, erected new fence lines on the fragile riparian zones and stock-proofed the fragile gullies to help the water quality. A massive1800 native plants will address the erosion issues by slowing the water down in this very steep part of the Great Dividing Range.

Ada and Peter and the OzFish Northern Tablelands Chapter and other community members together have replanted this site.

“It’s been a strange time with so many rain events this year slowing our progress down but it’s a far cry from the fires, we look forward to the end result and the joy of seeing so many species come back especially the feather-tailed gliders,” said Peter.

Did you know fish need trees? Up to 40% of a freshwater fish’s diet comes from insect fall out of trees!

Learn more about Trees For Fish

Return of the Suttons Crayfish

Since monitoring has started on this site 60 bird species, 10 marsupial species, five amphibious species and the jewel in the crown the sighting and video of the Suttons Crayfish which had not been seen on the site since well before the fires.

“We cannot believe how resilient the Australian bush is; to see this entire area burnt to the ground then to have daily sightings of so many different species that we thought were long gone gives us hope”, said Ada.

FEBRUARY 2020 | Sheepyard Creek on the mend as OzFish continues to prioritise bushfire affected areas

Sheepyard Creek, a tributary of the Timbarra / Rocky River in the Clarence catchment of Tenterfield NSW has been the focus site for habitat restoration works as fishing conservation charity OzFish Unlimited continue to set their sites on repairing bushfire affected areas following the long gully fires of 2019. Home to the Eastern Freshwater Cod and large Sutton Crayfish, Sheepyard Creek was devasted in the 2019 bushfires. Burning both the instream woody habitat and all the surrounding riparian vegetation, the waterway was prone to erosion and heavy sediment loads that threatened water quality for all the native fish species in the area.

Find Out More

The Landcare Australia Aquatic Wildlife Habitat Bushfire Program is funded by the Australian Government’s Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery program.