Peel River set to begin healing

A section of the Peel River near the Tamworth CBD has a new lease of life thanks to volunteers from the OzFish Northwest NSW Chapter and Tamworth Regional Landcare who have worked for months removing willows and planting native species along the riverbank.

The project – part of the larger Heal the Peel restoration program – has taken more than 18 months to complete with the groups working on an area with a high number of invasive trees, isolated patches of remnant native vegetation and limited access for recreational anglers to fish.

The President of OzFish Northwest Anne Michie has been the driving force behind the project and is thrilled with what has been achieved.

“The Peel has seen decades of degradation and poor management and this site was selected because of its location close to the town centre. It was very neglected and not an appealing site for the community,” she said.

“We hit a few roadblocks with the drought and COVID and seeing this work finally finished is an amazing achievement by all the volunteers involved.”

Trees are extremely important to native fish as they provide food and shelter for fish to survive and thrive. Up to 40% of a native fish’s diet is from trees along the riparian strip such as vegetative matter and insects.

The Heal the Peel project saw willow control take place along a five-kilometre stretch of the river in addition to replanting 1,000 native trees and shrubs.

“Habitat plays a fundamental role in a native fish life cycle and the need to restore the riparian zone was essential, ” Anne said.

“The Peel River has really suffered over the last two years. The community saw fish kills and fish rescues at the height of the drought and this work is going to really help bring it back to life.”

“The project has added value to other habitat rehabilitation work previously done and is a beneficial link in joining these projects and creating a larger stretch of rehabilitated riparian area the community can be very proud of.”

This included community cleanups, upgraded community recreational facilities, aerator installation and other tree plantings already achieved by the groups along the Peel.

OzFish Northwest Chapter and Tamworth Regional Landcare would like to recognise the valuable support of its local members and volunteers. This habitat restoration project has been made possible with funding from NSW DPI Fisheries’ Recreational Fishing Trust’s Habitat Action Grants and OzFish’s major partner; BCF – Boating Camping Fishing.