Sheepyard Creek on the mend as OzFish continues to prioritize 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.  

In looking to protect their local waterway, nearby landowners Peter Shand and Ada Rosier contacted their local OzFish chapter to see if they could assist in the recovery process. 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, following by nine months of bushfires and a massive rain event seeing 220mm in a week – it was time for someone to act. 

The OzFish / Landcare bushfire recovery project was the perfect start to healing this beautiful site.

Throughout the works, Peter and Ada have cleared woody weeds, erected new fence lines on the fragile riparian zones, stock proofed the fragile gullies to help the water quality and planted 1800 plants along the water’s edge – and that’s just the beginning of what they plan to achieve.  

Since monitoring has started on this site, Ada has recorded 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 decades.  

Ada said “we cannot believe how resilient the Australian bush is. To see this entire area burnt to the ground then to regularly add to our sightings so many different species is just amazing”.  

If you would like to get involved in projects like this, or find out more on the OzFish / Landcare Partnership, get in touch on social media or call us on 1800 431 308. 

The Landcare Australia Aquatic Wildlife Habitat Bushfire Program is funded by the Australian Government’s Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery program and BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing.