Healthy Rivers program restoring the Mehi River with ambitious restoration project
The Healthy Rivers program is delivering big wins throughout the Murray-Darling Basin with the Mehi River near Moree one of the main beneficiaries.
OzFish Unlimited, Australia’s recreational fishing charity, has undertaken extensive work at the picturesque waterway in northern NSW as part of the $20 million Federal Government program which has funded 159 projects to improve habitat within the Basin.
The extensive project which rejuvenated a 10km stretch of the Mehi River revolved around three travelling stock reserves in the area which were degraded.
After community consultation, OzFish was able to apply for funding and make a huge difference to the river, in and out of the water.
This initiative isn’t just about restoring a river, it’s about reinvigorating a whole ecosystem.
OzFish’s Moree River Repair Bus Team Leader Jay Barnett and Gomeroi/Kamilaroi Cultural Officer Michael Kirk headed up the project which involved removing more than four square kilometres of woody weeds and 1,500 litres of litter, including several bulky items.
They worked alongside Traditional Owners to determine the restoration sites and kept them engaged through the whole process to discuss the project with them.
With the assistance of Moree Urban Landcare and the Northern Slopes Landcare groups, more than 80 volunteers rolled up their sleeves alongside recreational fishers at OzFish hosted community events to plant 4,000 native seedlings.
“The three travelling stock reserves which surround Moree are the main access points for local rec fishers and we were hearing from numerous people that they needed to be upgraded,” said Braeden Lampard, OzFish’s Murray-Darling Basin Senior Program Manager.
“We ran four community native vegetation days and they were a tremendous success.
“With the help of plenty of dedicated volunteers, we were able to plant 4,000 native seedlings in the areas where there used to be woody weeds.
“The last part was installing 10 tonnes of new rocky habitat for freshwater fish.”
It was one of 10 projects that OzFish has been involved in over the past few years from the funding provided by the Healthy Rivers Program.
“It was a very ambitious project, but we thought we’d go big and create a statement for Moree. The locals are really appreciative, we’ve had really good feedback,” said Mr Barnett.
“We’ve been able to show the Moree township what OzFish can achieve by working together and now we’ve got more and more people wanting to work with us, which is awesome.
“The more people we have working with us, the more projects and activities we can achieve.
“It’s been one of our most successful projects and we’ve only just started.”
OzFish is hoping to leverage additional funding to undertake more projects through the NSW Habitat Action Grants to continue the on-ground works to open up more travelling stock reserves throughout the region and boost the health of the Gwydir catchment.
“We don’t want to just go into a project site and do works and move on,” Mr Lampard added.
“We want to continue to access other sites and start connecting these projects together.
“Powered by the River Repair Bus – a vehicle dedicated to attending to the needs of local rivers – we are seeing local recreational fishers, Indigenous community groups and environmentalists alike coming together to create a brighter future for our waterways.”
This project was made possible by the OzFish-Landcare NSW partnership with funding support from the NSW Recreational Fishing Trusts, the Australian Government through the CRC Program, the Australian Government’s Murray–Darling Healthy Rivers Program and BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing.
