Restoring waterways

The bushfires of January 2020 left Australia’s second longest river, the Murrumbidgee, thick with ash and silt. Now, its waters are clearer thanks to a community-led effort to restore its health.

Representatives from conservation groups, NSW and ACT state governments and the community came together in Canberra recently to discuss the future of the upper Murrumbidgee River.

Some recently announced federal funding will directly support native fish species in the upper Murumbidgee River.

Antia Brademann discovers that for the people who live and work on the upper Murrumbidgee River, it's more than just a waterway; it's a way of life that connects them all.

I've just returned after spending 9 days being involved with our volunteers in the Adventurous Paddling Program, which is helping to improve fish habitat in the Murrumbidgee River near Scottsdale Reserve, as part of the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach.

A group of dedicated volunteers is helping to shed light on Platypus populations in the upper Murrumbidgee River.

Restoring the riverbanks of the Upper Murrumbidgee has provided new hope for the endangered Macquarie Perch.

In the last week of August 10 volunteers conducted the annual platypus survey on the Upper Murrumbidgee River at Scottsdale Reserve, in association with Cooma Waterwatch coordinator, Antia Brademan and Reserve Manger, Phil Palmer.

We're not talking about surveying a huge Platypus, but about the huge effort Bush Heritage volunteers and Scottsdale Reserve Manager Phil Palmer have put in to support the Upper Murrumbidgee Waterwatch Platypus surveys this year!

All fish monitoring stations in a 90km long fish tracking array in the Upper Murrumbidgee River have now been installed thanks to project staff and some pretty dedicated volunteers. This was no mean feat, as deployment of the monitoring stations required 8-hour long paddles into remote sections of the river to ferry in the equipment, including lengths of railway iron that are used to anchor the monitoring stations in the river.

The carp trapping program at Bush Heritage Australia's Scottsdale Reserve is moving into its next phase, with a small team of inventors on board to design a heating system for the trap. What? Sounds like we are really trying hard to make those pesky carp just a little too comfortable? Perfectly correct!

NSW DPI (Fisheries), working with Bush Heritage Australia at Scottsdale Reserve have now completed their European carp tagging operation. As a result there are 31 'electronically tagged' carp in the upper Murrumbidgee River. Any anglers catching a tagged carp will be given a reward for releasing and reporting the 'catch and release' of the fish.

We're fortunate to have recently had Dr Ken Tinley volunteer his time on Edgbaston to give advice on measures to repair and restore problematic aspects of the catchment's run off that were causing problems for the endangered red-fin blue-eye fish.

Six European carp were electronically tagged by NSW Fisheries staff at Scottsdale Reserve last week to help shed light on when and where carp move along the upper Murrumbidgee River. This information is currently a key knowledge gap in the upper Murrumbidgee catchment and is critical for the better management of this pest fish species in upland river systems.

A series of acoustic telemetry receivers have now been deployed in a 20km stretch of the Upper Murrumbidgee River, centered around Bush Heritage Australia's Scottsdale Reserve. This hi tech fish monitoring equipment will be used to track carp and native fish to help threatened fish species management.

There's a very exciting project that was finished at Scottsdale this week! Nearly four years in the planning, design and funding the Gungoandra Creek rock weir and fish way has been successfully constructed over the last three weeks. It's the most significant component of the erosion control plan that volunteer soil consultant Peter Fogarty has helped Scottsdale with.

The upper Murrumbidgee River is home to three nationally listed threatened fish species... highlighted by the recent discovery of a beautiful 93cm Murray cod at Scottsdale Reserve. This fish will be one of the beneficiaries of Scottsdale Reserve's carp trapping program.