PCE 14/15 - Tinnanbar Flower Reserve and Cowra Pine Wildling Control Project

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HQ Plantations Pty Ltd

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On-ground work

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Burnett Mary Regional Group NRM Regional Investments - Keeping it Great - HQPlantations Pty Ltd

$13,415

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19 December 2014

31 May 2015

This project proposal involves pine wildling control across two areas of natural vegetation just north of Tinnanbar Road, Tinnanbar. One area – 810 Cowra – is 116ha in size and is known as the Flower Reserve. The other area – 809 Cowra – is 195ha in size. Both areas fall within the Buttha Creek catchment flowing into Great Sandy Strait.

Wildlings – ranging from large seed trees to small juveniles – occur in a band up to 40m deep around the boundary of 810 Cowra. The proposal involves wildling eradication using a positrack mulcher while minimising damage to surrounding vegetation. Use of the positrack mulcher will be complemented later by burning the area to suppress wildling seedlings and promote regeneration of fire-adapted wallum and other Australian plant species across the area.

The treatment area around the perimeter of 810 Cowra is approximately 20ha in size, with varying densities of wildlings ranging from thick to scattered.

809 Cowra has scattered wildlings around the boundary. These are suitable for treatment by herbicide stem injection (glyphosate) and brushcutter for wildlings less than 15cm diameter at breast height. Mulcher treatment is not suitable for this area because of a public road that runs along the southern boundary and also because of the scattered occurrence of wildlings.

Wildlings larger than 1m high will be completely removed from the project area by mulching individual trees in 810 Cowra and by herbicide stem injection and limited chainsaw felling in 809 Cowra.

Eight large trees will be felled in 809 Cowra within one tree height of Tinnanbar Road pavement. Temporary spotters and traffic control will be used during the process.

Damage to surrounding vegetation during mulcher and manual felling operations will be minimised.

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