The Programme

The Shire of Mt Marshall is committed to the management of Natural Resources within its Local Government Area. The Environmental Protection Programme has a number of components that not only address the management of Natural Resources on Shire land, but also offers landholders a range of services that enable program adoption at the farm level. The programme hinges on community involvement, keeping landholders up to date on program successes, but also information regarding Natural Resources in general.

The Programme Components

Environmental Protection Plan

This two-stage plan outlines the goals, strategies and actions for the management of natural resources by the Shire of Mt Marshall. The plan outlines a number of key areas of NRM and they include, a change in culture, managing natural habitats, managing problem pests and animals, managing hydrological processes and managing soils. The plan has an initial five (5) year timeframe and is reviewed on an annual basis.

Asset Identification

To complement the Environmental Protection Plan the Shire of Mt Marshall has identified the Shire’s important assets. The asset classes included, water, biodiversity, infrastructure and land resources. These assets were valued in relation to their environmental, economic and social value. The threats to these assets were also identified.

Vermin Control Program

The Shire of Mt Marshall has developed a vermin control program where it has developed two declared species groups and accessed funding for landholders to support rabbit and fox control. The vermin control program also extends to include wild dog control within the pastoral country within the north of the Shire.

Weed Control Program

The Shire of Mt Marshall has developed a weed control program to manage annual weeds on the land it manages. This includes, within the two townsites, along the roadsides and within its reserves. The Shire utilises its roadside vegetation survey maps to better target roadside weeds.

Gravel Pit Rehabilitation Program

The Shire has developed a gravel pit rehabilitation program where it plans to rehabilitate at least one exhausted gravel pit each year. To date two gravel pits have been rehabilitated with one being the centre of National Tree Day activities in 2004.

Community Nursery

Council has just endorsed the construction of a 60,000-tree/shrub capacity community nursery within the Shire. The trees/shrubs will be used for Shire revegetation and a percentage will be tendered to community members. The nursery will be operated by community volunteers and be incorporated into the primary schools education program.

Biosecurity Plan

Council is drafting a biosecurity plan in conjunction with Department of Agriculture staff and local landholders. The plan will highlight problem pests and diseases within the Shire and outline their management.

Farmer Funding

The Shire of Mt Marshall Natural Landcare Management Officer continues to assist landholders acquire funding for a range of projects. A majority of funding has been received for remnant protection and revegetation projects. Over $320,000 has been acquired for landholders in the past twelve (12) months.

Roadside Revegetation Program

The Shire of Mt Marshall has recently developed a roadside revegetation program that aims to rehabilitate roadsides that have been cleared for road construction and maintenance. In July 2004 over 1200 trees were planted on bare roadsides within the Shire.

Council Policy

Council has adopted a range of policies that help achieve goals of the Environmental Protection Program. These policies include, surface water management, deep drainage, roadside vegetation, reserve use licences and clearing of vegetation.

On Ground Works Program

Council has adopted an on ground Landcare works program. A meeting with the community in 2001 identified eleven (11) target sites where Council would financially assist landholder solve NRM problems. These eleven (11) sites are to be addressed by Council over a ten (10) year period.

Reserve Management Plans

The Shire plans to develop management plans for each of its reserves that have significant biodiversity values. The plans outline the management actions that will be undertaken over the life of the plan. The plans have monitoring and evaluation components. To date management plans have been written for the Lake McDermott Reserve and the Marshall Rock Reserve. The development of these plans have involved extensive community consultation.

Monitoring Handbooks

Council has produced four (4) project-monitoring handbooks. These handbooks include, vegetation, saltland pastures, engineering options – pumping projects and engineering options – earthworks. These handbooks are available for landholders free of charge to promote the effective monitoring of NRM projects.

Roadside Vegetation Management

The Shire of Mt Marshall has completed a comprehensive roadside vegetation survey and is drafting a roadside vegetation management plan. The survey will result in the identification of flora tourist roads. The roadside vegetation management plan ensures that appropriate amounts of roadside vegetation id retained during road construction and maintenance.

Catchment Groups

The Shire of Mt Marshall has developed a catchment group program where it actively promotes the operation of catchment groups for the efficient and effective management of natural resources. To date Council has received overwhelming support to its catchment group program, with well attended meetings and a range of catchment scale projects being planed.

Partnerships

The Shire of Mt Marshall is a member of the North Eastern Wheatbelt Organisation of Councils (NEWROC). NEWROC is a group of seven (7) Shires working together to active regional prosperity. Through NEWROC the Shire of Mt Marshall has worked on projects such as the Auction for Landscape Recovery and the Corridors Across NEWROC project. Both of these projects have involved the investment of funding for biodiversity protection.

The Shire of Mt Marshall supports two officers who work within the NEWROC area. These include a WWF Woodland Watch Project Officer and an Auction for Landscape Recovery Community Support Officer.

The Shire of Mt Marshall is also a corporate member of Greening Australia.

Community Education and Involvement

The Shire of Mt Marshall strives for community involvement in its Environmental Protection Programme. The community is invited to participate in the sub-programs and attend key project events, such as National Tree Day. The community is invited to participate in public workshops and to comment on reports and management plans produced.

Natural Resource Management Committee

The Shire has developed a NRM Committee gazetted under the Local Government Act. This committee is made up of community members, Councillors and Land Conservation District Committee members. This committee addresses local NRM issues and is a key component of the Environmental Protection Programme.

Other Planning Documents

The Shire of Mt Marshall has other corporate documents that provide support to the Environmental Protection Program. These include, the Shire of Mt Marshall Strategic Plan and the Principal Activities Plan. Both these plans have specific sections relating to NRM and Landcare works.