Little Swanport Catchment Management Plan Implementation Committee

Project Profile

Issues

With a dedicated group of members and a great passion for the sustained future of the catchment, Little Swanport Catchment Management Plan Implementation Committee leads the way in educating and supporting key stakeholders within the region and developing vital natural resource management projects.

Project Detail

Little Swanport Catchment Management Plan Implementation Committee (LSCMPIC) has been nominated for a National Landcare Award for its work with a wide range of natural resource management projects including fencing of riparian land and priority remnant vegetation such as saltmarsh, and engaging the community in water quality monitoring activities.

A highlight of LSCMPIC activities has been the development and implementation of the Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands (SGSL) salinity trial in the lower catchment. This trial was a part of the National SGSL Program and it is being considered for inclusion in the salinity program for the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems.

The recently completed NRM South funded ‘Whole of Catchment and Whole of Ecosystem’ planning model project, a partnership the LSCMPIC and the Glamorgan Spring Bay and Southern Midlands Council is also a significant achievement. With the support of a Catchment Extension Officer, a comprehensive review of the last decade of Integrated Catchment Management in Little Swanport was prepared which underpinned the development of a planning model for use in southern Tasmania.

LSCMPIC has assisted with the implementation of the Fisheries Research and Development / Land and Water Australia ‘Water Use Across A Catchment’ project. This project has involved extensive estuarine water quality monitoring (which complements fresh water monitoring undertaken by DPIWE) as well as a broad social and economic survey of the catchment.

Together with the Catchment Extension Officer, LSCMPIC facilitated participation of an upper catchment large acreage farmers group in the National Landcare / Serve Ag ‘Sustainable Agriculture’ project.  For this project the group worked with a full time technical officer to set up trials and projects to assist landholders in improving sustainable productive management of their properties whilst improving and protecting biodiversity values.

The ongoing activities of the LSCMPIC have provided many opportunities for members and local land managers to communicate, encourage, share and learn from the knowledge and actions of a broad variety of stakeholders from both within and outside the catchment.

The Little Swanport Catchment Management Plan Implementation Committee project is one of 88 finalists in the National Landcare Awards to be announced in Canberra on 24 June 2010. Commencing in 1991, the Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals and groups that make a valuable contribution to the land and coast where they live and work.

Photography

Little Swanport Catchment Management Plan Implementation Committee