Have your say on the catchments

FOBIF has made a brief submission to the North Central Catchment Management Authority on the draft Regional Catchment Strategy 2012-18.

Apart from offering a bit of constructive criticism of some of the language in the document which makes it sometimes hard to read, we have made three specific requests:

–That the strategy incorporate an education program designed to reduce the number of amenity dams in the region. These dams have been shown to significantly reduce inflows to our river systems, and often serve little more than a decorative purpose.

–That the CMA publish easily accessible summaries of the findings of monitoring and research on the condition of remnant vegetation and the effects of management actions. We’ve asked for this because we find official reports often to be over technical and in any case available to a limited number of people.

–That management fire be excluded from steeper sections of the Loddon and its tributaries. Readers of this website will understand why we have asked for this. Given that the Strategy is predicated on positive partnerships between the CMA and other agencies, we see no reason why the Authority shouldn’t exercise some influence in defence of its catchments.

We also expressed lively interest in the upcoming assessments of the Muckleford and Upper Loddon native vegetation assets.

The draft strategy can be found at nccma.bangthetable.com/document/show/51

Email submissions can be sent to haveyoursay@nccma.vic.gov.au