Athel pine faces the chop at Lake Boonderoo

17/10/06
A team of conservation employees will travel to the Goldfields to take part in a three-week operation this week to eradicate the highly invasive Athel Pine (Tamarisk) from Lake Boonderoo on Kanandah Station.
Environment Minister Mark McGowan said employees from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) would travel from Walpole, Perth, Nannup and Collie to assist in the eradication effort, which would focus on a 70ha patch.
Tamarisk (Tamarix sp.) - also known as athel pine - are popular trees around towns and on properties because of their tolerance to drought and salinity but they can cause extensive environmental damage, especially if they get into wetlands and waterways.
"Lake Boonderoo is one of only two freshwater lakes in the Goldfields-Nullarbor region and provides habitat for waterbirds," Mr McGowan said.
"The infestation was first reported by DEC staff late last year after Mark Forrester, from Kanandah, flew over the lake and reported thousands of young tamarisk trees around the perimeter.
"If left unchecked, the trees would take over the entire lake and have dire implications for the native flora and fauna of the lake."
The Minister said the DEC staff would work with the Rangelands Natural Resources Management Co-ordinating Group and the Forrester family, who held the Kanandah lease, to cut the trees at ground level and spray the stumps with herbicide.
"DEC crews also will survey the surrounding area and the Ponton Creek system that drains into the lake and remove any tamarisks found," Mr McGowan said.
"This early intervention will save potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in control costs in the future."
The Minister said the program was being funded through the Carpenter Government's $15million 'conservation dividend' as part of a two-year, strategic program focusing on weeds, pest animals, dieback, biological surveys and actions to recover threatened species.
Minister's office - 9222 9111