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The Capel River is located in the Geographe Bay catchment and flows out to sea just north of Peppermint Grove Beach. The 653 km2 Capel River, is the largest river catchment within the Geographe Bay catchment.
The destruction of riparian vegetation from unrestricted stock access, weed invasion and poor water quality are all issues that have arisen since development began in the area (Upper Capel RAP, 2010).
Most of the waterways in the Upper Capel catchment are privately owned with landholders bordering both sides of the river. Many larger farms are currently being split up and sold as smaller parcels of land (Upper Capel RAP, 2010). The Department of Agriculture and Food, WA has previously identified small land parcels as one of the most significant threats to biosecurity in the region and as such, it is a priority to work together with landowners with small properties to tackle pest and weed control issues.
We are working closely with the Shire of Capel and GeoCatch to control Weeds of National Significance, namely blackberry. The known blackberry occurrences were recently mapped by Shire of Capel for the Upper Capel River Action Plan (2010), and as a result of the hard work done by their Environmental Officer, Rae McPherson, all landowners in the area were willing to work together to control the blackberry along the waterway.
So far the project has controlled 21.5 ha of blackberry in 2010 with an additional 14 ha in 2011 along the Upper Capel River. Participating landowners are all responsible for continuing with the control work so that the blackberry is managed over time.
The riparian vegetation is likely to regenerate and re-establish effectively in this area after effective weed control, due to the proximity to the surrounding reserves and existing remnant vegetation providing native seed in situ. It is also important to ensure that stock is not able to access the waterways in areas that have been controlled for blackberry, so landowners are encouraged to install fencing along the waterways to further protect the health of the waterway as part of the program. So far, two landowners have successfully applied for funding for stock exclusion fencing along the waterway in the region.
35.5 ha
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