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Minutes of the Torbay Catchment Group Meeting

Wednesday 13th October, 2004 at 8.00 pm

MEETING OPENED by Andrew Marshall at 8.00pm following the Annual General Meeting.

  1. ATTENDANCE:

    Present:

    Andrew Marshall (President), Graeme Heighton (Treasurer), Graham Wright (Water Corp), Chris Westcott, John Kratochvill, Maurice McCormick (Vice-President), Bart Downe (DoE), Peter Collins (CALM), Terri Harwood, John Blaney-Murphy, Noel Bignell, Dale Holley (Secretary), Terry Redmond

    Apologies:

    Louise Duxbury, Phil Mellon, Lionel Downes, Monty Walker

  2. CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES:

    Maurice McCormick confirmed the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 1st September, 2004 as a correct record.

    Matters Arising from Previous Minutes
    5.1 WEEDS Maurice McCormick and John Blaney-Murphy sprayed watsonia for one day each. Along with Mark Ford (from the City of Albany) they sprayed from Piggott Road to Perkins Beach Road (Along the Lower Denmark Road). John and Maurice were impressed with the way in which Mark approached the work needing to be done and John is writing a personal letter to the Council praising Mark's efforts. They asked if the TCG could also write a letter of support.

    Dale to attend to this. Tim Harwood organised the spraying of the Elleker area. A map of the spraying done should be ready by the next meeting on the 24th November, 2004.

    5.6 WORKSHOP AT LAKE POWELL NATURE RESERVE Peter Collins (CALM) said they had no response to the questionnaire handed out at the last TCG meeting but Peter presented a summary of the discussions which took place at the workshop. A copy of the summary is attached

  3. CORRESPONDENCE:

    (outwards)

  4. TREASURERS REPORT:

    John Kratochvill accepted the Treasurer's report and Chris Westcott seconded

  5. GENERAL BUSINESS:

    5.1 Weed Control Program

    1. There is 35 Kilos of chemical left
    2. Rust seems to be working well against bridal creeper
    3. As stated in the AGM it is hoped a map of the area sprayed will be available for the next meeting.
    4. The safety aspect of volunteers spraying the road verges was again raised. This issue was raised at the steering Committee Meeting and it was suggested a small equipment grant could be applied for to obtain warning signs. The City of Albany does not have enough signs

    5.2 Report on Lake Powell field walk

    Sarah Comer, Greg Freebury, Jude Allen (CALM staff), Andrew Marshall and Phil Mellon borrowed John Blaney-Murphy's canoe to look over Lake Powell. They also walked the Reserve and reported back to the meeting on the two main problems identified:

    1. A lack of knowing where the boundaries are (Peter Collins said this was being addressed).
    2. There is a problem with Blackberries, Arum Lillies and typha

    Another workshop on Lake Powell is being planned for November or December. Louise Duxbury will be notifying details.

    5.3 Report on Waterways Restoration and Grants

    12 Km of fencing and 7,000 seedlings by Green Corp Team. Since Bob Gretton commenced work, another 4.4km of fencing, 2 stock crossings, 6,000 seedlings and 4 water points are on the go. $5100 of unallocated funds are on hand

  6. WATERSHED TORBAY:

    6.1 Report on Watershed Torbay Drainage Workshop

    Graham Wright (Water Corp) and Chris Westcott reported on the Watershed Torbay Drainage Workshop held on the 21st September at DoE. Graham tabled a "Drainage Options" chart. In brief:

    Objective of drainage management: To manage the drainage district to best meet the needs of current land uses, future land uses and the environment.

    Sub-objectives of drainage management:

    Thirteen options for management of the drainage district were discussed and prioritised. Minutes of drainage workshop are available on request from Julie Pech, Department of Environment, on 9842-5760.

    Graham said due to the complexity of the issues, more time is needed to discuss the options. This was agreed by Steering Committee members, and may be arranged for the next Steering Committee Meeting

    6.2 Report on Watershed Torbay Steering Meeting and Sustainable Farming Systems Workshop

    1. Communications update - newsletter - Louise will be including a children's insert into newsletter

    2. Lake Powell workshop topics to include CALM presentation of Interim Management Guidelines and Steve Appleyard (DOE) to present results of Lake Powell Groundwater Interactions Study.

    3. Implementation work in Torbay Catchment: Louise reported that Albany Job Futures is keen to work in the catchment and would welcome any ideas for coastal work.

    4. Terri Harwood advised that the Dept of Justice could provide teams of people to work on weed control.

    5. Farming Systems Workshop. Report to the TCG on this workshop held at the Watershed Torbay Steering Group meeting on Wednesday 22nd September. The workshop was facilitated by Viv Read (of VR & Associates, Natural Resource Management Services) and focused on determining targets and actions for sustainable farming systems in Torbay Catchment, for inclusion in the catchment's river restoration plan. The plan is being prepared by Viv Read.

    6. Viv drew on information in the recently completed report Phytoplankton Drivers in Torbay Inlet and Lake Powell, South Western Australia, by Helen Astill (Aquatic Science Branch, DOE).

    Following a presentation by David Weaver, the workshop also drew heavily on David Weaver and Simon Neville's Catchment Nutrient Work. A summary of David's presentation is in the workshop minutes.

    Farming System Workshop notes and Steering Group Minutes for the 22nd September can be obtained on request from Julie Pech, DOE, on 9842-5760.

  7. OTHER BUSINESS:

    1. Noel Bignell would like to see more done to assist farmers in "getting the soil balance right", perhaps a demonstration site. "To be pointed in the right direction would be a great help". Andrew Marshall will contact Ron Master regarding this. (clarification needed as to specific information requested)

    2. As last year's end of year get together was such a success, members were asked if they wanted another one this year. This will be discussed at the next meeting.

    3. Bart Downe (DoE) announced that the Marbellup Brook Survey is now finished and he hopes to report back to the Meeting on this on the 24th November, 2004.

    4. Andrew Marshall reported to the TCG on meeting on the new Clearing Legislation, addressed by Melanie Price (DOE). People are encouraged to fence off native vegetation remnants on their properties, as one of the points made at the meeting was that in some situations, landowners can be prosecuted for letting stock in to graze and destroy native vegetation.

NEXT MEETING: 24TH NOVEMBER, 2004

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