Locals need to keep an eye out - cane toads are on the march again in the Clarence Valley

 

Clarence Valley Independent, 24 March 2021:

They’re ugly, they’re poisonous, they’re invasive.

And they’re here, in the Clarence Valley.

Since their introduction into Australia 86 years ago, the cane toad has thrived and rapidly expanded its distribution since the first 3000 hopped into the cane fields of North Queensland after being released by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations in an attempt to control the native grey-backed cane beetles which were decimating sugarcane crops and subsequently, impacting the Australian sugar cane industry.

With no natural predators or diseases which affect their population in the country, cane toad numbers exploded at an alarming rate and their presence has had devastating consequences for several native species including the northern quoll and red-bellied black snake, which often mistakes the cane toad for native frogs, only to succumb to their toxins after eating them.

After the first reports of cane toads in the Clarence Valley made headlines when the invasive species was discovered in Yamba in 2003, the recent devastating bushfires around Whiporie and Rappville, north of Grafton, have resulted in the creation of favourable travel routes for the ground-dwelling predator.

With areas of bushland and forestation cleared following the bushfires, cane toads have hopped their way south along the Summerland Way and breeched the southern containment line, the Clarence River, within the past 12 months.

In late 2020, a new population of cane toads was discovered at Mountainview, close to Grafton, when local landholders first became

aware of the recent arrivals after hearing them calling to one another across the paddocks.

A report was made to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) who alerted local organisation Clarence Landcare to the huge biosecurity risk on their doorstep.

Clarence Landcare Educational Officer Kelly McRae, along with coordinator Debbie Repschlager, attended properties in Mountainview and confirmed the presence of cane toads, prompting them to take evasive action.

Funded and supported by the New South Wales Government through its Environmental Trust, the Clarence Cane Toad Education Project in partnership with the DPI Invasive Species Unit, Clarence Valley Conservation in Action (CVCIA), Clarence Valley Council (CVC), Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Office of Environment and Heritage (OHE) and National Parks and Wildlife Services, aims to raise community awareness of the invasive species and educate Clarence Valley residents of the importance of correctly identifying cane toads and managing their numbers on their properties.

“The number of cane toads is significantly growing in the Clarence Valley, especially considering the wet weather the area is currently experiencing, and we want to get the community actively involved so together, we can help to stop them spreading,” Ms McRae said.

“A lot of people don’t realise cane toads are in the Clarence Valley.

“We’ve had outbreaks at Brooms Head, Shark Creek and Gulmarrad, and it’s really important people become aware of them because they pose a huge biosecurity risk, not only to native animals within the Clarence Valley, but also to the environment and people’s pets as well.”

Utilising their funding, Clarence Landcare is enabling cane toad controllers to be on the ground throughout the Clarence Valley, speaking with community members and liaising with local landholders to encourage people to do their own cane toad control……..

Describing cane toads as quite easy to catch, Ms McRae recommends people use gloves or place their hand inside a plastic bag when picking up cane toads, therefore avoiding contact with the toxin produced by the bulging glands on their shoulders. 

Once caught and secured in the plastic bag, the cane toad can then be placed into the fridge for up to 24 hours before being removed and put into the freezer for 48 hours. 

Ms McRae said the cold temperatures lull the cane toads into a sleep state and therefore, they are humanely euthanised before they can be disposed into the red bin. 

“It’s important that people ensure they are dead prior to being placed into the bin to reduce the risk of them escaping and subsequently, breeding again,” Ms McRae said. 

“Our aim is to stop the cane toads before they damage our local environment and unique ecosystem.

“We all need to work together to prevent them spreading further.”......

Tommy's standing guard on the front line of the Cane Toad Biosecurity Containment Zone

Echo NetDaily, 19 May 2020:

Springer Spaniel with a nose for toads, Tommy, and handler Steve Austin, hard at work in the Lower Clarence Floodplain. Photo Nigel Blake.

As the reach of the cane toad marches ever farther south, the Clarence Landcare Toad Busters have engaged an enthusiastic recruit on the front line of the Toad Biosecurity Containment Zone.

Tommy is an English Springer Spaniel trained to sniff out cane toads and his work with trainer Steve Austin is helping to trial the effectiveness of sniffer dogs in detecting new cane toad arrivals.

This project is supported by North Coast Local Land Services, through funding from the Australian Government’s Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program.

Fig Forest, Clarence Landcare’s Cane Toad project coordinator, says that Shark Creek, in the lower Clarence, is just beyond the biosecurity containment zone for toads.

‘Tommy lets us know if any toads have hopped this far yet,’ Mr Forest. ‘Thankfully no toads were detected.

Look out for this noxious weed in the Northern Rivers regions!

If you have seen this #weed in the #ClarenceValley contact @nswdpi immediately. #GraftonNSW #Maclean #Yamba #ToxicWeeds https://t.co/42mUfpOv6H

— Clarence Valley Council (@CVCNSW) May 6, 2020

NSW farmers and graziers urged to adopt biosecurity practices to help limit the spread of dieback in sown & native grass pastures

Image: NSW Dept. of Primary Industries

NSW Dept. of Primary Industries, media release, 16 April 2020:

Biosecurity practices help protect pasture from dieback 

Producers can prevent entry, establishment and spread of pasture dieback, which kills summer growing grasses, via their front gate under a ‘Come clean, go clean’ regime. 

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has urged producers and contractors to adopt thorough biosecurity practices to help limit the spread of pasture dieback, which has been identified for the first time in NSW on the North Coast. 

NSW DPI pasture development officer, Sarah Baker, said producers can prevent entry, establishment and spread via their front gate under a ‘Come clean, go clean’ regime. 

“Producers should keep good records and ensure all staff and visitors are instructed to follow their business management hygiene requirements,” Ms Baker said. 

“Regular monitoring of grass pastures and crops and being on the lookout for any changes is important, as there have been additional reports of pasture dieback in northern NSW. 

“Mealybug infestations have also been reported and researchers are exploring an association between the two. 

“However, we believe the cause of dieback is more complex than the relationship with pasture mealybug alone.” 

Both pasture dieback and mealybug infestations threaten agricultural productivity. 

Ms Baker said dieback affected pasture should not be baled or sold and advised producers to regularly check areas where hay and fodder have been stored and fed out for dieback symptoms. 

“If you purchase grass hay from Queensland, where dieback-has affected large areas of pasture, ensure hay is from a reputable source,” she said. 

Pasture dieback kills sown and native summer growing grasses, which first turn yellow and red, become unthrifty and eventually die. 

Land managers who suspect dieback should contact the Exotic Plant Pest hotline, 1800 084 881, or email biosecurity@dpi.nsw.gov.au with a clear photo and contact details. 

More information is available from the NSW DPI website: 

Pasture dieback 

Potential spread of pasture dieback in fodder (PDF, 857.02 KB)

Pampas Grass as decoration for your wedding? Don’t even think about it!

An ACT park ranger spraying the noxious weed Pampas Grass (Cortaderia species)

on a road verge.

According to the NSW Dept of Primary Industries: 

Pampas grass grows in clumps about 1 – 1.5 m across, with fluffy flower heads on tall stems. Common pampas grass is up to 6 m tall when in flower. Pink pampas grass is up to 4 m tall when in flower.  

Pampas grass outcompetes native vegetation, is a fire hazard, harbours vermin and could threaten forestry.

Pampas grass can quickly establish in disturbed urban and bushland areas 

Photographer: N. Monaghan

This plant is not to be sold in all or parts of NSW.

However, it has apparently become popular with brides-to-be...............

ABC News, 29 May 2019:

PHOTO: The demand for pampas grass took off after images from this wedding went viral. (Image: Ivy Road Photography)

Biosecurity officers have raided florists on the north coast of New South Wales to seize an illegal noxious weed popularised by so-called Instagram weddings.

Pampas grass is native to South America and is considered a weed in most Australian states and territories as it competes with native vegetation and is a fire hazard.

It is a highly invasive plant, with each flower head producing up to 100,000 seeds that can spread to a 25-kilometre radius, and is banned from sale in the Greater Sydney, Hunter, south-east and north coast regions of NSW.

Kim Curtis from Rous County Council said officers had seized the outlawed grass from three locations in the Byron Bay and Tweed regions over the past two weeks.

"It's scary, the seeds on pampas grass can travel for kilometres and it could create another outbreak of a high-priority weed that farmers have to deal with for years to come," she said.

A wedding planner in Byron Bay, Che Devlin, said brides started asking for the wheat-coloured decorative grass for their big days after photos from a Byron Bay hinterland wedding, featuring the grass, went viral on Instagram in 2017.

Mr Devlin said after the council had informed florists that the plant was banned on the north coast there had been an attempt to steer people away from the weed towards native plants.

However he said it could be difficult to dissuade a bride who had a certain aesthetic in mind.

"The hard thing is, a lot of these florists, if they say no to a bride then that bride will go to the florist who will say yes, so it becomes an economical thing," Mr Devlin said.

Florist Jaala Mills, who co-owns Bower Botanicals in Byron Bay, has worked on a number of local pampas grass weddings.

She said her business had not been involved in the recent pampa grass seizures and that her team had made every effort to ensure the grass was not harmful to the environment.

"We imported the grass in from California," she said.

"It was quarantined in Australia and it went through a process of irradiation to kill the seeds and then we had documentation from customs saying we were legally allowed to have it."

Ms Mills said most florists wanted to do the right thing but there was confusion in the industry about whether they were allowed to hire out grass that had been treated to kill the seeds.

"I wish someone could come out and say exactly what the deal is," she said.

"We want clarification. We hear rumours you can be slapped with a fine for $60,000 but we don't know for sure."....

Cometh the rain, cometh the cane toads

Cane Toad eggs & tadpoles
Image: The Conversation, 31 August 2011

The Daily Examiner, 25 March 2019, p.13:

With a solid drop of rain falling in the coastal area of the Clarence Valley last Friday night, cane toads will be taking up this much overdue opportunity to reproduce their kind, much to the disappointment of those who are working hard to control this pest.

Landowners can help by simply inspecting their dams, ponds and any temporarily flooded areas for toad spawn (long strings of eggs that do not float and resemble jelly shoes laces) or toad tadpoles (typically jet black in colour and seen ‘grazing’ in shallow, warm water schooling in tight schools or clusters).

The consistent effort of CVCIA volunteers and increasing effort by landowners at Micalo Island has seen numbers of toads plummet over the last three seasons and this season to date round-ups have collected an average of 328 toads compared to 397 and 764 in the 2017/18 and 2016/17 seasons, respectively.

The best time to inspect such water bodies is during daylight hours when the sun is high and visibility into the water is at optimum levels and anyone who believes they have found toad spawn is encouraged to remove it immediately while other signs of toad breeding should be reported to either Clarence Landcare on 66435009 or CVCIA Landcare on 0477616210 or email scott@cvcia.org.au.

This Friday night CVCIA Landcare’s effort will return to Yamba Golf Course where volunteers will meet in the southern car park at 7.30pm and any interested persons are most welcome to come along.

Adult Cane Toad
Rhinella marina
Image: Australian Museum

Australia’s national science agency CSIRO will release a new biocontrol agent in a bid to help save rainforests from an invasive South American weed

Wandering trad (Tradescantia fluminensis)
Image: yarraranges.vic.gov.au

CSIRO, news release, 22 March 2019:

Wandering trad (Tradescantia fluminensis) has become a significant environmental weed in parts of eastern Australia where it forms dense carpets on forest floors, smothering native vegetation and clogging waterways.

CSIRO senior research scientist Dr Louise Morin said weeds like wandering trad had a significant economic, environmental and social impact in Australia.

“Weeds are one of the biggest threats to Australia’s unique environment – in many areas across Australia they are damaging native vegetation, which threatens whole ecosystems including native wildlife,” Dr Morin said.

“Last year Australia spent almost $30 million protecting the natural environment from weeds. In the agriculture sector, weeds cost the industry more than $4.8 billion per year.”

“The fungus is spread through spores and needs the leaves of the wandering trad to survive – if there is no wandering trad to infect, the fungus dies,” Dr Morin said. 

“We know from decades of research in this field, that specialised fungi, like the leaf smut, have specific genes that enable them to successfully infect and cause disease only on single or a narrow range of plant species. “So we look at plants that are related to wandering trad including native plants to make sure the fungus will only infect the weed.” Wandering trad has infested native forests across eastern Australia, from eastern parts of NSW and south-east Queensland, to the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria where the biocontrol agent will first be released.

NOTE

Wandering Trad is not to be confused with a similar looking plant Commelina diffusa which is native to south-east Queensland and north-east NSW. The native plant has blue flowers (usually flowering in autumn) and a slender tapered leaf, unlike the weedy species Tradescantia albiflora (which has fleshier, rounded, glossier leaves). The native plant is not an environmental weed.

Commelina diffusa
Image: Qld Dept. of Agriculture and Fisheries

NSW Far North Coast keeping an eye out for Yellow Crazy Ants

www.wettropics.gov.au:

The yellow crazy ant is listed as one of the top 100 worst invasive species by the IUCN and the Global Invasive Species Database. They are a category three restricted pest under the Biosecurity Act 2014. As such, all citizens have a general biosecurity obligation to minimise the risk of further infestation..... 

Lismore local government area residents are reminded that the Crazy Yellow Ant infestation has not yet been completely eradicated and are asked to report any sightings to the Biosecurity hotline 1800 680 244.

WetlandCare Australia's 14th Annual Cane Toad Roundup at Yamba NSW - Sunday March 4, 2012

Click on poster to enlarge

 
Be there!

WHERE: Yamba Golf & Country Club
WHEN: Roundup begins after sunset and registration starts at 6.30pm
WHAT TO WEAR & BRING: Covered footwear, clothes appropriate to the weather, gloves, torch, net and insect repellent
CHILDREN: Under 18 year-old participants must be accompanied by an adult. At least 1 adult for every 4 children.
FOOD: Sausage sizzle on the night

MailScanner and University of Southampton say "Please do not complain to us. It will do no good."

Out of the blue last week MailScanner, a software project run by the University of Southampton, started to identify all emails I send as possible spam and, those containing links to North Coast Voices or Google searches as possible fraud.

This is not software that I downloaded, so presumably my server has recently installed it at ISP-level.

Julian Field at the university states:

Your system administrator or Internet Provider has installed MailScanner, which modified your e-mail. The MailScanner development team are not responsible for things people do with MailScanner. If you do not like the way your mail is processed, please do not complain to us. It will do no good.

Not good enough Mr. Field! If the university is distributing software to over 100,000 sites which is so open to mismanagement that there is a special FAQ section on the MailScanner website specifically dealing with this nonsense, then you are to blame for the fact that this same software is treating even Google search result links as fraud/spam.

Now on to give my internet service provider a flea in the ear.......

Another mosquito borne disease getting closer to the NSW North Coast

2009 map of historical QLD Dengue Fever distribution. Dengue has historically been reported in the Northern Territory, New South Wales and north Queensland but it is currently limited by the distribution of its vector, the dengue mosquito to north Queensland.

Ross River Fever (and to a slightly lesser extent Barmah Forest Virus) have long been established on the NSW North Coast.

According to a NSW Dept. of Health media release Mosquito Warning Across NSW issued at the beginning of the month: Ross River Virus is the most widespread arboviral disease in the NSW North Coast region, accounting for about 60% of notifications over the past 20 years and 48.5% over the past 10 years. Notifications of Ross River virus infection from the North Coast accounted for about 33% of all NSW Ross River notifications over the past 10 years and The North Coast has the highest levels of Barmah Forest virus infection incidence in NSW. Notifications of Barmah Forest virus infection from the North Coast accounted for about 55% of all NSW notifications of this infection over the past 10 years.

Now the deadlier Dengue Fever is once more beginning to edge down the Australian east coast towards south-east Queensland from where it will be a short hop across the NSW border.

From The Observer in Gladstone Queensland on 2 April 2010:

QUEENSLAND Health has mounted a "search and destroy mission" against the Dengue Fever carrying mosquito in Gladstone after a positive case in the city.
A local resident, who recently returned from an overseas holiday, has tested positive for an as yet unknown type of dengue......
Paul Florian, director of environmental health services for Central Queensland Public Health Unit, is in Gladstone today working with Gladstone Regional Council staff, conducting door to door inspections and working in "hotspots" to try and reduce numbers of the carrier mosquito.
"Dengue mosquitoes only breed around homes and in urban areas, and not in swamps or creeks," said Mr Florian said.
"They breed in containers that hold water such as buckets, old tyres, tarpaulins and black plastic, pot plant bases, vases, boats, tin cans and plastic containers, roof guttering, rainwater tanks with damaged or missing screens, bird baths, striking containers for plant cuttings, drain sumps, fallen palm fronds and coconut shells."
Mr Florian said the dengue fever carrying mosquito, the Aedes aegypti, was found in some parts of Gladstone, although not in the abundance in Northern Queensland.

The Shooter's Party and hunting in NSW North Coast national parks

Borsak post-coital in Zibabwe from NitroExpress

The Shooter's Party is not playing well on the NSW North Coast where the natural environment and diverse flora and fauna are still our biggest tourism draw cards and, where residents appreciate their contact with wildlife.

I haven't yet spoken to anyone who favours allowing gun-toting hunters into national parks or the creation of private game reserves stocked with exotic or feral animals.

This 25 August 2009 The Daily Examiner letter to the editor expresses a common view:

Political shenanigans

THE media has had a field day of late reporting on the political shenanigans that the State Labor Government has been resorting to in order to get its legislation through the State's Upper House.

It is their cosy relationship with the Shooters Party and Fred Nile that has culminated in the controversial bill being proposed that will allow sporting shooters to hunt and kill feral animals and a range of native fauna on public land, including national parks, under the guise of conservation hunting.

That political bond saw the creation of the NSW Game Council whose current chairman, Robert Borsak, has political ambitions of his own, and apparently dreams of joining the former council chairman as an Upper House Shooters Party representative.

Last Friday, the ABC's Stateline program reported the scandal and alerted the nation to a website which contains Mr Borsak's account of an elephant hunt he undertook in Zimbabwe.

His gleeful description of the poor animal's screams and subsequent death throes (he had only managed to break its spine with his first shot, so inept are his shooting skills), is sickening indeed.

However, I urge any doubters as to the real motivation behind the Shooters Party move to log on and read that story so as to fully comprehend the implications of allowing the Shooters Bill to progress.

I believe that the majority of those that read and understand the blood lust that is clearly conveyed in the article, would not only refuse to countenance recreational hunting in national parks, but would support moves to put a stop to this barbaric sport altogether.

JOHN EDWARDS,

South Grafton.

Robert Borsak bragging about his kills in Africa.

Shooter's Party list of Robert Borsak forum posts.

Is nature having the last laugh on Monsanto & Co?

Photograph of Palmer Pigweed from Syngenta blog

This U.S. report from Memphis Online last Sunday:

All across the Mid-South, hundreds of thousands of acres of cotton and soybean fields have been infested with a rapacious, fast-growing weed that's become resistant to the main herbicide on which farmers have relied for more than a decade.

Palmer pigweed, often called "careless weed" by field hands, often is surviving and even thriving despite treatments with the chemical glyphosate -- most commonly sold under the trade name Roundup.

In Arkansas alone, the weed has invaded some 750,000 acres of crops, including half the 250,000 acres of cotton. In Tennessee, nearly 500,000 acres have some degree of infestation, with the counties bordering the Mississippi River hardest hit.

The infestation is cutting farmers' cotton yields by up to one-third and in some cases doubling or tripling their weed-control costs.

The invasive noxious weed Amaranthus palmeri which is doing all that damage in America is also found in Australia and has other cousins here, including the noxious weed Amaranthus blitoides (prostrate pigweed).

Pigweed is not the only pest which has become resistant to glycines and the world-wide list includes a number of other pasture or crop weed species which are found in this country.

The biotechnology industry's boast used to be that the glycine derivative Glyphosate or RoundUp was effective in suppressing 76 out of 78 of the world's worst cropping weeds. This boast appears to be a pale shadow of its former self.

Which leads to the inevitable question - just how long will Australian farmers have before the touted 'benefits' of GM crops disappear into thin air?