A river can bind a community
It’s this habitat that Bush Heritage, together with other landowners, is working to restore as part of the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach (UMDR). The UMDR is a local initiative formed by government, community and private groups to demonstrate native fish recovery along a 100km stretch of river in NSW and the ACT.
Antia Brademann began working as the project’s facilitator three years ago.
“When I started, I sometimes felt quite depressed about the enormity of the task ahead. I’d walk along the river and see erosion, sand build-up and deep mud. Blackberries and willows grew so densely that it was difficult to pass through. In some sites you’d be hard-pressed to find one native species.”
In contrast, Antia describes the calm and peace she felt paddling her kayak into the Bredbo Gorge, where the river forms Scottsdale Reserve’s western border.
“You see Black Cypress Pine and the greens and greys of the gums. The water flows faster – you find waterholes nine metres deep, and spectacular rock formations. It’s like entering another world.”
A special spot
The Bredbo and Colinton gorges supply healthy deep pools for fish like Macquarie Perch, which travel en masse in breeding pairs to spawn there. The perch seek out riffles with a pool above or within them to allow for courtship, oxygenated water and water flow.
Willows and blackberries that, until recently, lined entire sections of the river downstream, provide quite a different environment, as Scottsdale Reserve Manager Phil Palmer explains.
“Willow roots form a mat over rocks in the riffles, where native fish would otherwise lay their eggs. The fibrous root mat also reduces oxygen and slows the flow of water. Willows are deciduous so they drop their leaves, which decay and form sludge and mud in the river. There is less food for native fish and their breeding habitat is diminished.”
It was this scene that so troubled Antia Brademann three years ago. While the Bredbo and Colinton gorges shone a light on the river’s potential, the 6km section in between was in dire straits. But Antia’s work, together with other landholders and Bush Heritage volunteers and donors, has already provided relief as part of the Rivers of Carbon Upper Bidgee project, which received funding from various sources. River and fish health go hand in hand.