During my stays in May and September that year I surveyed and mapped the entire 593 hectare reserve, mostly on foot, to determine the extent and progress of the treatment regime and to find the yet untreated plants. I then proceeded to treat all the plants found using about 1,500 litres of herbicide, mostly via backpack.
This year in February I arrived back at Goonderoo to check on the cactus and I’m pleased to report that the number of surviving cactus is dramatically down across the paddocks surveyed. In fact, in some of the lessor infested paddocks the number of surviving cactus is minimal and we've reached ‘Stage 3’ – a point of tracking down entirely new plants that have sprouted since the previous year from seed.
The war against Sword Pear at Goonderoo may not yet be over, but with my help and that of other Bush Heritage volunteers it's certainly being won.