Landcare leading control on new weed threat
Kyogle Landcare calling for action on Job's Tears
Capacity building - LEP_23 _033_LLC_BRRVLN-06
The issue
After Cyclone Debbie in 2017, Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) emerged in large, dense thickets reaching above head height throughout the riparian zone along 10 km of Upper Horseshoe Creek north of Kyogle. The plant was vigorous both within the water and along the banks. This triggered significant concern among Kyogle Landcare volunteers who resided along that section of the creek and noticed it's expansion and ability to outcompete native species. With support from the Local Landcare Coordinator, the outbreak of the plant was raised for a risk assessment and the species was assessed by control authorities resulting in a new weed listing categorised as a 'containment weed'.
The solution
As Kyogle Landcare already had an active volunteer group in the area, the volunteers began removing the seed heads and digging plants out. In 2018 Rous County Council came on board with funding to support control enabling employment of a small team to assist the volunteer effort. Starting at the source, Stage 1 was tediously bagging and removing all seed heads across the entire infestation area. When this was complete, the team then went back to the top and worked down the creek again to manually remove all remaining plants leaving them to desiccate on the bank above the flood zone.
Seeing the extent of the weed concern, the local control authority then reviewed Job's Tears as a high-risk threat to areas further downstream and lifted the status from 'Containment' to 'Eradication' and expanded the target for control to a broader 22km of creek length. Rous County Council again facilitated some funding to Kyogle Landcare to maintain the control effort and commenced an awareness campaign to see if this weed was of concern in other sub-catchments of the Richmond River.
The impact
A local Landcare group's diligent monitoring, dedicated advocacy and call to action led to Job’s Tears being recognized as a serious weed in the region with control efforts now expanded to include two additional sub-catchments under the NSW Government’s Good Neighbours program. At Horseshoe Creek, native vegetation is regenerating, and the creek flows freely again and, while the group continues to manage Job’s Tears, they are now also expanding the scope and addressing other riparian weed threats.
Learnings
The combination of volunteers and funding to assist the process has proved successful.
We are not quite at the 'Eradication' finish line, but we are very close.
It only takes one plant to drop seed, and the process continues so vigilance is necessary.
Landholder engagement and education is key to ensuring people are aware of the risk and of their obligations under biosecurity legislation.