WINTER 2010

Inside this Issue and they named him Dylan Jarvis. He Welcome to Winter weighed 3.150 kg and was 50cm long. All QA/QC wWeeklc oMmarec tho 2010 1 Well it has started to get cold and I hope are doin well. Congratulations Tanya and Announcement 1 everyone is rugging up before you venture out to Owen. monitoring sites. Also a reminder to be careful AlbertD Raitvae rR Cepanoorte 2 t0o0u9r 21 as the ground becomes quite slippery and water WPeolwcolemtte R Niveewr CVaonluonet etoeursr 21 levels in waterways can rise quickly so please Welcome to new be aware of these extra issues over the next few EstuarywEastctuha Tryrawiantinchg 21 months. volunteers!

WTealrcwoimn eR iNverw C Vaonlouen tTeoeursr 2 Latrobe ThomsoInS CFr mesohnwitaotreinr gC 2ir0c0u9s 32 QA/QC week June th th Friends of Upper Morewell River ( River SApLoTn swoor rPksrohfoilpe 232 21 -26 2010 and Falls) Kate Britton (Hazel Creek & tributaries) MacroinvEerdteubcaratitoen T Urapidnaintge 32 Nicole Russell

MacrWoinovNeSrt eTbrarainteinsg 43 It only feels like last week that there was a Estuarywatch Training st West Gippy Waterwatch Calendar 43 regional QA/QC, but during the week of the 21 -26th June there will be the state QA/QC. There on the Powlett Key Stakeholders & Sponsors 53 will be an evening held at the office ‘ Nicole Russell with nibbles and a DVD called Dancing and the

Devil Fire: Uncovering the hidden history of the ’ On a lovely Saturday moring in March, training Alps , I will send out an invite and for those of for Estuarywatch in South you who cant make it please let me know so we commenced. Matt Khoury, the Victorian can organise alternate delivery. Estuarywatch Coordinator led volunteers and

local Waterwatch facilitators in a training day at Data Report 2009 the mouth of the Powllett River. M ike Linsell, Mark Robinson, Neil Rankine and Nick Silby are Nicole Russell all part of this monitoring group. The group have

recently completed a monitoring plan and had I am working hard to finish our annual data their first official monitoring session on the 8th report so we can see what has been happening May. across the catchments so please forgive me if

there is a delay in catching up with all of you. This year we were lucky enough to have Kate Britton, who has been woking with us as part of her studies in Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Deakin University, to assist in putting together the report . I am working to get the report out June/July.

Its a Boy Tanya Cowell ( Waterwatch Facilitator) had a baby boy on the 18th April

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Canoe tours remain a popular event, watch Waterwatch Facilitator, Marni Speed. Marni Tarwin Canoe Tour out for future tours over the next 12 months. showed participantsthe various types of Marni Speed Macroinvertebrates that are found in rivers and ow they are used by scientists and river The weather was kind as enthusiastic managers to better understand the condition participants set off to paddle 6km of the of rivers and waterways. on Saturday March 20th. Freshwater Circus ’ Starting out at the Davies property upstream Nicole Russell of Tarwin Lower participants heard from ’ South Gippsland Water s Ros Griggs on the The WGCMA recently held a freshwater use of water from the Tarwin including, circus event on the Lower Thomson River. ‘ ’ environmental flows and water entitlements. The aim of the circus was to showcase the As the sun came out we paddled the first works underway to protect and enhance Tupong large stretch flanked by tall phragmites which habitat for native wildlife have now reclaimed the largely fenced that is occurring along the lower Thomson New WaterBug ID riparian zone, a testament to the good works River. ‘ ’ ’ being carried out by landholders along the Circus Acts included Damian O Mahony method river. Richard Allen, Project Officer with the from River to Sea research, Damien WGCMA updated the group on the current demonstrated how electrofishing Nicole Russell works program underway to protect is used to survey the types (native & non- vegetation & wetlands along the river. native) of fish that are living in our rivers. Just a quick word to let everyone know that a method of macroinvertebrate surveying ‘ ’ called Alternative Level Taxonomy or ALT is being built so the bugs can be identified in the field to family and species level. This will

do away with the need to take and preseve samples for identiification in the lab under a microscope.. With this method some species cannot be distinguished from each other and Participants paddle beside the tall phragmites Damien & Matt surveying fish reeds. it is agreed upon that they cannot be identfied any further than order or family, Jim Reside from Wildlife Unlimited came ‘ ’ Operations Manager Mal Gibson then gave along to explain the different ways they hence the name Agreed Level Taxonomy . an interesting talk on the long and varied survey fauna , for example how they catch With this new method interested volunteers history of management of the Tarwin and the microbats to determine which species are will be able to be trained and conduct changes to it through straightening and living in the area and by recognising frog macroinvertebrate surveys at their constructin of levees which commenced calls to determine frog species. monitoring sites. Volunteers will still need to very soon after European settlement. close be quite confident with their identification to settlement and has drastically altered the skills but this can be built upon with practice natural functioning of the river. and time!.

River & Wetlands Officer Matt Bowler was Macroinvertebrate the last speaker with a talk on the vegetation and fish species of the Training Tarwin. We finished the tour in excellent time and enjoyed lunch at the Tarwin Lower Nicole Russell boat ramp. One participant remarked that “ It was a very pleasant way to see the On Saturday 8th May I ran a training day Tarwin and see the great work that has been Bat catching nets to start trialling the new ALT method. done. Really enjoyed the history details on Three sites were chosen for the training ” the river and about the work today. Matt Bowler of the WGCMA discussed the including Traralgon Creek in Kornalla range of different plants that recolonise after and at Wilrilda Park. Both a billabong is fenced off. The final act was spots delivered some interesting bugs and

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showed quite healthy scores. In the makes you a prime candidate to observe following months the ALT method should changes in the waterways . Being able to West Gippy be finalised and I will run identify aquatic weeds can mean that new macroinvertebrate survey training session infestatons could be reported before a large Waterwatch in spring. outbreak occurs giving the weed experts

time to get the weed Calendar

WoNS workshop under control before June 6th Celebrate Your Day too much damage - Yanakie Nicole Russell has been done. If th anyone would like June 9 Freshwater Circus

Latrobe Valley Landcare network invited some information on th June7 DSE school camp Waterwatch volunteers on the 4th and 5th of Aquatic weeds

May to come along to a aquatic weeds please contact : Alligator weed June 21st-26th State QA/QC week information day. With Waterwatch volunteers monitoing sites Andrew Wolstenholme at the WGCMA on along waterways on a regular basis this 1300 094 262. Waterwatch Contact

Nicole Russell Tanya Cowell West Gippsland Facilitator South Gippsland Facilitator PO Box 1374, Traralgon 3844 PO Box 1374, Traralgon 3844 Phone: 1300 094 262 Phone: 1300 094 262 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Michelle Dickson Marni Speed River Health Team Leader Facilitator PO Box 1374, Traralgon 3844 PO Box 1374, Traralgon 3844 Phone: 1300 094 262 Phone: 1300 094 262 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

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