Richmond River County Council (RRCC) recently completed riparian restoration work on 1.7 kilometres of high-visibility sites at Boatharbour, on the Wilson River, above Lismore.
RRCC floodplain project officer Garry Owers said the Sustainable Floodplain Farming project was finally completed despite heavy rain and flooding.
‘There were 95 wet days recorded in the first four months of the project, delivering more than 1000mm of rainfall,’ Mr Owers said.
‘Despite the rain, 220 metres of fencing was erected and 1085 trees were planted as part of bush regeneration along 1.7 kilometres of the Wilson River.
‘One noticeable site, at Boatharbour, is a 1.1km riparian strip beside Bangalow Road, north of the Boatharbour Nature Reserve.’
Travellers along Bangalow Road could now see the results of the work, with large controlled weeds dying off and 700 native trees planted to replace them in gaps as a buffering strip, between the road and the Wilson River, Mr Owers said.
‘We hope that techniques used successfully here will be transferable to other similar sites along the Wilson and Richmond rivers with the same cooperation as that of the Boatharbour residents who have been fantastic with their support,’ he said.
The Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority funded the work, with RRCC working in cooperation with Rous Water at Boatharbour.
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