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Positive response to creek repair work

13 Dec 2017

About 30 locals have taken the opportunity to inspect Birch’s Creek rehabilitation and improvement works at Smeaton’s historic Anderson’s Mill.

The North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) invited Smeaton residents to the mill site to see the progress of the woody weed control works, including the removal of weeds such as willows and other introduced species.

North Central CMA staff were on hand to talk about the project along the small section of the creek.

“It was a great morning and we heard a lot of positive feedback from the local community,” North Central CMA Project Manager Greg Barber said.

“They told us how the creek has changed in their lifetime, that it used to be great for fishing and swimming, but the willows changed all that, choking the creek and making it difficult to access.

“Seeing the work that we’ve done to remove the willows and other weeds has made people excited. It’s exposed some of the great features of the site such as the beautiful bridge and the impressive stone escarpment that many local residents hadn’t seen before, as it was completely obscured by weeds.

“People spoke of seeing fish in the creek again now, where they hadn’t seen them for many years. Importantly, too, people understand this isn’t the finish of our work; it’s just the start. Follow up weed control and revegetation here will keep the site on the right track and we expect it will continue to improve for years to come.”

The improvement works are part of the State Government’s Regional Riparian Action Plan which is a key feature of its $222 million Water for Victoria investment over the next four years to improve the health of waterways and catchments. 

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