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Welcome to late Spring in West Gippsland

Spring is a dynamic season with the waterways ‘springing’ to life as birds breed, fish migrate and lots of planning, planting and weed control works on the go. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by recent flooding events and we thank emergency services for their response. Our role in flood recovery across the catchment will take shape over coming months.

With our Annual Report recently approved in parliament, we have time to reflect on 2022-23 achievements and finalise plans for the year ahead. A key focus will be working with the community on the future for Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River). We have progressed this with preview screenings of our new short film to celebrate this majestic river and how we can work together for its positive future.

We are also preparing for the predicted changing conditions as we move into an El Nino weather pattern meaning drier months and higher temperatures over summer months.

Durt'Yowan - The Life Source

After successful preview screenings and meaningful community discussions with over 200 people in Sale, Traralgon, Warragul and across Australia online, we are pleased to release our new short documentary Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) - The Life Source.

The video tells the story of Durt’Yowan, the Gunaikurnai name for the Latrobe River and one of Victoria’s iconic rivers. Beginning near the Baw Baw plateau, running through the Latrobe Valley and into the Gippsland Lakes, Durt’Yowan has been the life source for people in Gippsland for thousands of years. 

The film aims to create community awareness for the river and its future. West Gippsland CMA has developed a strategy to turn this ‘working river’ into a river that works again.

View the film and find out more about our plans to improve the condition and health of the river system.

Flood recovery

Since the major storm and flooding event of 2021, we have been rolling out a comprehensive flood recovery program of assessing flood damage and undertaking repair works. So far, we have:

Planted 14,250 trees.
Fenced 4.13 kilometres.
Created 3 waterway structures.
Battered 7.31 kilometres at eight sites.
Treated 214 hectares weeds and armoured 3.98 kilometres of banks.

The emergency response to unexpected heavy rains and resulting flooding in early October is now over and that’s when the CMA kicks in to assess the impacts, talk to landholders and begin to plan recovery works as required.

Watch a video of CEO, Martin Fuller explaining our role in flood recovery and more importantly flood planning.

Although floods are damaging, they are also important to catchment health. Learn more

Reflecting on a year of achievements

It’s great to report on achievements made for catchments, communities and wildlife in 2023 with the release of our 2022-23 Annual Report recently tabled in Parliament.  

“We’re extremely proud to continue to deliver environmental initiatives funded by the Victorian and Australian governments and acknowledge the support of Traditional Owners, partners and community,” said WGCMA Board Chair, Mikaela Power. 

“Partnerships have increased again this year and range from community groups and government agencies through to industry and commercial partners. All play a very significant role in caring for catchments.

“In a year of many great results, a key highlight was the completion of work on a flagship South Gippsland waterway, the Agnes River and the removal the final willow from the system after 25 years of sustained effort.” 

Helping Landcare protect the environment

West Gippsland Landcare volunteers are set to deliver another round of exciting and inspired projects thanks to this year’s Victorian Landcare Grants.

A total of $365,118 was awarded to 24 projects and 37 grants across West Gippsland, enabling our local Landcare Groups to continue their important role enhancing, protecting and restoring landscapes across the catchment.

Successful projects include restoring habitat, planting multispecies pastures, protecting threatened species habitat, revegetating the Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) and its tributaries, and engaging communities with environmental events and activities.

Innovative dairy farmers pave way for sustainable future

In an exciting partnership with Agriculture Victoria, we’re supporting four irrigators in central Gippsland to trial innovative irrigation and nutrient management practices that boost farm productivity while improving the environment.

“These farmers are paving the way for sustainable irrigation by trialing technology that we hope will lead to better on-farm productivity, improved water quality in waterways and less greenhouse emissions from irrigated agriculture.” said Land Programs Coordinator with West Gippsland CMA, Anthony Goode.

Currently underway, the four trial projects include the use of variable rate irrigation (VRI) technology to optimise irrigation, expanding dairy effluent application through a pipe and riser system, installing a self-cleaning effluent pump to reduce blockages in pivot irrigators and smart sprinkler controls powered by solar energy.

Funding for the trial projects was provided through The Irrigation and Nutrient Management Demonstration Project, an initiative of the Victorian Government’s Sustainable Irrigation Program.

Tiny creatures, mighty clues: how waterbugs help us understand waterway health

It was all about getting up close and personal with the tiny yet fascinating critters that live in waterways when we hosted a Waterbug Identification Training session recently.

Armed with nets, buckets and curiosity, West Gippsland CMA staff, Waterwatch volunteers and Parks Victoria rangers waded into Leongatha Wetlands collecting samples of mud and debris to analyse under the magnifying glass for the presence of waterbugs.

“The Waterbug identification training was a fantastic opportunity for volunteers and partners to gain new skills and tools so they can continue their vital role caring for West Gippsland’s catchment,” said West Gippsland CMA’s Waterwatch coordinator, Tash Marty-Cripps.

The session was part of the National Waterbug Blitz, a citizen science program that encourages people to investigate how healthy their local rivers, creeks or wetlands are by exploring and identifying the waterbugs they contain.

Read the full story

Smart Farmers reducing effluent entering Corner Inlet

We’ve been working with partners and South Gippsland farmers to manage dairy effluent with the bigger picture of reducing nutrients entering Corner Inlet. 

“The project involved 30 farms, covering a milking area of 5,808 hectares,” said Shayne Haywood, Manager – Land and Biodiversity for West Gippsland CMA. 

“All farms had an Effluent Management Plan developed which guided the effluent system upgrades. The project resulted in effectively doubling the effluent irrigation areas across these farms, from 1,042 hectares at the beginning of the project to 2,122 hectares available for irrigation at the end of the project.”  

This increase in effluent irrigation area resulted in a reduction of fertiliser required, as dairy effluent is a highly valuable source of nutrients particularly nitrogen and potassium. 

Other results were a combined total reduction of 2,594 tonnes of fertiliser (Urea, SSP, MoP & SoA) meaning a total saving for the district of $1,956,163 – an average saving of $65,205 per farm.

Read the full story

Water for the environment update

Spring weather conditions have been surprisingly wet with high river flows and flooding in the lower Carran Carran (Thomson), Wirn wirndook Yeerung (Macalister) and Durt’Yowan (Latrobe) rivers. 

Before European settlement, when rivers flooded, water would flow over riverbanks and cross the floodplain to soak natural wetlands. Today when floods occur, dams, levee banks, weirs, roads and other structures can stop water from reaching some wetlands. 

The carefully planned flows this Spring will add water for the environment to the natural flows, to build resilience for the river and allow free movement of young native fish up the rivers from the sea and estuaries. 

We will continue to monitor river flow conditions and adaptively manage flows together with delivery partners and modify, delay or cancel planned deliveries if necessary.  

You can keep up to date on current releases page for further updates

Nominations now open for Landcare Awards

We all know our region is filled with Landcare legends - groups, organisations and individuals who are passionate about protecting and restoring our environment. So why not nominate them for an award in the 2023/24 Victorian Landcare Awards?

There are five Victorian Award categories to choose from and nine national categories.

Nominations close March 2024. For all the details, including tips for writing a top-notch nomination, visit Landcare Victorian Awards

Win a 2024 catchment calendar

We have 20 copies of our Hidden Gems calendar for 2024 to give away. Enjoy a stunning image of the catchment each month.

To be in the draw, send us an email telling us about your hidden gem in the catchment – along with your name and postal address to communications@wgcma.vic.gov.au

Priority projects on the go

From the mountains to the sea, there is always a lot happening at the CMA. New projects are connecting waterways, restoring wetlands, tackling climate change, inspiring communities and much more.

Take a tour around the catchment on our interactive map and discover the exciting projects we're currently working on – perhaps even in your local area.

Tune in to our podcasts

We've had a break with Gippslandscapes Podcast lately but there is still a treasure trove of episodes to discover.

Some episodes we recommend are talking Pelicans with Deb Sullivan, Flood Recovery and Putting the Fish Back Into Fish Creek.

We're planning to pick up our podcasts again in 2024, so if you have a great story to share, or know someone who does and would like to feature on a future podcast, let us know communications@wgcma.vic.gov.au

You subscribed to receive updates. If you no longer wish to be notified, unsubscribe here.West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, 16 Hotham Street, Traralgon Victoria 3844, Australia

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of the region, the Gunaikurnai, the Bunurong, the Boonwurrung and the Wurundjeri Peoples, their rich culture and spiritual connection to Country. We also acknowledge the contribution and interest of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples and organisations in natural resource management and pay respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.