Weed and pest funding for the Hunter Estuary Wetlands

THE State Government has allocated $2.1 million across 17 new projects to tackle pests and weeds across the state, including in the Hunter Estuary Wetlands Ramsar area.

In the wetlands, Local Land Services is supporting public agencies and private landholders to deliver a cross-tenure pest and weed management project.

This program aims to create a buffer to protect sensitive ecological areas within the Hunter Wetlands National Park.

The funding is part of the government’s biosecurity plan to protect the state’s primary industries and regional landscapes by focusing on addressing pest and weed matters impacting both public and neighbouring private lands.

The $10 million Good Neighbours Program was initiated as an election commitment and has been distributing funds to local authorities and land holding agencies to foster collaboration and improve their alignment with farming lands.

The 17 new projects focus on coordinated pest animal and weed control programs, as well as capacity-building workshops and training for landholders and land managers and be delivered in partnership with public land managers such as Forestry Corporation, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Crown Land and local councils.

Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said, “We know pest animals and weeds do not respect property boundaries, which is why the Minns Government is investing in a range of new and expanded on-ground biosecurity projects to protect farms lands and our environment through the Good Neighbours Program.

“These projects support public and private land managers to work together to prevent the spread of pests and weeds because we can only make headway by collaborating.

“We are already seeing positive results from these collaborative efforts, including stronger relationships between landholders and land managers, which we will continue to build on as the latest projects get underway.”