Fish traps of Wilson Inlet

In this edition we cover:

• A Splash of Optimism
• Dr Shey Rogers talks Animal Health in a drought
• Neil Bennett gives an update on rainfall
• Dr Elke Reichwaldt gives us an update on the inlet
• Professor Stephen Hopper talks about the drought impact on native bush
• Kylie Cook gives an update on dung beetles
• A message from our chair Greg Sounness

After reading a draft of this newsletter I realised it was a bit of a downer.

With this edition we wanted to provide comfort and resources to our farming community that have been doing it pretty tough.   Farmers are the lifeblood of our community and the last 8 months have been a struggle to say the least.  I encourage you to read our Chair's Report to see how tough this has been.  With the recent rains we can now all see a light at the end of the tunnel and feel some optimism creeping back in.  With that in mind I wanted to start this newsletter out with some good news.

I am proud to be part of a team that is providing practical solutions and on ground action to what many see as overwhelming problems.  Most landcare groups are funded by governments who decide their priorities (often from Canberra).  A few years back WICC decided to do things differently.  We want to design our own locally-designed programs based on science which have the backing of our community… and then find someone to fund them.  Our WICC community has been doing some innovative and exciting things I want to touch on before you read the rest of our newsletter.

Less than 2 year's ago we decided to raise money to purchase a wetland to help prevent the extinction of a critically endangered bird.  With your support we raised about $600,000 in 12 months and purchased Eungedup Wetlands.  We have now implemented a cracker of a conservation program which is only gaining momentum.  Eungedup Wetlands will be a world class ‘classroom’ for our community, especially our youth, to become immersed in wetland ecology.  This has attracted some brilliant minds whom have taken on this opportunity, allowing WICC to focus on even bigger things.

We are looking to pilot a world’s first biorefinery here in Denmark.  Following a 2-year feasibility study with the Shire of Denmark and Murdoch Uni we have set the scene for this to take off.  This will allow us to introduce a FOGO (food organics garden organics) management program by safely pyrolising green waste and food organics and making biochar to improve agriculture, animal health, and sequester tonnes of carbon in the process.  We will also explore safely eradicating waste, silage plastics and effluent in the process.  Thanks to Jane Kelsbie MLA for her tireless efforts lobbying for this behind the scenes.

In 2024/25 we expect to build a community native tree nursery.  With the sad loss of Habitat Tree Farm a couple years back we purchased all of their nursery equipment.  This new Universal Access nursery will provide employment opportunities and native seedlings which will be planted in mass by our team of volunteers, capturing more carbon, providing habitat and protecting our waterways.  We have trained a local Aboriginal Ranger group to carry out the seed collection for the nursery.  This will not only provide local provenance seed for the nursery, but also Aboriginal employment and build on their connection to country.  

Since 2021 we have also introduced WA’s most progressive dung beetle program.  We are introducing new species of dung beetles, established dozens of beetle nurseries throughout the catchment and have been releasing beetles in droves.  Having active beetles throughout the year will help keep nutrients on farms and out of our waterways, improve on farm productivity, animal health…. and help manage our flies which helps our mental health!

This year we introduced a black cockatoo conservation program from Nornalup to West Cape Howe and north to the Porongurups.  We are currently installing dozens of cockatoo nest boxes, planting over 60 hectares of cockatoo flora and fencing off nearly 100 hectares of remnant vegetation.  This program partners with every segment of our community: farmers, schools, Aboriginal groups, and all ages of the community.  Like the rest of our programs, it will have no end date.  We believe if something makes sense, somebody will fund it.  

Thanks to our donors for your ongoing support.  If you like what we are doing and have the resources to invest in our initiatives please follow the links at the end of the newsletter (or give me a bell).

Yay for the rain!

Thanks.

Shaun Ossinger

Executive Officer, WICC

WICC caught up with Dr Shey Rogers from Nullaki Vet Services to talk about the impacts of our dry season on animal health (and farmer’s mental health) and what growers should be looking out for.

Shey: Water quality is probably the major concern at the moment with decreased water levels causing poorer quality water, animals tend to drink less, which in turn decreases the milk production (most cows are in full lactation at the moment). The poorer quality water can also harbor botulism and salmonella and will cause neurological signs and quick deaths. Also be on the lookout for blue green algae.  If you are concerned about the quality of your animal’s water source take some water samples (min 500 mL water in a clear grass or plastic bottle and cap rinsed 3 times with sample water) and drop off to DPRID for testing. 

WICC: What if growers can no longer manage their stock levels?

Shey:  Look for opportunities. Given the lack of feed, now's a really good time to cull animals. Start with temperament, move to feet and then other conformational issues that you are aiming to improve. Try and keep younger animals and good quality breeders for when we do become flush again to help rebuild the numbers. Bear in mind our fit to load practices as well, decide to sell before the animals are unable to be sold. 

WICC:  A lot of farmers are concerned about what will happen to their paddocks when the break comes.  Do you have any advice on preparing for that?

Shey: Confining animals to a part of the property to reduce the loss of top soil and future pasture quality is helpful. Sort animals into different metabolic needs (wean early if required) to help the way you feed out. It is more efficient to maintain animals' weight then to build it up again once it's dropped off.   Determine what you have and what you realistically can do for the rest of this year. Have a plan in place, it does not have to be implemented all at once but start early rather than later.  Budget will be the main limitation. 

WICC: Many farmers are only able to access low quality feed.  Any advice there?

Shey: Energy values of feed differ, and it pays to calculate what you actually need. Ie converting cost /ton to the dry matter basis and work out the MJ of energy each provides to ascertain the most cost-effective food. Although this too may be limited by just what you can get your hands on. 

WICC: Any other advice?

Shey: Take a holiday, for mental health. 

Here are some useful links for our farmers. Once the recently announced WA drought funding package has been released it will be updated to the DPIRD information page.

Neil Bennett, Meteorologist and all around great guy

WICC asked meteorologist, Neil Bennet, questions about what is happening with our weather on the South Coast in order to put things in perspective.  Neil shines a light on what has been happening with our weather patterns.

WICC:  Our farmers expect a dry summer now and again but the last 8 months have been exceptionally dry.  What is causing it?

Neil: The weather in SW WA is driven by the movement of the sub-tropical ridge. This semi-permanent area of high pressure migrates north and south during the year. In the winter months it will typically be to the north of Perth and this allows rain bearing cold fronts to sweep up from the south of the continent. In the summer months it will sit south of the continent and this prevents fronts from moving up. During summer months the weather is also influenced by the west coast trough and tropical systems moving from the north.

In the last 8 months the sub-tropical ridge has been in its summer position and this has resulted in the driest 8 month period on record in parts of the South West Land Division as shown in  the chart from the Bureau Of Meteorology below;

The other factor in play has been the lack of any meaningful tropical activity during the El Nino period, and the west coast trough has also failed to produce any form of shower or thunderstorm activity which, whilst isolated and sporadic, can sometimes lead to decent rainfall amounts in the summer.

The almost permanent position of the sub-tropical ridge led to the south coast region being subjected to long periods of dry easterly winds which led to increased evaporation and a subsequent decline in sub-soil moisture.

WICC: Have there been comparable seasons in our records?

Neil: Given that we have set records for the heat and rainfall totals this season its safe to say this has never occurred before. The elephant in the room is climate change, which is going to make seasons such as the one we have just had more likely to occur again.

WICC: What things can farmers look to in the way of climate drivers to anticipate a break in the season?

Neil: The best tool to use is the long-range forecast from the Bureau and the climate driver update, http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/

For the last two months, the inlet settled into its normal pattern. Total nutrient concentrations are stable and in early April a period of higher microalgae activity was detected, typical for the season. However, due to the lack of rain and river flow and therefore the lack of nutrient input from the catchment this event was short lived.

“The first four months of 2024 have been among the driest ever recorded when it comes to river discharge into the inlet”, says Dr Elke Reichwaldt from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (the department). The department have been measuring discharge into the inlet from the five main rivers since the late 1990s. In 2024, the total volume of discharge for January to April was the third lowest, after 2007 and 2020.

The small volume of discharge in the first months of 2024 is the reason why the water level continues dropping. It is currently at around -0.34 m AHD. “This is not the lowest we have seen it in recent years, but, if it doesn’t start to rain soon, it is certainly heading this way”, Elke comments.

Salinity is also higher than normal for this time of the year, around 35 ppt. Normally it is between 26 and 32 ppt.

Anyone interested in the water level of Wilson Inlet, which is measured at the Old Railway bridge (site 603032) can check the department’s webpage.

Impacts of water stress on granite country.  William Bay National Park.

We have all seen the impacts of this season on our native bush.  WICC caught up with Professor Stephen Hopper from UWA’s School of Biological Sciences to learn more about the long-term impacts.

WICC: Will the drought stress on trees and shrubs result in deaths or are they resilient enough to come back?  

Stephen: Drought is one of several disturbances such as fire, flooding and storm damage that kills above ground vegetation. Native trees and shrubs are resilient and capable of responding to drought through either resprouting or through seedling led recovery. As with all disturbance regimes, the frequency, extent, season and intensity are critical factors to consider when observing a drought regime and assessing its severity.

WICC: The most obvious local drought stressed areas are seen as brown patches around granite. what is the impact there? 

Stephen: Granite outcrops provide a canary in the coalmine situation. They are the first to show drought effects if the dryness is sufficiently prolonged. The shallow soils place significant reliance on rainfall at the right time and extent to keep plants alive. But many plants on granite also cope with drought through specialized life histories. Annuals avoid the worst of the hot weather and persist as seed in the soil. Geophytes with underground rhizomes and bulbs such as orchids, time their above-ground events to coincide with the wet season. Resurrection plants such as pincushions (Borya spp.), mosses, cyanobacteria and ferns have evolved ways of shutting down cellular functions in the dry season, appearing as if dead, until moisture triggers a return to normal photosynthesis. Shrubs and trees are perhaps most susceptible to drought if the reservoirs of moisture in soil above the rock dry out. If they die then the answer to your first question prevails.

WICC: Which other species/vegetation communities are most affected?   

Stephen:  Peat swamps are increasingly at risk associated with the combination of summer drought and fire. In the past peat swamps remained moist 12 months of the years. Essentially, they prevented fire by acting as moist firebreaks. Over the past 20 years, however, peat swamps have increasingly dried up over the summer and more than 20 have now been lost entirely or in part due to fire over the past decade – prescribed burning and wildfires. This will take up to 5000 years to restore and repair to the same extent of peat. Forest trees such as tingles, especially Rate’s Tingle, which favours uplands of granite, are increasingly vulnerable to prolonged drought.

WICC: Has this happened before at this scale?

Stephen: Yes certainly over the past two million years there has been dramatic climate changes effecting the Southern forests region. The extent of drought-induced dieback, however, is greater at present than I have seen in the southern forests in over 50 years of studying granite outcrops. A similar event happened near Perth in the jarrah forest in 2011. There, dieback of common shrubs and trees on granite outcrops was evident. Something new is happening to create the circumstances now evident in the southern forests region.

WICC: Other than the obvious increased fire risk, are there diseases or other threats that are exacerbated by extended dry periods?  

Stephen: Stressed vegetation is more vulnerable to diseases and insect pests.

WICC: Will there be a loss of seed viability?  

Stephen: Seed stores will be depleted if there is prolonged drought. Obligate-seeding shrubs and trees require sufficient time between disturbance events to flower and build up a canopy seed store or soil seed store.

WICC: How long before recovery and will the composition be different?

Stephen: Recovery will be similar to that observed postfire if the drought ceases. In some cases, on granite this means several decades if not centuries. Things can appear better after a decade, but the compositional question is one that has not been addressed adequately. Reliable controls are necessary. Some work on granites this year and into the future may be required to monitor recovery.

WICC colonised dung beetles

We have been eagerly waiting for the winter dung beetle Bubas bison to become active for the season. Normally we see the first signs of winter beetle activity in April after rainfall “wakes up” the beetles. This year with the dry autumn we have been having, the beetles are later than usual and the dung is piling up. Fingers crossed we see them tunnelling in the paddocks very soon. 

If you’re thinking about drenching or back-lining your livestock, consider timing your parasite control to have the least effect on dung beetles! When beetles first emerge for the season, they are in a feeding frenzy to fatten up for breeding. This is their most vulnerable time for being damaged by the insecticides in common parasite treatments. If you can delay treatment, or switch to a product that is less harmful to beetles, you can keep the beneficial beetles thriving. Worm egg counts can also help you target your drench application to have the most effect on parasites. 

We have also taken expressions of interest from farmers who would like to host a nursery of the new spring-active dung beetle species when they arrive in spring. Hosting a nursery involves setup, maintenance (weeding or whipper snipping) and feeding the dung beetles their favourite treat every 5-7 days – fresh drench-free dung. The beetles need to be cared for from September to late January – by this time they should have laid all their eggs in the ground for the following year. When the beetles emerge in the second year, the farmer feeds them again for a few weeks (allowing more eggs to be laid in the nursery for future years), then releases the adult beetles onto their farm so they can get to work in the paddocks.

As a livestock farmer it’s a real struggle to write this piece in very challenging times in farming. Whether you are invested in farming or not, the current perfect storm of low prices, low paddock feed, low feed stocks, low water supplies, carry over stock and backlogs in abattoir space are having a widespread impact on individuals and the wider community.

I urge people not to judge our circumstance but show a bit of humanity regardless of your beliefs because one day you might need our shoulder to lean on, ear to be heard or advice to get by.

The stress this is causing is real, waiting for the sun to go down so you aren’t looking at bare paddocks and hungry livestock or hoping for a pea soup fog in the morning to lessen the visual pain is reality.

Counting fodder supplies to try and budget feed rations and then trying to shuffle the financial budget to source more when it is in short supply and bloody expensive!

You can off load stock but for many it is not economical to send them to sale yards because they aren’t even covering freight, yard feeds, commissions and other associated costs.

The widespread ramifications of this are not just on farmers but all associated industries. 

We are on edge, we are depressed, we are anxious and we are stressed! 

The problem with the current situation is there is no respite from it. You wake to it, if you sleep it gives you nightmares and if you don’t you dwell on what did I do wrong or simply what can I do or is my situation worse than my neighbor’s or my mates, can I help them in kind or with a spare few hay bales? 

For many they don’t have any more to give! 

The mental fatigue overwhelms the physical fatigue and the voices start!

If going outside is a challenge you seek solace in a cuppa but have to wipe the dust from the table because you left the bloody window open and those damned easterely winds have left a paddock on the table. You stand to close the window and there it is all again, bare paddocks, hungry livestock, dwindling fodder reserves and a clear blue sky ………no rain!!

If you are brave enough to venture onto social media the cut and paste requests for mobile butchers, pet food capacities, fodder requests, agistment illustrate the statewide impact the rural sector is facing.

Finally the keyboard warriors and experts who are devoid of empathy and compassion are relentless. While it won’t fill the dams, fatten the sheep, fill the silos or reduce processing backlogs it wouldn’t hurt for these individuals to consider the reality of rural WA’s crisis.

This is not just a farmer problem but a rural community problem. Many rural folk volunteer on local bushfire trucks, ambulance sub centers, sporting groups, community groups, school canteens, school P&C’s and many more! As the pressures of the current situation manifest many will step back not wanting public interaction, not wanting to leave the farm and or just having nothing more to give. Volunteers are already an endangered species don’t push them to critical levels.

I implore people to check on anyone associated with the current rural predicament make the call, catch up for a cuppa or just be there. This is not isolated and we don’t have to be alone in facing these challenges. 

A smile can hide many demons and sometimes tears and separation are not the only signs of struggle. 

It breaks my heart to watch a close mate battle this and wonder what I can do help. I know what it’s like to not want to go outside, not want to see or talk to anyone, and be challenging to be around!

I say to him and his family you ring me any time!!!!!

The other day as I sat with him I told him to use a  photo of his wife and kids as his screen saver and when the world is closing in swipe the screen and remember what matters. 

I urge everyone to do the same it is only a small thing but if the first thing you see when you unlock your phone is something that is important it may be that reminder as to what REALLY MATTERS!!

My screensaver are my Grandsons and no matter how much dust there is they always make me laugh.

If you need help there are many avenues and it doesn’t have to be the well documented ones it could be anyone you feel comfortable talking to. 

I urge everyone in our catchment and statewide to support each other, care for each other and don’t be too proud to ask for help. 

If I can help I am available to listen, have a chat or grab a coffee because the reality is I would rather be getting the call Hello and not …..Goodbye.

Stay safe

Greg Sounness

Chairperson

Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee