NQ Dry Tropics ’ Landholders Driving Change Senior Field Officer Brendan Smith said the hydraulic capacity of each flow diversion bank was assessed individually . He said through the Australian Government Reef Trust-funded Point Source Sediment Management in the Burdekin Dry Tropics project , NQ Dry Tropics was working with landholders including Mr Watts , to reduce sediment runoff by trialling a range of cost-effective gully remediation techniques . “ The work that has been completed on Sonoma Station is an excellent example of what graziers can do to make a gully productive again ,” Mr Smith said .
“ The main benefit is that we ’ ve stopped water running down a gully and therefore have stopped sediment going out to the Great Barrier Reef - and have turned unproductive land into a productive landscape . “ The work will be used as a site for showcasing and trialling innovative techniques , to facilitate engagement with local landholders ,“ Mr Smith said . Other works being trialled by Mr Watts includes the installation of whoa boys , silt trap banks , a silt trap dam and exclusion fencing . For further information on gully remediation , contact our office on 4799 3500 .
Above : ( from left ) Shane Watts , of Sonoma Station , Landholders Driving Change Senior Grazing Support Officer Brendan Smith and NQ Dry Tropics Soil Conservation Officer Neil Cupples pictured at one of the diversion banks .
P32 | ISSUE 1 , April , 2018