The last Riparian Forest on Bass River
Riparian forest is pretty hard to find on the Bass River - or anywhere else in the region. If you take a look at native vegetation maps or aerial photographs, you will quickly see that there is virtually no vegetation here - it has all been cleared for agriculture. The magnificent Blackwoods which once clothed the Bass Hills mostly ended up as panelling in Parliament House and other grand buildings in Melbourne. Along the river itself there are isolated spots of vegetation but little of it links up with anything - except pasture.
That is apart from the small parcel of Riparian forest left on the river frontage of the Freeranger Eggs property and adjoining land which is owned by a sand extraction company. Once sand extraction starts we can kiss goodbye to the tree ferns there.
Not only is this the last that's left on the Bass, there are less than 13 hectares of Riparian Forest remaining anywhere in the region of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority.
Once we realised that this was all that's left, we covenanted our land with the Trust for Nature to ensure it remained untouched forever.
The river is home to platypus, blackfish, spotted galaxia, tupong, pouched lamprey and short finned eels, amongst other species. We have a list of macro-invertebrates for those interested. And more than 140 bird species have been recorded on the property.
The habitat along the riverbank is a wonderland, with water rats, tree goannas, swamp antechinus, bobucks, wombats and six species of bats.
The vegetation varies, but the most spectacular is in the main gully, informally identified as West Creek, which provides a constant flow to the river (until sand extraction starts). In dry summers, flows in the Bass are often virtually non-existent upstream of our property, but our creek provides the vital water necessary to maintain a slight downstream flow.
Here, tree ferns, coral ferns, native orchids and huge messmates provide a great playground for wombats, powerful owls, bobucks and rufus fantails.
A massive swamp gum, probably at least 200 years old dominates the riverbank and shows what was around in earlier times. The forest is an important seedbank for revegetating the Bass Valley but it is interesting that requests for seeds have come from individuals wanting to restore what was here - not from the organisations receiving huge dollars in public funds for fencing and revegetation. One wonders "what the hell are they planting" but no-one cares - it's just a photo opportunity!
Revegetation of creeks and drainage lines is vital if we are to maintain and restore water quality, as well as improving farm productivity and wildlife habitat - but it's not as important as maintaining and protecting existing remnant native vegetation. Management of remnants has to be the number one priority because there is so little left. It makes no sense to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at ad hoc revegetation projects while allowing existing vegetation to be destroyed.
One of the disappointing things that has happened is the destruction of Ruddy Ground Ferns, a species of regional significance, at Bass. A small colony was growing amongst pine trees which were removed with no thought of protecting the ferns. The sad thing is that our local Landcare Network organised that destruction – and they still wonder why we don't want to be a part of their empire.
The Swamp Lily is also regionally significant and it can be found in the river alongside our property.
The riparian forest along the Bass is buffered by dry schlerophyl forest on the property which provides the vegetated link from the Grantville Flora and Fauna Reserve to the river.
If the river is fenced off to restrict free access to livestock, revegetation is undertaken using local indigenous species and willows removed in a systematic fashion, we should see an improvement in water quality, and less erosion. It's not rocket science but it's hard to get the message over to some because they see any suggested change in the way they do things as a threat to their 'right to farm'.
That is apart from the small parcel of Riparian forest left on the river frontage of the Freeranger Eggs property and adjoining land which is owned by a sand extraction company. Once sand extraction starts we can kiss goodbye to the tree ferns there.
Not only is this the last that's left on the Bass, there are less than 13 hectares of Riparian Forest remaining anywhere in the region of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority.
Once we realised that this was all that's left, we covenanted our land with the Trust for Nature to ensure it remained untouched forever.
The river is home to platypus, blackfish, spotted galaxia, tupong, pouched lamprey and short finned eels, amongst other species. We have a list of macro-invertebrates for those interested. And more than 140 bird species have been recorded on the property.
The habitat along the riverbank is a wonderland, with water rats, tree goannas, swamp antechinus, bobucks, wombats and six species of bats.
The vegetation varies, but the most spectacular is in the main gully, informally identified as West Creek, which provides a constant flow to the river (until sand extraction starts). In dry summers, flows in the Bass are often virtually non-existent upstream of our property, but our creek provides the vital water necessary to maintain a slight downstream flow.
Here, tree ferns, coral ferns, native orchids and huge messmates provide a great playground for wombats, powerful owls, bobucks and rufus fantails.
A massive swamp gum, probably at least 200 years old dominates the riverbank and shows what was around in earlier times. The forest is an important seedbank for revegetating the Bass Valley but it is interesting that requests for seeds have come from individuals wanting to restore what was here - not from the organisations receiving huge dollars in public funds for fencing and revegetation. One wonders "what the hell are they planting" but no-one cares - it's just a photo opportunity!
Revegetation of creeks and drainage lines is vital if we are to maintain and restore water quality, as well as improving farm productivity and wildlife habitat - but it's not as important as maintaining and protecting existing remnant native vegetation. Management of remnants has to be the number one priority because there is so little left. It makes no sense to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at ad hoc revegetation projects while allowing existing vegetation to be destroyed.
One of the disappointing things that has happened is the destruction of Ruddy Ground Ferns, a species of regional significance, at Bass. A small colony was growing amongst pine trees which were removed with no thought of protecting the ferns. The sad thing is that our local Landcare Network organised that destruction – and they still wonder why we don't want to be a part of their empire.
The Swamp Lily is also regionally significant and it can be found in the river alongside our property.
The riparian forest along the Bass is buffered by dry schlerophyl forest on the property which provides the vegetated link from the Grantville Flora and Fauna Reserve to the river.
If the river is fenced off to restrict free access to livestock, revegetation is undertaken using local indigenous species and willows removed in a systematic fashion, we should see an improvement in water quality, and less erosion. It's not rocket science but it's hard to get the message over to some because they see any suggested change in the way they do things as a threat to their 'right to farm'.
