Mimosa pigra on the Phelp River
Team members from the Weed Management Branch (WMB), George, Bethany and Sara, recently travelled to assist the Yugul Mangi Rangers with survey and control of Mimosa pigra along the Phelp River in southeast Arnhem Land. The WMB has been working with the Yugul Mangi and Numbulwar Numburindi rangers since 2010, with the long-term aim of eradicating Mimosa pigra from the area.
Due to the late rains in April and May this year, many of the previously marked mimosa points in wetter areas were inaccessible. Still, there were some wins – reaching remote points that had not been reached in a couple of seasons, as well as finding and treating previously unrecorded infestations. The rangers will return to the site in late November to address the points unable to be reached this time, provided the rains do not start too early.
After a few hot days and cool nights spent at Wanmarri outstation, the team returned to Ngukurr to facilitate identification and treatment of a recently recorded class A weed: Jatropha gossypiifolia (bellyache bush), as well as Azadirachta indica (neem) and Xanthium strumarium (noogoora burr) growing in the community.
Final locations surveyed included historic Cryptostegia madagascariensis (ornamental rubber vine) sites along the Roper River where there had been some recent treatment completed by the Yugul Mangi Rangers. After conducting basal barking of some juvenile plants, the WMB made its way to Munbililla (Tomato Island) within Limmen National Park for the night, before heading back to Tennant Creek and Darwin.
