Our Legacy
25 Year highlights
- Significantly improved fish passage by removing or modifying 35 fish barriers and opening up 868 kilometres of stream.
- Enhanced the natural environment, soils and water and provided certainty to the region by protecting 73,000 hectares of highly productive land from salinisation and waterlogging through the actions of the Shepparton Irrigation Region Land and Water Management Plan.
- Reduced natural disaster risk through four urban levee schemes, flood warning services for seven systems and Goulburn Broken Community Flood Portal.
Collin Tate and Tom O’Dwyer have been with the Goulburn Broken CMA since its inception on 1 July 1997.
“In the 25 years of the Goulburn Broken CMA we have worked as one with our partners, land managers and communities, to protect the health of the region’s environment for now and the future. Together we have made a real and lasting difference.”
Helen Reynolds, Goulburn Broken CMA Chair
For 25 years Goulburn Broken CMA has worked with communities and partner organisations to protect and improve the catchment’s land, water and biodiversity and two staff members have been there since day one.
Tom O’Dwyer and Collin Tate both started their careers with GBCMA on the very same day that CMAs began in Victoria – 1 July 1997.
Two-and-a half decades on, they continue to work to protect the environment, having been part of the many changes in catchment management.
“There has been an evolution of waterway management in that time,” Tom said.
“There’s a much more sophisticated approach now than in the early days – a far greater understanding of how the river, landscape and natural environment function as a whole.”
Collin said he loved revegetation work and seeing the results over the years – tree planting, habitat work, watching the fish populations come back.
“I’ve also seen generational changes in farming and agricultural practices with lots of improvements over time in land and stock management.”
Tom and Collin highlighted that the community and the environment have faced numerous challenges over the past 25 years including fires, flood and extended drought with the resilience of both being a key factor in recovery.
Output
1.0 Structural works
1.1 Water storage (No.)
- Target = 7
- Actual: State = 10, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 10
1.2 Waterway structure (No.)
- Target = 16
- Actual: State = 1, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 1
1.3 Monitoring structure (No.)
- Target = 21
- Actual: State = 21, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 21
1.4 Fence (Km)
- Target = 16
- Actual: State = 22, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 22
2.0 Environmental works
2.1 Vegetation (Ha)
- Target = 316
- Actual: State = 173, Federal = 201, Other = 0, Total = 374
2.2 Weed control (Ha)
- Target = 1848
- Actual: State = 481, Federal = 1627, Other = 0, Total = 2108
2.3 Pest animal control (Ha)
- Target = 118,207
- Actual: State = 75360, Federal = 81886, Other = 0, Total = 157,246
2.4 Threatened species response (No.)
- Target = 3
- Actual: State = 4, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 4
3.0 Management services
3.1 Grazing (Ha)
- Target = 219
- Actual: State = 149, Federal = 73, Other = 0, Total = 222
3.2 Water (No.)
- Target = 1
- Actual: State = 1, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 1
3.3 Fire Regime (No.)
- Target = 3
- Actual: State = 7, Federal = 3, Other = 0, Total = 3
4.0 Planning and regulation
4.1 Approval and advice (No.)
- Target = 1,095
- Actual: State = 1550, Federal = 1, Other = 0, Total = 1550
4.2 Management agreement (No.)
- Target = 40
- Actual: State = 16, Federal = 2, Other = 0, Total = 38
4.3 Assessment (No.)
- Target = 1,275
- Actual: State = 1079, Federal = 145, Other = 1, Total = 1225
4.4 Engagement event (No. of participants)
- Target = 1435
- Actual: State = 1630, Federal = 11592, Other = 0, Total = 3222
4.5 Partnership (No.)
- Target = 116
- Actual: State = 129, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 129
4.6 Plan (No.)
- Target = 98
- Actual: State = 46, Federal = 1, Other = 1, Total = 48
4.7 Publication (No.)
- Target = 183
- Actual: State = 63, Federal = 144, Other = 3, Total = 210
4.8 Information management system (No.)
- Target = 2
- Actual: State = 3, Federal = 0, Other = 0, Total = 3
2021 – 22 Achievements
- Completed the Ribbons of Blue Sashes of Green project creating 500 hectares of wildlife corridors along creeks, through paddocks and around dams.
- Confirmed the call of the EPBC-listed Sloane’s Froglet at Moodie Swamp for the first time, after delivering 1,000 megalitres of water for the environment.
- The enduring Partnership Team Forum, that brings together key stakeholders to address natural resource management priorities in the catchment, celebrated its 250th meeting.
Our Future Vision
Resilient landscapes, thriving communities.
Future aspirations
- Reverse the declining health of the Catchment’s land, water and biodiversity and implement pathways to adapt and transform to drivers of change.
- Give effect to priorities in First Nations Country Plans.
- Build values of environmental stewardship amongst an increasingly diverse community.
