This project will control Sicklepod and Rubber vine in the Palmer River, to stop these introduced plants advancing further along the Palmer River and out into pastures.

Sicklepod and Rubber Vine are declared Class 2 pest plants under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002. Rubber vine’s ability to quickly spread and colonise areas makes it a threat to many areas of northern Australia. Due to this ability, rubber vine is listed as a Weed of National Significance.

The focus point for control is the upper catchment of the Palmer River and prevention of further weed seeds spreading downstream. The outcome will slow the spread of these two weeds by focusing control works upstream.

This project is a successful application from the National Landcare Programme Expressions of Interest called for in 2015. This project will support the Australian Governments National Landcare Programme Strategic Outcome #2: Increase in the number of farmers and fishers adopting practices that improve the quality of the natural resource base, and the area of land over which those practices are applied.

A monitoring program will be established to measure the outcomes of the project and photo points to capture the changes over an initial period of up to 3 years.