airborne reconnaissance

Thirteen hours in a Robinson R44 helicopter has left Brett Carlsson very confident that he has mapped all the Parkinsonia south of Windorah and identified the furthest spread of this Central American invader down the Cooper channels.

Birds-eye view from the cockpit of the Robinson R44 on weed survey in the Channel Country

"We went well past the last plants and I reckon we’ve got a pretty good handle on the extent of the spread,” he says. Brett is the Project Officer for Desert Channels Queensland’s Cross-Catchments Weeds and Feral Animals Initiative, and he works with landholders and shire councils on what the community of the region has identified as its greatest land management challenge.

The aerial survey, on the 21^st and 22^nd of November, located and mapped infestations of Parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata) in the braided channels of Cooper Creek and along Kyabra Creek.

Brett says that Queensland Helicopters’ Robinson R44 was a great choice for the job. “Queensland Helicopters are based in Longreach and have extensive knowledge of the area.

“Not only that, but the R44 has great vision with the doors off and it’s is a 4-seater which meant we could have 2 spotters and even take the land-owners up for a ride.

“It always helps to have an extra pair of eyes, even though Parkinsonia is relatively easy to spot; they have long, spindly, light-green leaves, unlike any native plant. They stick out like the proverbials.”

According to Brett, having the landholder along also helps improve their awareness and knowledge of the spread of the weed on their place, and is a great way to demonstrate how important survey work is in control and monitoring of weed infestations.

A handheld Garmin GPS was used to record the flight path and mark each plant or infestation as a waypoint. This information is then passed to relevant landholders to assist in planning and conducting control works. It is also entered into the DCQ weeds database and the state-wide PestInfo database to provide an accurate picture of weed infestation in the region and across the State.

In line with DCQ’s close involvement with local government, Peter Pidgeon (Barcoo Shire’s Rural Lands Officer) contributed two days of his time to assist with the survey. Peter's knowledge and experience of the local area was in-valuable and helped with navigating the braided channels and locating remote waterholes.

Brett says that the infestations south of Windorah can be best described as low density, scattered plants. “There’s not a lot there, but getting in to the plants on a quad bike or in a vehicle to spray them will be a big challenge; the channels are very difficult to cross in places.”

Kyabra Creek was also flown and some remote, small infestations, mostly of 4 to 10 plants, were mapped. All but two of these had previously been mapped. The amount of work to control these plants is minimal but because of the distance between plants more time will be spent travelling between them rather than spraying.

After receiving a report of Parkinsonia at a bore to the north of Windorah, a quick recce was done. It revealed about a dozen small, scattered plants that are easily accessible and treated.

Brett Carlsson says that while the survey was very successful, it was only one small piece in the weed control jigsaw.

“We’ve had great success in the past three or four years,” he says. “But it’s all about everyone doing their little bit in their own neck of the woods. That’s the only way we’re ever going to beat it.”