IT’S big, green, aggressive and growing more than one metre day on the banks of the Peel River.
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It’s not the Incredible Hulk, it’s an introduced weed known as Madeira vine and it’s causing serious problems for the river.
Tamworth Regional Council has secured a $12,890 NSW government grant to rip out the weed between Ogunbil and Oxley Vale.
Mayor Col Murray said it’s an aggressive weed which posed a serious problem in local waterways.
“This grant enables us to have a fair crack at the control of it,” Cr Murray said.
“It won’t be a enough to get rid of it completely.”
He said council had been doing trials with chemicals, containment methods and “some biological methods”.
“Eventually, it can take over trees, causing them to fall in to the river, causing further spread of the Madeira vine and choking up our river systems destroying the vegetation,” he said.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said more grants could become available in the future to help tackle the weed.
“It’s great to see the money anglers pay in fishing licences going directly back into protecting our river systems so they can regenerate their fish stocks and ultimately provide recreational fishing right along the Peel river,” he said.