Access to a Travelling Stock Reserve (TSR) dam at Boorowa has been improved thanks to the combined efforts of neighbouring property owners, NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteers, a fishing club and South East Local Services.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Land manager, Gary Johnson approached Local Land Services about having the dam cleaned to improve the water supply for stock and to enable the dam to be used more efficiently.
South East Local Land Services Biosecurity Officer, Scott Schlunke said Gary's proposal also presented an opportunity to create better access for emergency services to water supplies in the event of fire.
"NSW RFS volunteer Greg Mason coordinated the support of six local NSW RFS brigades and a local fishing club. Each group donated $100 towards cleaning the dam and for road gravel," Mr Schlunke said.
"South East Local Land Services contributed $3,000 towards cleaning, desilting and expanding the capacity of the dam."
"This project will benefit not only land managers moving and grazing stock, but the wider local community."
The Boorowa area has a number of TSRs with linkages to the Riverina TSR network, and beyond.
TSRs are parcels of Crown land reserved for use by traveling stock. Local Land Services is responsible for the care, control and maintenance of the NSW TSR network which covers over 500,000 ha across the state.
Historically, the majority of TSRs were used solely to move livestock from farms to markets or railheads.
Today, TSRs offer a range of values to the community and environment, from grazing in times of drought to recreation and conservation.
The priority for Local Land Services is to maintain access for travelling stock, while balancing the range of economic, cultural, recreational and environmental uses.
TSRs throughout the south east region have a range of land classes.
They are home to native vegetation, wildlife, threatened species and endangered ecological communities and have Aboriginal cultural heritage values.
Local Land Services issues permits to use TSRs including apiary and long and short-term grazing and walking permits.
A state-wide planning framework is now being developed by Local Land Services in consultation with local communities and stakeholders.
The framework will allow for the implementation of TSR regional management plans, to facilitate more consistent management of, and resourcing and reporting on TSRs.
The framework will be flexible across the 11 Local Land Services regions to enable local reserves to be evaluated to determine the most appropriate range of uses for them over time.