Treasure located on ‘unpleasant’ country roadway subjects discouraging trouble

An indigenous “treasure” seen flowering on the side of “the most miserable” roadway has actually highlighted an irritating and confusing trouble afflicting a remote area of Australia.

After investing a number of months carrying out plants studies in Western Australia’s north farming area, concerning 2 hours from Perth, council employee Rachel Walmsley was not always shocked when she saw the grim problem of Miling North Road.

Despite being the “gateway” to WA’s wildflower nation, the Community Landcare Coordinator for Moore Catchment Council noted its books were nearly totally without indigenous plants.

In a video clip published online, Walmsley pans the electronic camera from one side of the roadway to the various other, explaining the plain comparison in between the “horrible” slim turfs growing on one side, and a solitary “remnant” eucalyptus plant including brilliant pink blossoms on the various other.

“Why wouldn’t you want to see that on the side of the road?” she claims while appreciating the pear-fruited mallee, which she claimed was the “highlight” of her day. “Unfortunately, there’s been loads simply knocked senseless.”

“Just sensational native vegetation, and we just seem to want to reduce it to this,” she added, pointing to a huge mass of African Lovegrass — which is considered to be a serious weed and a fire hazard — emerging from the other side of the road.

Native vegetation ‘keeps disappearing from roadsides’

Speaking to Yahoo News, Walmsley said the flowering eucalypt pyriformis flowering “shows how fantastically beautiful WA’s wheatbelt native vegetation is yet it keeps disappearing from the roadsides for various reasons”.

She explained Miling North Road is managed by two local shires, including the Shire of Moora, and is lacking native plants on the reserve for most of its length. However it’s not totally clear who is responsible for the persistent clearing.

“The Shire managed road reserves have ended up looking like this so you have to question how, and why some road reserves are intact and why some are devoid of native vegetation,” Walmsley said. “Is it the shires and their contractors not really caring about native vegetation or not ecologically trained? Is it local landowners acting in their own interest?”

The council worker is comparing her assessments to those documented 10 years ago, and when she’s finished, a report that will be shared with Moora Shire and the public. “[It] will be interesting to see what reactions result,” she told Yahoo. “These assessments echo many of the shire road reserves throughout the WA wheatbelt – in a poor state.”

90 per cent of WA wheatbelt reserves cleared of native plants

Ninety per cent of the wheatbelt has been cleared of plants endemic to the area, and the nearby eucalypt woodlands are considered critically endangered, which has a huge impact on the environment, Walmsley said.

“These corridors of native trees and shrubs are not only critical for good native biodiversity outcomes, they act as wind breaks, dust suppression, cool soil and air around them, reduces erosion on roadsides, prevent weeds, create ecosystem services for farmers with beneficial insects and birds,” she said.

“Plus they are a cost-effective tourism asset — a free display of unique flora which tourists are evermore seeking. The list goes on and on.”

The priorities moving forward are to protect any remaining native vegetation and re-plant what has been removed, Walmsley added. “This may involve investment from the state in financial incentives to landowners either side of the road if considered too narrow (or other excuses).”

Yahoo News has contacted Moora Shire for comment.

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