Comments on: Dying, I’m Not: A Poem from the Murrumbidgee

By: Roger

Roger — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:45:15 +0000

I live in Barham which is on the Murray river in between the Gunbower / Pericoota / Koondrook / Gutram / Cambells Island State Forests and the red gum forests in many areas are stressed from lack of water. There has been no natural flooding since 2000 and in the last 2 years rainfall has only been in the low 200 mm region. Ecological harvesting / thinning programs have been highly successful at reducing competion for moisture in this drought, and have maintained River Red Gums in the floodplain zone.

Where thinning has not occurred there are stands of dead and dying redgums, a good example is the Nyah / Vinifera Park where active management does not occurr.

The moisture stress is compounded by the root parasite wild cherry where grazing has not occured.

By: Ron Pike

Ron Pike — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:27:25 +0000

FDB,
What needs to be understood is that Red Gums grow on the floodplain. Not in wetlands as is often claimed. While Red Gums will, when conditions are right, germinate in wetlands, the next wet period they die from too much water.
The flood plains of the MDB vary in depth from 30 to 200plus feet and they are true silt clays with huge capacity to hold water. As the young Red Gum grows its tap root approximately equals its hight. At 30 feet in height (from 10 to 12 years) it will have a tap root of at least 30 to 40 feet into the silt clay, from which it draws its moisture.
It must also be remembered that these trees grow in a rainfall range form 500 to 1200 mls. PA, which in this environment mostly makes its way into the soil profile. So even in lengthy dry spells these wonderfully adapted trees are seldom stressed for moisture.
I can show you photographs of a wonderful Red Gum forest with a mixture of trees from 12 to 200 years old that have not been flooded since 1956. They are just as healthy as similar trees that have been flooded several times in that period.
In relation to so called “environmental flows”in these streams we need to appreciate the following:
1: Discounting the very intermittent rivers that run into the Darling from the north, there are only 2 areas in the whole MDB where realitivly moderate river flows cover wetlands. These are the Maquarie Marshes west of Dubbo (an area of 220,000 hects) and the marshes on the lower Lachlan.
2: Elsewhere in the MDB the rivers run between 20 and 40 feet below the surrounding floodplain and with few exceptions the land slopes away from the river bank.
3: To use the Murrumbidgee as an example. If average flow at Narrandera is say 3500 mgls./day and authorities released another 35,000 mgls/day from Burrumjuck, this would not flood the flood plain or make one scrap of difference to the river environment.
To put water onto the flood plain and water the Red Guns requires flows in excess of 300,000 mgls/day. This only happens when there is above average rainfall events, usually spread over several days or weeks.
The amount of water that flows through these river plains during flood periods is hundreds of times the capacity of any dams that are on these rivers.
While we havent seen much of this since 1984, we must recognise that similar long dry periods have happened several times since white man arrived.
Specifically: 1826 to 1844.
1855 to 1866
1894 to 1905
1939 to 1950
Dorothea Mackellar, was correct. Australia is ‘a land of drought and flooding rain.”
Pikey.

By: FDB

FDB — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:04:33 +0000

Sounds like we’re in furious agreement. Tell me what the long-term result of increasingly long, dry periods would be under your scenario (which is also mine).

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:27:00 +0000

FDB, please outline the faster growing species that out-compete red gums in their ecological niche. In river red gum “ecoligical niche” areas, red gums are classafied as a monoculture (the largest monoculture in the world).

In dry periods grey box may encroach into marginal river reg gum forest (higher ground), however in wet years red gums again encroach into grey box areas.

By: FDB

FDB — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:04:44 +0000

“River Red Gums in their natural environment do not need floods to survivr or to propergate.”

They do however survive floods that drown other tree species, which is the principle reason they occupy the ecological niche they do. Without floods they are out-competed by faster growing species. Your ignorance of your special subject is breathtaking.

By: Ron Pike

Ron Pike — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:45:27 +0000

To All,
I happily “out” myself as the writer of “Dying I’m Not ” and I appreciate all comments.
Although now retired I’m also proud to admit to being a third generation irrigation farmer and developer. ( makes me one of the scorned by some.)
Although not a scientist I believe my understanding of, love for and appreciation of the ecology of the MDB is far broader and more practical than most of the people who regularly make media headlines on this subject.
To explain the history and true problems of the MDB would require much more time and space than is provided here, but I would like by way of debate to give a short precis of my thoughts, which is why I wrote the poem.
Having spent many hours of letter writing and numerous meetings with journalists all to no avail.
Most of the sensationalist claims made about “enviromental flows ” are false.
River Red Gums in their natural environment do not need floods to survivr or to propergate.
Several times since 1788 most of the rivers of the MDB have been dry.
The Maquarie and Lachlan rivers would have been bone dry for many months during the last few years if were not for the Burrendong Dam on the Maquarie and the Wyangla Dam on the Lachlan.
The NSW Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission came into being in 1912, before any storage dams had been completed.
Since that date water has never been free, nor has it been cheap. It has always been a major cost of irrigated production.
Farmers have never owned or had any right to water, other than what is available after stream flow, stock and domestic (includes towns) and interstate agreements have been met.
Ownership of the basic resource (WATER) has always resided with the state authorities.
SO, WELL MIGHT YOU ASK WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS “BUYING BACK” WHAT THEY ALREADY OWN?
I am so concerned about the untruth and distortion that is most of this debate that I am prepared to converse and meet with anyone directly, who is interested to seek out the truth and get real practical solutions instead of the tokenist, impractical costly nonsence that we have at present.
I travel the MDB regularly and would welcome others to join me, if the purpose was exposing the TRUTH!
Pikey.

By: spangled drongo

spangled drongo — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 10:00:19 +0000

JW,
I’m also a sucker for silly limericks like the young man from Iran,
Wrote Limericks that never would scan.
“The problem, you see”
[He confided in me]
Is that I try to get as many words in the last line as I possibly can.

By: MM

MM — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:00:59 +0000

If I may be permittted to go a little off topic, some readers here may be interested that I have received a reply to an email I sent to Kevin Rudd in early July seeking the source of his claim that Australia is the hottest and driest continent.

Details at:
http://margosmaid.blogspot.com/2008/09/department-admits-kevin-got-it-wrong.html

By: Jonathan Wilkes

Jonathan Wilkes — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:14:45 +0000

spangled drongo ,

I like this line, the last one,
“I’m now in the Andes as springtime awakes”

beautiful imagery-vision.

Having read it a few times now, I have to admit, the forced rhymes do grate a bit, but still a very good effort.

By: spangled drongo

spangled drongo — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:17:07 +0000

JW,
I love the line, “As I gurgle along, in my search for the sea”.