Lower Clarence River landholder Les Vance has rehabilitated estuarine wetlands on his 40 hectare property at Micalo Island with $20,000 from the Recreational Fishing Saltwater Trust and support from NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Five and a half kilometres of waterway are being opened up for fish passage with tidal exchange already restored to about 25ha of wetland.

The benefits are becoming evident.

Water quality has improved, saltmarsh and mangroves are regenerating and fish biodiversity has increased.

Les has seen school prawns and bream numbers building up already.

Micalo Island is recognised as one of the most ecologically important areas of the lower Clarence River.

“The area was dry when we arrived, severely degraded by land clearing, drainage and levee construction,” said Les.

“We’ve allowed the brackish water back in and the result over the past year has been fantastic with the mangroves starting to self seed and the fish and bird life coming back,” he said.

He said so far the work had removed a floodgate and pipes, constructed a new culvert through a levy bank, lowered the height of another levy bank, constructed a bridge for stock and light vehicles, planted hundreds of trees and fenced off sensitive saltmarsh areas restricting cattle movement.

This story appears Agriculture Today.