Sentinel Network brochure released at FNQ Field Days

Mitchell River have produced an awareness-raising brochure that features a map of the Amazon Frogbit Sentinel Network.

The map graphically illustrates the hazardous situation with frogbit infestations in the Barron threatening to spread to the Mitchell. Chairman Allan Holmes noted: "This frogbit is a serious problem for producers and the public. It's amongst the world's most invasive aquatic weeds, and we do not want to see it in the Mitchell."

Mareeba Shire's Senior Lands Protection Officer, Sid Clayton, proposed the idea of an number of "early detection" sites on tributaries to the Mitchell. These sites could be monitored several times per year. This formed the idea of a "Sentinel Network."

Funding for the monitoring operations has to be sourced from the community as government funds for weed control are extremely limited. Local landholders have reached into their own pockets to help fund this network for the public good. A big thinks goes out to the inaugural donors:

• EQ Resources, Mount Carbine
• Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Brooklyn Wildlife Sanctuary
• Southedge Pastoral Company, Lake Mitchell

The brochure has distributed at the FNQ Field Days (21-25 May, 2021) through cooperation with Mareeba Shire Council's Land Management Unit, and at the combined tents of Terrain NRM and Northern Gulf.

Downloads of the brochure and a print-ready map are also available below.