2.1 About the catchment

The Murrumbidgee catchment covers a wide variety of landscapes, ecosystems and land-uses. It extends from high rainfall and high altitude woodlands and grasslands in the east to semi-arid rangelands in the west. The region includes large and small urban centres, two major irrigation areas, dryland cropping and grazing, dairying, rice growing, wine-grape growing, horticulture, and small area holdings. 

 

The region also includes many natural areas of note, including: ephemeral wetlands located on public and private land; several National Parks; threatened ecological communities including Box Gum and Grey Box Grassy Woodlands; and a Ramsar-listed wetland (Fivebough &Tuckerbil Wetlands near Leeton).

 

 

A broad over-view of the region is given below.

 

Area: ~84,000 square kilometres

 

Length of river: ~1,600 kilometres 

 

Major land uses: Grazing, dryland farming, irrigation farming, urban, horticulture, forestry and viticulture.

 

Major urban centres: Cooma, Canberra, Tumut, Yass, Cootamundra, Wagga Wagga, Narrandera, Leeton, Griffith, Hay and Balranald.

 

Population: ~520,000

 

Issues faced: Salinity (dryland, irrigation and urban), erosion (gully, sheet, rill, wind, and streambank), loss of remnant vegetation, high-watertables, poor water quality, noxious weeds, Weeds of National Significance, wetland management, feral animals, acid soils, aging rural population, increasing social issues related to land degradation, and general pollution from large urban areas.