The Zen of controlling bitou bush in Crowdy Bay National Park
Cathy Mardell, Parks and Wildlife Group, Department of Environment and Climate Change, PO Box 5657, Port Macquarie, New South Wales 2444, Australia.
Introduction
The bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata (DC.) T.Norl.) control program on Diamond Head in Crowdy Bay National Park, New South Wales, began 27 years ago when the ranger for the park approached the local group of the National Parks Association (NPA) to help tackle the bitou bush problem. The project was a positive practical contribution at a time when the group was very active in raising community awareness about local environmental issues. At the time, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) District Manager remonstrated that the project was only 'justifiable if feasible results are attainable'. Results of the project to date have shown that efforts have been well invested, and prove that consistently coordinated management over many years can produce positive control outcomes over wide areas. Projects such as this one that aim to remove weeds from large scale areas are time consuming, challenging, and costly but also produce positive results with persistence and a degree of flexibility in the application of the techniques
Plant Protection Quarterly (2008) 23 (1) 52-53.