clutching at....weeds?

Oh dear, now it's weeds.


Coal drilling spreads weeds
Kate Dowler | July 13, 2012

BACCHUS Marsh landholders say drilling for brown coal is spreading weeds into rare native grasslands.

Mantle Mining has drilled at 15 sites across its 38,000ha exploration licence in the Parwan Basin. Landholder Kate Tubbs and native grasslands conservation expert Simon Jolly said the drill sites had become a weed seedbed.

And the weeds were now sprawling on to neighbouring properties. Mr Jolly said the company had "probably ticked all the boxes to say they've done the right thing" but the drilling disturbed the soil and gave weeds a foothold.

"These sites will be need to be spot-sprayed and managed for 10 years to now stop these weeds spreading into grasslands. Who is going to do it?" he said.

"There are some nasty weeds here: flea bane, mustard weed, Paterson's curse, onion weed, cape weed. The list goes on, whereas outside of this site here, it's all very rare native grasses."

Mantle Mining chief executive Ian Kraemer said the company's weed management strategy was developed with the Department of Primary Industries.