Landholder views on the boundaries of the Macquarie Marshes

Abstract

The Macquarie Marshes are an extensive wetland system, situated at the lower end of the Macquarie River in central western NSW. The marshes are the focus of considerable debate over management issues. The Macquarie Marshes Catchment Committee is preparing a Land and Water Management Plan to deal with these issues. The necessary first step in this planning process was exploring the concept of a boundary of marshes and defining a boundary of an appropriate planning area, including the marshes. Community views on wetland boundaries were determined from the results of semi-structured interviews and a landholder questionnaire. Following negotiations, particularly with landholders who considered that they did not own marsh country, an acceptable planning area was defined for the purpose of the planning process. With the outer planning area boundary determined, specific management options can then be considered for either the whole are or for components of this study area e.g. for specific vegetation types. Scientific data and the political context were also explored to provide a background to the decision on a planning area. The interaction of factors which led to the decision as well as difficulties in delineating a boundary are discussed.