Dear NRPG Members and Interested.

Here’s an update on Wilsons Inlet Catchment Commitee down around Denmark way.

Best Wishes

Clive

Wilson Inlet sandbar captured by Dr Elke ReichwaldtI am pleased to present another jam packed newsletter featuring just a few of our science based, community backed projects we have on the go.  As we head into winter we will be seeking volunteer support to plant a further 35,214 seedlings which will be food for our cockies and reduce nutrient export to Wilson Inlet.  Work is underway on the new Eungedup Bird Hide and toilet.  This will be a world class hide featuring an interpretive trail, allowing us to open up Eungedup to the community.  We have a staggering 161 land and stream restoration projects either underway, planned or requested on farms throughout our patch.  I would like to extend a huge thanks to our hard working staff and volunteers.  Enjoy 🙂 Shaun OssingerEO, WICC In this edition:Inlet and rainfall updateEungedup Wetlands updateDung beetle updateFuture beetle-friendly farmers at Denmark Ag. College.Community for Cockies – school seedling giveawayDonate – Support what’s working Inlet update Nullaki is once again disconnected from the ocean. Since 11 April, the regular exchange between the ocean and the inlet has been disrupted at low tide – the point at which the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) classifies the inlet as closed. This closure is unusually late in the season, making it the third-latest closure recorded. Closures are a natural part of the inlet’s cycle; closure timing will directly affect water levels and conditions in the inlet over the coming months. Dr Elke Reichwaldt from DWER says that, because the inlet closed during the colder season, the current water level is higher than normal. “This time of the year, we often observe water levels between -0.3 and 0 mAHD, while currently it is around +0.3 mAHD”, says Elke. As is normal for this time of the year, with the onset of rain, most rivers in the catchment have started flowing. If this continues, we will see a slow increase in the water level over the coming months. While water quality is currently good, the increase in river flow also means that nutrients from the soils of the catchment are transported to the inlet. With warmer temperatures we might now start to see a slight increase in phytoplankton growth, which is the normal cycle for Nullaki. For further information, visit the Healthy Estuaries WA website where you can see the current inlet water level and read recently updated information about the health of local rivers. More about the inlet: https://estuaries.dwer.wa.gov.au/estuary/wilson-inlet/Click HERE for the Inlet height at the old railway bridge Inlet level over last 12 months – nearly 40cm higher than this time last year Rainfall update Rainfall across Denmark and Mount Barker has been reasonable thanks to a March drenching due to ex-tropical Cyclone Narelle. Despite a dry start to 2026, totals are edging closer to average, although distribution remains patchy. Since January, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) has been neutral, providing little influence either way. The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) has been mostly positive, though its impact on summer rainfall in our region is limited, with conditions more dependent on tropical systems.   Looking ahead, a neutral IOD and variable SAM suggest a fairly typical autumn, with rainfall increasingly driven by frontal systems as we head into winter.  The El Niño (ENSO) that is predicted to form in coming months typically has little impact on weather in our region.Eungedup Wetlands UpdateDenmark Bird Group surveying birds in the northern basinThanks to donations, volunteers and the Water Corporation we now have the tools to manage water levels at Eungedup Wetlands! The foundation of this work has been data. In 2024 we mapped the entire wetland using LiDAR to generate 100 mm contour intervals, giving us a detailed understanding of how water moves across the landscape. Alongside that, we spent several years building a baseline—monitoring water levels, water chemistry and finfish communities so we understood the system before intervening. Eungedup’s northern basin adjacent to Lake Saide   To properly manage water levels it is not as easy as turning on the tap.  We need to know how birds are actually using the wetland.  What habitats they prefer, when they use them, and even the depth of water they forage in. To answer this, we’ve engaged the Denmark Bird Group to carry out monthly surveys along a fixed transect through the heart of the wetland. This dataset will feed into an environmental water analysis being developed by an ecologist, allowing us to fine-tune water levels to maximise habitat value for resident and migratory birds. On-ground works have made this level of management possible. Using donor funds, we raised Browns Road which separates Eungedup from Lake Saide.  This has allowed us to retain more water in the wetland if we require it.  Water Corporation recently installed new culverts that connects these waterbodies and fitted them with manually operated gate valves. These culverts were set lower than the original infrastructure from the old potato farming era, meaning we can now begin capturing water earlier and retain it at higher levels.Estimation of extra area we can inundate with raised road (orange/red areas) When Wilson Inlet fills, it backs up into Lake Saide, which in turn can feed Eungedup. We can take advantage of this natural process. When Lake Saide rises above Eungedup, something that varies depending on seasonal conditions and summer evaporation, we can open the gate valves and allow water to flow in. Crucially, we then close those valves before Wilson Inlet breaches to the ocean, effectively capturing water that would otherwise be flushed out to sea. If things get too salty in the wetland we can flush it.  Over time we will fine tune the levels we set at Eungedup to ensure we maintain a thriving, healthy wetland.  The Water Corporation will maintain control over the gate valves to ensure we prevent flooding of our neighbouring properties. Water Corporation lowering gate valves into place  That control matters. Nearly all wetlands between Denmark and Albany have been permanently drained for agriculture. Eungedup is one of the few opportunities left to restore and actively manage a functioning wetland system at scale. By combining detailed monitoring, adaptive management, and smart use of legacy infrastructure, we’re not just restoring habitat, we’re future proofing it. WICC would like to sincerely thank its donors for making this work possible. Their support has enabled us to invest in the science, infrastructure and long-term management required to make Eungedup an inspiring safe haven for wildlife.Dung Beetle update Bubas bisonOur winter dung beetles (Bubas bison) are now active following the autumn rains and their tunnels have been reported to the WICC team by keen-eyed farmers. Bubas bison are originally from Europe and are well adapted to our cold, wet winters. They do tend to spend most of their time underground (these beetles mainly fly at dawn & dusk), so keep an eye out for beetle tunnelling on your farm. Since our winter dung beetle program began in 2022, we have released a whopping 105,000 beetles onto local beetle -friendly farms. Further surveys of release sites have shown increasing numbers of Bubas bison at many locations. As always, farmers can increase the survival of dung beetles on their farm by considering the timing of drenches and backlines (avoid applying now, when the new generation of beetles has just emerged) and considering a beetle-friendly product (check the Dung Beetle Farm Management Guide for more information on which products may harm dung beetles).Our beetle release program has wrapped up for now, but if you live on a farm with livestock, you can help us by checking for winter beetle activity. This will allow us to pinpoint areas where beetles are either thriving and increasing rapidly, or yet to become established. Click here for more information and to send us your beetle observations: https://wicc.org.au/dung-beetle-post-release-survey/ Future Beetle‑Friendly Farmers at Denmark Ag CollegeYear 12 Agricultural Science & Technology students are excited to be working alongside Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee, with Kylie Cook. In the last few weeks, students at the Denmark Ag College have been enthusiastically processing sheep dung in the name of science, improved parasite management and dung-beetle-friendly farming practices! Year 12 Ag Technology students have been trained by WICC’s Kylie Cook in methods of measuring parasite loads in livestock – with the goal of better-informed drenching decisions (that can also benefit local dung beetle populations).Students compared “old-fashioned” microscope-based worm egg counts with results from a new FECPAK scanner that counts the parasite eggs for you. Kylie hopes they all get top marks from their teacher as the students were so keen to keep counting parasite eggs, they voluntarily missed afternoon tea, not once but three times! The students’ microscope-based results were very accurate as confirmed by Kylie and the FECPAK system.Year 10 students are up next with the “Buckets of Beetles” series of incursions starting next week. Students will learn about the benefits of dung beetles, species identification, monitoring techniques and how to improve dung beetle survival on farm.  Image from the automated FECPAK worm egg scanner, which automatically scans and counts parasite eggs. Shown here are parasite eggs from the strongyle group — including major sheep parasites such as Barbers’ Pole Worm and Brown Stomach Worm — which appear very similar under the microscope. Accurate parasite counts help farmers make informed drenching decisions and improve parasite management.Community for Cockies Free seedlings for schoolsCartoon by Claudia SimpsonAcross the Wilson, Kent and Owingup catchments, a major effort is underway to restore habitat for our iconic black cockatoos. Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee is now in its third year of our Community for Cockies program. Farmers have already planted around 12,000 cockatoo food seedlings, with a further 10,000 going in this winter. More than 20 km of fencing has nearly been installed to protect around 300 hectares of high-quality remnant vegetation, and 44 nesting boxes have been strategically placed to help with any housing issues. While nesting sites are critical, food scarcity is likely the primary constraint limiting cockatoo numbers in our region. Protecting and infilling remnant vegetation with locally native species helps counter edge effects—where stock grazing suppresses natural regeneration—and rebuilds a reliable food supply across the landscape.Urban and peri-urban plantings are just as important. Cockatoos regularly move through towns and properties, and well-placed food trees can make a real difference. That’s why the program is now extending into local schools.  A further 6,000 seedlings are now being offered to students at Mount Barker Community College, Denmark Primary School, Golden Hill Steiner School and Kwoorabup Nature School. These schools have taken part in our program from the start and have all constructed cockatoo sanctuaries on the school grounds.  Families can select preferred species via an online list and submit an expression of interest. We’ll aim to meet requests where possible, though availability will vary. Seedlings are expected from mid-June. Schools will assist with distribution, with details provided directly to families. If seedlings remain, a broader community call-out will follow. Guidance will also be provided to ensure each species is planted in the right place for the best chance of success. This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program and Lotterywest.Student Seedling EOI DONATE – Support what’s working As we approach the end of the financial year, it’s a good time to reflect on what donations to WICC actually achieve—and why they matter. WICC is highly successful at securing grant funding. That’s because we deliver practical, science-based programs with a strong track record and deep community support. But grants don’t cover everything. Some of the most important work we do—often the urgent, unglamorous jobs—relies entirely on donations through our tax-deductible Wilson Inlet Public Fund. At Eungedup Wetlands alone, we recently removed 136 buried tyres to prevent long-term contamination. It’s not the kind of work grants fund, but it’s critical. The same goes for essential governance, like updating our constitution to meet new legislative requirements.136 tyres ready for disposal We run a very lean operation. No flash offices or fancy vehicles.  Since launching our DGR in 2020, not a single donated dollar has gone to administration. Every cent has gone into on-ground outcomes. Just as important is the in-kind support we leverage. Across our programs, volunteer and partner contributions consistently exceed the value of our grant funding. This includes community members planting thousands of trees, volunteers assisting with feral animal control and monitoring, farmers contributing fencing and labour to protect remnant vegetation, and partners like Water Corporation installing infrastructure such as controllable culverts at Eungedup. Donations help unlock and amplify this effort. Donor funds have already made a tangible difference. They helped raise Browns Road to improve water management and expand wetland habitat, install a toilet to allow access for schools and bird groups, and grow thousands more seedlings for our cockatoo program—turning locally collected seed into real habitat.Thanks to incredible community support, the foundations are now in and construction has officially begun on Eungedup’s new bird hide. Looking ahead, we have clear opportunities where donations can make an immediate impact. We are seeking $18,000 to acquire Unallocated Crown Land at Eungedup, giving us control over access to protect wildlife and manage hygiene. A further $4,000 will fund a remotely operated wildlife camera on the new bird hide—opening the wetland to schools and the wider world without increasing disturbance. $7,700 will allow us to gravel the walk track into the Eungedup Bird Hide, facilitating access for less mobile visitors. And on average, $1.50 will turn one of our seeds we have already picked into a seedling in the ground. If you’re considering a tax-deductible donation this June, know that with WICC, it goes exactly where it should—into the landscape. 💛DONATE What’s on…RSVP HERE View email in browser Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee · U 3/15 Strickland St · Denmark, WA 6333 · Australia update your preferences or unsubscribe