Councillor Column councillor Kate Milton 17 June

Council is taking advantage of the beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying lately to bring our town back to life with our parks and gardens looking lovely and full of colour.

The Feral Pig Aerial Shoot of our coastal wetlands took place on Monday 2 June and Wednesday 3 June 2025. 86 feral pigs were controlled within our Shire’s sensitive coastal wetlands and national park areas that boundary nearby cane fields. The reason these areas are managed by aerial means is because of terrain that can’t easily be managed by normal control measures. This shoot is carried out biannually in May, June, November and December. The Hinchinbrook Community Feral Pig Management Program also continues to assist all landholders to manage feral pigs across the shire. Anyone requiring assistance is urged to contact Council’s Biosecurity Team on 4776 4088.

This week, the National weed eradication team from South Johnstone are in town assisting with the surveys for our eradication species, Mikania vine. Areas at 3 of our most recently active sites along the Herbert will be focused on.

Council’s Biosecurity team, in partnership with Terrain and local landholders, have commenced control of weed species in mahogany glider habitat south of Helens Hill. This project is funded through the Threatened Species Recovery Action Grant, funded by the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.

Pond Apple control in the lower Herbert will continue from early July. Council Officers choose this time of year to control Pond Apple as it is easier to identify because of the emergence of the brightly coloured flower. Biosecurity Officers will be putting ant traps in Council assets of concern to look for Yellow Crazy Ants. We haven’t found any in the Shire yet, but if anyone is concerned about Yellow Crazy Ants in their area, please let us know so we can check it out.