Major progress made in fight against invasive plant

Nature Conservation Margaret River Region’s Arum Lily Blitz has come to an end for the year and 2024 has gone down as the most successful yet, with major inroads made into fighting the region’s worst invasive weed.

Since launching in 2019, the Blitz has now achieved:

Arum Lily Blitz coordinator Genevieve Hanran-Smith said volunteers have also been working very hard in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park to control arum lily and protect native vegetation.

The Friends of the Cape to Cape Track have done 1,165 volunteer hours and the Yallingup LCDC have completed 439 hours work.

Meanwhile, Nature Conservation continues to work in closely with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to share the cost of control in some areas of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste and Wooditjup National Parks, with 2,052 hours spraying has been completed in the last six years.

“This strategic work is protecting vegetation quality in some areas of the national park but there is a lot more work to be done to better understand the presence and extent of arum lily, and to undertake control to reduce the impact on the many varied and beautiful native vegetation communities in the Park,” Genevieve said.

The Shire of Augusta Margaret River, City of Busselton and Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association continue to implement arum lily control programs on public land, completing thousands of hours of arum lily control over the last six years.

Meanwhile, mapping using Nature Conservation’s citizen science Fieldbook app is filling a significant knowledge gap by providing very useful information on the presence and extent of arum lily infestations in the National Park.

“This information will enable better strategic control to reduce the spread of arum lily and protect valuable native vegetation in the park,” Genevieve said.

Arum lily spraying on Caves Road began in 2024 with Main Roads committed to an ongoing control effort.

The Arum Lily Blitz has been funded by the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program for a further three years.

“We aim to further extend the control effort, engaging and supporting new landholders, reducing seed sources and prioritising the protection of good quality native vegetation,” Genevieve said.

“The very high level of community action reassures us that the Arum Lily Blitz is a vision shared by most of our community.

“Doing nothing and allowing arum lily to continue to spread, dominating our landscape and degrading native vegetation is not an option most of us can tolerate.

“Eradication isn’t possible, but shared management by many thousands of landholders and volunteers will enable us to significantly reduce the extent and impact of arum lilies in our beautiful region.

“It is not a vision that can be achieved in just a few years and will require a concerted and sustained effort. Persistence is key.”

Fair Harvest Permaculture hosted an end-of-year celebration for volunteers, businesses, contractors, and landholders who signed up to the Arum Lily Blitz.

Nature Conservation general manager Drew McKenzie said the Arum Lily Blitz was now being used as the model for community weed control program, with shires to the north of our region also beginning arum lily control programs.