Paarl Mountain gets major boost
2005-07-28
THE LandCare Area-Wide Planning of the Department of Agriculture has made R100 000 available for the clearing of invasive alien vegetation on Paarl Mountain.
A meeting was held recently at which Elmo Maree of Boland LandCare, Kerry Delahunt and Reginald Jantjies of Cape Nature, and Gael Campbell-Young of the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve, met with landowners whose properties border the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve (PMNR) on Paarl Mountain.
Landowners indicated on aerial photos where their “hotspots” of alien infestation are on their properties.
Alien infestations were assessed and it was decided that three initial alien-clearing projects would be launched, one of which is within the borders of the mountain reserve.
The area of 19,5ha within the reserve is situated above Groenvlei in Northern Paarl.
There is a dense stand of mature pines that reaches from directly above Groenvlei to far above the Jan Phillips Mountain Drive.
Only the area above the Jan Phillips Mountain Drive is being cleared, since the area below the road is not currently included within reserve boundaries.
It was decided to clear dense stands of mature trees as opposed to spreading infestations of young trees in order to make a visual impact on the community.
The pine (and bluegum) infestation continues northwards onto the neighbouring farm Uitkyk, belonging to Graham Retief.
The infestation on Uitkyk, covering an area of 9ha, is also being cleared.
The next farm to the north that has an alien problem is Irene, belonging to JD Kirsten.
The Louwsrivier Kloof on Irene, representing an area of 20ha, is densely infested by numerous alien species, such as blackwattle, poplar, pine and port jackson.
Retief and Kirsten are thrilled that they are receiving assistance with alien-clearing and have undertaken their own clearing operations before.
It appears from calculations that the LandCare money could cover further projects on the mountain.LandCare operates on the basis of a partnership programme in which the landowner works directly with the alien-clearing team.
In this case, three Working for Water teams, namely Ilitha, headed by contractor Nomsa Mdunusie, Phumelela, headed by Nonzame Phumelela and Zama, headed by contractor Mboneli Maswili, were selected by Verity Arendse of Cape Nature.
LandCare pays the labour costs and the landowner pays the balance that may include costs for transport and personal protective equipment.
Herbicides for the treatment of resprouting species is being provided by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
The Working for Water teams will be busy for approximately four weeks on the mountain, or longer, depending on weather conditions.
The northern part of the Jan Phillips Mountain Drive will be closed while contractors are clearing large trees near the road.
Landowners whose properties are cleared commit themselves to follow-up work, because alien invasion is a constant problem that requires ongoing maintenance.
There are still many seeds that remain in the soil and especially after a fire that stimulates the seeds to germinate, the alien-infestation could start all over again.
It is here that community-based groups can become actively involved
in alien-clearing on Paarl Mountain and reclaim habitats for the return of fynbos and critically endangered renosterveld species.
Once the initial projects are proven successful, more funding will hopefully become available from LandCare to start systematically clearing the whole mountain in an anti-clockwise direction.
It is hoped that these alien-clearing projects will motivate other landowners to unite with LandCare in clearing aliens on Paarl Mountain.
It is also hoped that this alien-clearing assistance will spur Paarl Mountain landowners on to become part of a Paarl Mountain Conservancy.
Landowners who form a Conservancy sign a contract with Cape Nature stating that they will conserve and protect any areas of natural vegetation that remain on their land.
Thus far, there has been positive response from landowners on Paarl Mountain regarding the concept of a Paarl Mountain Conservancy.
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