Bitou North Containment Zone

Bitou Bush in the Tweed Shire has finally been reclassified as a Class 3 noxious weed after five years of lobbying by the Tweed Coastal Vegetation Committee.

The reclassification is welcome news to Bitou Bush National Northern Containment Zone partners, Tweed Shire Council, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council, Bushland Restoration Services,   Far North Coast Weeds, North Coast Local Land Services and the six Dunecare groups located along the Tweed coastline.

The reclassification and declaration of Bitou Bush as a Class 3 noxious weed means the previous efforts of partners will not go to waste with all land owners and managers now required to fully and continuously control, suppress and destroy Bitou Bush on their lands.

Since 2010, partners have strengthened the containment zone by successfully reducing the extent and density of Bitou Bush along the entire 30km of Shire coastline. The control measures have reduced the extent of Bitou Bush from 95% to less than 10% of the Tweed coastline.  Monocultures or extremely dense stands of Bitou Bush are now no more with the majority of the containment zone recording only sparse or light levels of the invasive weed. Bitou Bush has been replaced by native vegetation either by natural regeneration or planting of local coastal species.