The rapid spread of a parasitic plant in the Bland Shire is causing significant ecological damage to both private and public land and has prompted concern among local firefighters about increased fire risk ahead of the summer bushfire season.
Mallee strangle vine is a native species that survives by latching onto a 'host' tree or shrub, smothering its branches and leaves, and drawing out nutrients until the host dies. It can only be controlled through manual removal, as the use of pesticides would risk killing the host plant beneath.
Farmers in the Bland Shire had been actively managing its spread while undertaking the sustainable coppicing of Australian blue mallee and broombush for eucalyptus oil production and broombush fencing material.
Coppicing is a traditional land management practice where farmers cut tree branches close to the stump to encourage vigorous regrowth.
However, the introduction of vegetation mapping has seen much of the Bland Shire classified as Category 2 – Sensitive Land, which forced most coppicing activities and strangle vine management to cease towards the end of 2024 under threat of legal penalty from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
In May, 40 farmers from the region travelled to the NSW Parliament to explain how coppicing is a sustainable practice that supports environmental health, and to warn policymakers about the spread of strangle vine if left unmanaged.
Soon after, Nationals Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, introduced the Biodiversity Conservation and Local Land Services Legislation Amendment (Broombush and Blue Mallee Coppicing) Bill 2025 to allow sustainable land management practices to temporarily resume in the Bland Shire, until a full investigation of the region's vegetation mapping by NSW Local Land Services and DCCEEW is complete.
The legislation is expected to be debated in the NSW Parliament on Thursday.
New images captured near West Wyalong this month show clear evidence of significant environmental degradation caused by the spread of strangle vine.
"What we're seeing is absolutely devastating," said Ms Cooke.
"You can see the extent of the damage just by taking a drive between West Wyalong and Tallimba. The vine is dominating the roadside and it's not discriminating between what it latches onto.
"We can also see how many seeds the vine is carrying and poised to spread by the end of spring. If it continues to be left unmanaged, there'll be nothing left to support endangered species such as the mallee fowl."
Landowner Keith Rowe, who has been working with NSW Local Land Services to protect the native mallee fowl, has witnessed significant degradation on his property due to the vine's spread.
"As you can see by just looking around, they're going to starve in this sort of thing," Mr Rowe said.
Images captured on his property show the vine spreading from tree to tree like fencing wire, and thick blankets of dead vine littered throughout the landscape, posing a significant fire risk.
Mr Rowe, an active member of the local RFS, says the conditions would be too unsafe for crews if a fire were to break out.
"If you look at how dry the vine is, the leaf litter on the ground… if we get a fire through this, it's going to be horrendous," Mr Rowe said.
"You just can't safely navigate a truck through any of this country anymore. It's an absolute tragedy waiting to happen."
