As old as dinosaurs See photo
Help save the lungfish (world's oldest living fossil).
The ONLY place it lives is to be flooded with an unnecessary and unwanted by everyone I have spoken to, dam .. (its politics gone crazy again IMO)
Progress... and Qld politics, sigh
http://www.pbase.com/accr122/lungfish PICCIES(NEW)
The Australian Lungfish is under serious threat from Dam[n] project on the Mary River Queensland.
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/610807318
This river, along with the Burnett River, and to a much lesser extent the Brisbane River, provides the last vestige of native habitat for the Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri). The fact that the Brisbane River is heavily dammed and a large dam on the Burnett River was completed in December 2005 means it is imperative that the Mary River is kept dam free.The Australian Lungfish has very specific breeding requirements, including shallow and weedy running water. The lungfish also lays few eggs and returns to the same breeding sites year after year. The provision of a means for fish to traverse the dam wall will not preserve their spawning/nursery sites. When at full capacity, the dam on the Burnett River will flood 42km of prime lungfish spawning sites, a situation which if repeated on the Mary River will take the listing of the Australian Lungfish under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) from vulnerable to critically endangered. The likely long-term effect would be the extinction of the species.
Please read and decide for yourself.(scroll down petition link page for above)
From The Guardian
IMO this dam is not needed. Yes we Do need more water, but there are many dams and there is not enough water to fill them. Another dam is not going to be that much help, without the rain to fill it, and keep it at a reasonable (say >50% full) level.
If there was enough rain to even half fill the present dams we wouldn't need this dam!
We need the fertile land more. It will be lost due to the dam. There are other options that could be more fully persued before a huge amount of money is to be spent on this dam and buying back the land. .. money that could arguably more effectively, and with far less negative impact, be spent on rain water tanks, recycling water...
Maybe we could justify the wiping out of an important species like the lungfish IF the dam was the only solution, as a last resort for water.. but its NOT!
Jean Joss mentioned in the link is a wonderful woman who has studied the lungfish for many years.
She needs our support in this last ditch attempt to save the lungfish. The lungfish need our support.
http://www.econews.org.au/mary-river-dam.php
more Mary River stories on whole page .. this is very fertile farming land.. there is not a lot of that in Australia which is mostly a dry country woth poor soil. It's not like the farmers can move elsewhere..
"Some of southeast Queensland’s most endangered species and ecosystems are likely to be devastated by the Mary River mega-dam. Of most concern are the impacts on three nationally listed animals – the Mary River Cod, Queensland Lungfish and the Mary River Turtle"
"We face losing our home, our farm and our livelihood. Damn the dam"
Damning the Mary … not a smart decision
Traveston dam water too expensive, ecologically, socially and economically Premier’s Promise to Protect Species a Fact Free Zone
" that, in fact, fish lifts were not successful in protecting the Queensland Lungfish living in the Burnett River near Walla Weir. Prominent Lungfish biologist Dr Jean Joss of Macquarie University claimed two weeks ago that a whistleblower had revealed to her that the Department of Primary Industries had ordered this report shredded"
Greens outraged at Lungfish Report Destruction
Energy infrastructure 'will bust dam budget'
Dam proposal threatens ancient fish
Although a final decision has yet to be made, drilling work has begun in the Mary River valley to find bed rock for the proposed dam wall.
Despite some initial problems in finding solid rock, the Queensland Premier is insisting the dam is technically and economically feasible.
"Geology hasn't yet been finished, but as I understand it, is progressing as expected," he said
Although Mary River farmers would be compensated for any loss of property, they are showing no sign of giving up.
"So not only are we going to fight to protect our homes and properties, but we're also fighting to protect the environment and the rest of Australia from this sort of crazy process," farmer Rick Elliot said. "
Campbell under pressure to halt Qld dam
MP promises to reveal Mary River dam documents
"I know from my meetings with [Premier] Beattie that he's 110 per cent determined to go ahead with this"
"there are more than enough arguments against this particular dam to suit every taste, with some spares left over"
Please help by signing the online petition and passing this link on to your friends who may be interested in helping too.
Asking people to look at and consider signing petitions is not something I usually do, but I do feel strongly about this,
Jan