TR-0653 Biosecurity Matter Roadside Mapping Project

Summary and scope

Under the Biosecurity Act 2014 Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has a general biosecurity obligation to minimise the biosecurity risk on the Council owned and managed roadside network within the Toowoomba Region. Council’s pest management team currently undertake weed and vertebrate pest control on roadsides where known pest infestations occur. Field data on control activities is collected by Council staff on mobile devices using Collector for ArcGIS and synchronised with Council GIS data. Council has identified a knowledge gap in the extent of pest infestations on the roadside network and is seeking to develop and maintain an understanding of existing invasive biosecurity matter, primarily invasive plant species, on Council rural roadsides across the region. This will enable Council to target pest control activities more effectively and improve the future management of roadside biosecurity. The Biosecurity Matter Roadside Mapping Project is a two-year project to survey and collect data on invasive biosecurity matter on all maintained rural roadsides across the region. Council will use the data to develop a spatial dataset for biosecurity matter analysis and modelling.