The final step would be to implement this plan and recover a major river from salinity - a national first! Minister for Environment, Dr Judy Edwards and Recovery Team member Michael Jenkins

Water in the Denmark River has been marginally saline for drinking, especially in drier years since the mid 1970s. In response to rising salinity, both the state and Australian governments initiated recovery measures, including reafforestation and land acquisitions.

These initiatives, along with commercial and community actions to establish plantations, fence vulnerable areas, revegetate streamlines and other areas, establish perennial pastures and the construction of drainage to manage surface water have resulted in a measurable reduction in stream salinity - a rarity in a major river system.

In fact, this is the first major catchment in Australia where a downward trend in salinity is being observed in response to direct intervention through on-ground works, primarily revegetation.

On the 23rd of March 2004, the Minister for Environment Judy Edwards released the findings of the salinity situation study of the river and its catchment, which provided promising signs and a way forward. The Kent Denmark Recovery Team are coordinating the reduction of salinity to the target - 'fresh' river water (500 mg/litre) at the Mt Lindsay gauging station by 2020.

The report modelled the effects of a range of options to reach the target including planting trees on remaining cleared land, planting substantial areas to perennial pastures like lucerne, reducing the salt load by 40% with a ground water pumping scheme and the construction of a dam to divert saline water from the Denmark River.

Any adoption of any of these measures would have major social, economic and environmental implications. The way forward will involve considerable consultation with all stakeholders involved and the evaluation of these implications before finalising a salinity recovery plan. The final step would be to implement this plan and recover a major river from salinity - a national first!