The Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board has zeroed in on ensuring the survival of saltmarsh areas across the EP this month, with a group of dedicated workers clearing high levels of rubbish.
Saltmarshes are one of the region's most valuable and environmentally sensitive ecosystems but its value is often greatly underestimated.
The areas are often used as illegal dumping grounds which is in turn, destroying the areas quickly.
The board has been focusing on cleaning up and revegetating saltmarsh areas as part of the Saltmarsh Threat Abatement and Recovery Project, delivered by the EP Landscape Board. This project is funded by the Australian Government.
Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board Landscape officer Barbara Murphy said despite temperate coastal saltmarshes being listed as a nationally Threatened Ecological Community, its value was often under-estimated by the community.
"Saltmarshes are extremely valuable - they protect our shorelines, act as blue-carbon sinks, are important fish nurseries and bird habitat - their value as an ecosystem is right up there with rainforests, yet people still treat them badly.
"We cleaned up the Cowleds Landing Sanctuary Zone, Eight-Mile Creek, near Whyalla, with invaluable help from the local 4WD club and filled a large trailer and ute with all kinds of rubbish and debris."
Rubbish collected included old tyres, pallets, steel, timber, bottle, cans and general litter.
"Some of the more unusual items found were a television, microwave, pedestal fan, camp oven, lots of shoes and thongs, a pair of underpants, and a vehicle licence plate," Ms Murphy said.
"We ask the community to please respect our local saltmarsh areas and leave them as they are."
Whyalla and District 4WD club president Wayne Dyer said the clean-up was a great opportunity for the club to get involved.
Landscape officers have also been undertaking revegetation work at fragile saltmarsh sites including in the western EP areas of Venus Bay, Acraman Creek and lower EP areas of Farm Beach, Salt Creek and Kellidie Bay.
Previously samphire revegetation on the western EP has involved the ripping method.
This time samphire tube stock has been trialled and planted on 25 hectares of degraded samphire in Venus Bay containing varying soil types and salinity levels.
The revegetation work at Acraman Creek is also trialling areas of tube stock planted over 30 hectares with works assisted by Far West Coast Aboriginal Corporation Rangers.
To find out more about the Saltmarsh Threat Abatement and Recovery Project, see the EP Landscape Board website at www.landscape.sa.gov.au/ep/Stewardship-priorities/Landscape-management/star-project.