“There are lots of opinions on why the trees are dying,” Snowy River vegetation officer Neil Murdoch said.

“Some people think it is the drought, or climate change, insect attack, sheep camps or a combination of all of these,” he said.

“It is only affecting the Eucalyptus Viminalis, which grows on and around rocky outcrops, it is a particularly evident right through from Rocky Plains, around Berridale to Dalgety.”

Funding has been secured to start investigating the problem, known as ‘dieback’. Some locations have been identified within the Snowy River Landcare area, to study the trees, with help from the University of Sydney’s senior research fellow from the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Lachlan Ingram.

Mr Murdoch will be contacting landholders in Snowy River Landcare to see if they would like to participate in the project.

For enquiries on this dieback project, contact Neil Murdoch on 6451 1183, or neil.murdoch@snowyriver.nsw.gov.a u