Blackberry is one of Australia’s most invasive and costly weeds, impacting agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, and community land use. Within the Murray Region Forestry Hub, infestations restrict access to productive land, create fire hazards, reduce biodiversity, and impose significant costs on landholders and industries.
Stage 1 of the Blackberry Impacts Project was commissioned to understand the scale of the problem across New South Wales and Victoria, map current efforts, and identify opportunities for stronger collaboration. The project engaged 44 stakeholders—including researchers, agencies, forestry managers, and community groups—to capture insights on the challenges and gaps in managing blackberry across the region.
Findings highlight the widespread perception of blackberry as an “intractable problem,” compounded by limited funding, fragmented management, and the need for long-term coordinated strategies. Yet, stakeholders expressed strong support for a collaborative approach, emphasising the value of integrated control methods, new technologies, and further research into biological control. Building on successful past initiatives, the project proposes a collective impact model to bring together governments, industries, land managers, and communities in a shared strategy.
This approach provides the foundation for Stage 2—designing practical solutions and partnerships that can deliver long-term, sustainable blackberry management across the Murray Region.
The Assessment of Costs Imposed by Blackberry Infestation report, prepared for the Murray Region Forestry Hub, quantifies the severe economic and environmental impacts of blackberry weeds across forestry, grazing, and conservation land in southern NSW and north-east Victoria. In plantation forestry alone, blackberry control and productivity losses cost an estimated $41.9 million annually, with further indirect impacts on regional economies and housing construction due to reduced timber supply. Blackberries reduce pine growth by competing for water and nutrients and obstruct access for plantation management. These infestations also diminish the efficiency of replanting and maintenance, while increasing fire hazards and harbouring pests.
Across the wider Murray Region, the report estimates $27.5 million in annual losses to grazing enterprises and $2.85 million in control costs on conservation lands, bringing the total regional burden to more than $70 million each year. Blackberries are now so widespread that eradication is unfeasible, with control efforts limited to protecting high-value environmental or productive assets. The report emphasises the urgent need for a coordinated, cross-tenure management approach to reduce economic losses, restore productivity, and safeguard biodiversity in the region.