Trees were cut down so that stock could graze on the lush pastures. Ring-barking and the felling of trees were seen as farm improvements by earlier generations of farmers. Today the Murray Valley is a productive farming community. There are problems though, such as poor drainage, rising ground water levels causing soil salination and the loss of native plants and animals. People have discovered that one way of combating these environmental problems is to replant trees on cleared land.
Water is perhaps the most important resource for people living in the Murray Valley.
The Watertable Watch program is a joint effort by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources, Salt Action, farmers and schools. It was set up to raise public awareness of rising ground water. Reliance on river water for irrigation , and the felling of trees for pasture, have caused problems for other creatures. Throughout the entire Murray-Darling river system there are only 50 recorded species of fish. Since Europeans settled by the rivers, there have been declines in many native species and some are now endangered or restricted.