At "the centre of the universe" for Australian bitterns, the NSW foodbowl region known as the Murrumbidgee, rice growers and conservationists have become somewhat strange bedfellows.
Some 3,500 hectares of privately-owned rice fields were four years ago quarantined to boost numbers of the secretive birds. Herbicide was restricted, fox and cat controls enforced and water pumped into rice fields early to encourage breeding.
