Sniffer dogs will soon be put to work to track down a noxious weed as part of the Kosciuszko National Park's annual summer eradication program.
Two specially trained Springer Spaniels will begin combing the NSW Snowy Mountains from next week through to March on the hunt for hawkweed, which the National Parks and Wildlife Service says hides under native vegetation and threatens native plants.
Drone surveillance and helicopter surveys will also be used to help find the invasive weed.
"A large part of the project is trying to find any new infestations - and this is where we are drawing on cutting-edge surveillance technology and 'old-school' methods," NPWS senior weeds officer Hillary Cherry said in a statement.
Drones will be used to take photos that pick up on distinctive flashes of the bright orange-flowering hawkweed.
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Macquarie University is also working on the project trialling the use of multi and hyperspectral imagery.
"This technology will identify reflectance of a unique 'signature' from the hawkweed leaves, so we'll be able to spot them even if they are not flowering or if they are well camouflaged amongst native vegetation," Ms Cherry said.
The sniffer-dog resources and eight years' worth of data collected by the NPWS is available to land managers to help prevent the spread of hawkweed.
