The Bugle - 17 June 05
In news this week
Regional body stories
- Organic waste worth a second look
- Local government NRM officers forge links
- Condamine Alliance takes up nature challenge
- Burdekin Dry Tropics talk market based instruments
- Bringing resources to the Northern Basin
- Local government partners with QMDC
Government updates
Natural resources news
- Tickets now available for Queensland Landcare Art Union
- Free airfare up for grabs!
- Landcare conference keynote connects with communities
- New tool box helps get rid of salinity
- Big pond provides cleaner water
Organic waste worth a second look
We are all becoming familiar with the benefits of recycling paper and plastic, now the Condamine Alliance is taking this process one step further and starting a new project to recycle animal or plant waste "organics".
The Condamine Alliance has contracted FSA Consulting in Toowoomba to maximise the use of recycled organics within their catchment.
The project, managed by Kaara Klepper of FSA Consulting, will document facilities producing organic waste and the volume produced. This data will be used to provide information packages on how to source, use and make money with recycled organics.
Recycled organics include sawdust, cotton trash, straw and by-products from intensive animal facilities, such as manure, sludge from treatment ponds and effluent.
Facilities that generate these by-products generally dispose of them on farm or off-site. Application of recycled organics to soil can have positive or negative effects on water quality, soil health and public amenity, depending on how they are managed.
FSA Consulting is distributing a confidential survey within the Condamine catchment, called Tell Us What You Think of Recycled Organics, which takes less than five minutes to complete.
The survey can be completed online at the Condamine Alliance website, or hard copies can be posted out on request by phoning Kaara Klepper at FSA Consulting on 4632 8230.
Results of the survey will be collated at the end of July.
Local government NRM officers forge links
Stronger links are being forged between local governments, Landcare and the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC) through two new NRM officers.
Meryl Eddie, based in the Bungil Shire Council, and Rose Coburn, based in Stanthorpe Shire Council, are working on major projects between the councils and the QMDC.
The officers provide regular updates to the 12 councils within the Queensland Murray-Darling area and assist councils to identify, develop and implement natural resource management programs and activities.
Both the QMDC and local governments contribute financially towards the new positions.
For more information please contact QMDC on 4637 6270.
Condamine Alliance takes up nature challenge
The Condamine catchment community environment group will protect rare and endangered species by matching funds with the state to support nature refuges.
The Condamine Alliance allocated $100,000 for incentives to encourage landholders to enter nature refuge agreements, complementing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) $144,000 for the Queensland Biodiversity Tender Model pilot program.
The EPA's pilot area covers Queensland biodiversity hotspots identified by the Australian Government in 2003, including the Einasleigh Uplands, Desert Uplands, Brigalow Belt (North and South), and Border Ranges.
Landholders will be invited to tender for incentives to manage hotspots on their properties, nominating on-ground works such as fencing riparian or wetland vegetation, building watering points away from waterways, protecting vegetation corridors and controlling feral plants and animals.
Two levels of criteria govern the classification of biodiversity hotspots in this program; being a threatened and endemic area and home to endangered or vulnerable plants and/or animals.
For more information on the nature refuge program contact your local EPA office, call the EPA hotline on 1300 130 372 or visit the EPA website.
Burdekin Dry Tropics talk market based instruments
You can lead a horse to water but can you make it drink?
Metaphorically speaking, the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAPSWQ) SE05 pilot project managers are getting a horse to water and making it drink using incentives or market based programs.
The SE05 project: developing and trialing a toolkit of incentives and market based instruments for regional NRM project, aims to support regional NRM bodies to apply a range of social, economic and market based incentives to improve land management practices.
The third 'round table' National Market Based Instruments Pilot program working group meeting was held in Canberra on 3-4 May to discuss progress with projects and to discuss common themes, issues and approaches.
Regional group staff involved in developing or designing market based or incentives programs projects were invited to hear how the pilots are progressing and share in the discussion with the pilot managers.
Queensland projects currently funded under the National Market Based Instruments Pilot program include:
- Establishing east-west landscape corridors in the southern Desert Uplands, Burdekin-Fitzroy
- Establishing the potential for offset trading in the lower Fitzroy River, Burdekin-Fitzroy
For more information about the Market Based Instruments Pilot program visit the NAPSWQ website.
Bringing resources to the Northern Basin
The Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC) and the Murray-Darling Basin Commission are hosting a workshop in July for all regional NRM bodies in the northern Murray-Darling Basin and representatives from Queensland and NSW state agencies.
QMDC Chief Executive Officer Andrew Drysdale said "there is currently a risk of research duplication within the region, resulting in an ineffective allocation of resources.
"Also it is not always clear if investments have been directed in the area of most need, and research outcomes have not always been accessible to the people who need it most, like landholders, community groups and industry organisations," Mr Drysdale said.
The workshop will address these issues, helping NRM bodies throughout the Darling Basin to identify common information and knowledge gaps and distribute resources and investments better. It will also provide an opportunity for the groups to identify where their resource monitoring approaches can be coordinated.
For further information about the workshop contact Tricia Gowdie on 4637 6233.
Local government partners with QMDC
Local governments in the south-west region have the opportunity to work with the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC) on a range of partnership projects surrounding NRM-related issues. One of the first projects is with the Inglewood Shire Council developing better planning and use of reserves.
Inglewood Shire Council CEO Michael Hayward said, the entire community has a vested interest in the management of council reserves. "Many people use the reserves for fishing, bird watching, camping and grazing.
But over time, the use of a reserve can conflict with the original intention or the community's current needs."
On completing a new reserves database, priority reserves for conservation and recreation will be identified and management plans will be developed. It will also identify where the current use conflicts with previous designated use, and if the tenure or designated use needs to change to be in line with current and future needs.
Also assisting with the project are staff from the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
For more information please contact QMDC on 4637 6270.
NR&M's fees to change
Natural Resources and Mines (NR&M) has completed its annual review of its fees and charges and there will be some prices changes in line with the 2.6% CPI increase, however some newly introduced regulatory fees will not change.
This year sees an extensive alignment of non-regulatory fees and charges and nearly a thousand non-regulatory fees have been reduced in price.
These changes to NR&M's fees will take effect from 1 July.
Information on the new fees and charges may be obtained through NR&M service centres.
Tickets now available for Queensland Landcare Art Union
As some of you may have heard, the inaugural Queensland Landcare Art Union is being run this year. All proceeds will go towards helping fund on-ground Landcare projects.
First prize is four nights accommodation at Couran Cove Island Resort (on Stradbroke Island) valued at $1350.
Second prize is a ladies and gents matching Loyal watch set, valued at $550.
Tickets are $1 each and regions are being invited to order books of 25 to sell locally.
There are incentive prizes for the group or person who sells the most tickets and the winning ticket seller will also win a case of wine.
Winners will be drawn 19 September. Thanks to Couran Cove Island Resort and Wallace Bishop Jewellers for supporting Landcare by donating the prizes.
Tickets and books are available by phoning the Queensland Landcare Foundation on 3211 4413.
Free airfare up for grabs!
With the generous support of Qantas Link, the 2005 Queensland Landcare Conference Organising Committee is pleased to offer one lucky community delegate a return airfare from Brisbane to Barcaldine for the conference.
To be in the running, just register and pay for your attendance at the conference before 30 June. Remember, early bird registrations close 17 June.
The Qantas Link flights offer does not extend to complimentary registrations or employees of state government agencies.
For more information, contact the conference secretariat on 4651 2160.
Landcare conference keynote connects with communities
Dr. Siwan Lovett is one of two keynote speakers who will be addressing delegates at this year's Queensland Landcare Conference in Barcaldine 4-7 August.
Siwan is an independent consultant based in Canberra and is currently working with Land and Water Australia as the Program Coordinator for the National Riparian Lands research and development program.
A social scientist by training, Siwan works with biophysical scientists to help make their science accessible and user-friendly for a range of different audiences. For the past eleven years she has focused on understanding rivers and the people who live and work along them.
The Desert Uplands Committee, hosts of this year's conference approached Siwan to speak at the conference after learning of her work comparing Canadian and Australian approaches to engaging community in NRM.
Chairperson of the Desert Uplands Committee Janelle Wheeler said "as an organisation working with the community under the regional arrangements we really identified with Siwan's work...we need to start learning from the experience of others."
Dr. Siwan Lovett will speak at the Landcare Conference on 5 August.
The Conference program and information about registration, is available by calling the conference secretariat on 4651 2160, emailing Kerri Woodcock or visiting the Desert Uplands website.
New toolbox helps get rid of salinity
An estimated 48 000 hectares of land in Queensland are seriously affected by induced salinity. Up to 3.1 million hectares could be affected by 2050. Salinity causes agricultural and environmental losses by killing plants, causing soil erosion, turning drinkable water toxic and breaking down roads, buildings and other infrastructure.
Agricultural and natural resource management advisers now have two new tools to help fight against salinity. The Salinity Glove Box Guide and Salt Bag are now available from New South Wales' Southern SALT Team.
The Salinity Glove Box Guide is a useful tool for working in the field and discussing salinity management with land managers. This guide covers dryland, irrigation and urban salinity and costs $30.00 plus $10.00 P&H.
The Salt Bag is a do-it yourself kit containing a manual, soil and water salinity calculator, waterproof salinity meter, a tool for water sample extraction and measuring testwell/piezometer depth, two plastic dispensing bottles, a water sample jar, a EC1:5 soil testing jar and 10 plastic soil sampling bags for water and soil salinity measurement and assessment.
The Salt Bag is portable, comes in a sturdy canvas bag and will cost Queenslander's $180 plus $10 P&H.
You can get an order form for either of these products from the CRC Salinity website.
Big pond provides cleaner water
Water Quality Online was developed to help deliver water quality information and tools to the community via the world wide web.
In the past, accessing reliable information on water quality was limited to the data found within the major state agency databases and 'grey' water quality datasets within universities, research agencies, industry and local governments.
Water Quality Online developed as a part of the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality's Queensland water quality program, now makes it easy to access water quality information.
Water Quality Online provides useful products and information to help regional NRM bodies to develop strategies for water quality management.
Please visit the Water Quality Online website to find out more.
We welcome your input and feedback on this newsletter. If you have any contributions, comments or suggestions please contact Carl Glen or Shona Strachan.
The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Strategic Policy and Regional Arrangements, Natural Resources and Mines, highlighting regional natural resource management activities around Queensland.
Last updated 21 January 2009