The Bugle - 02 December 05
In news this week
- New strategy sure as eggs
- Banana Shire gets tougher on weed spread
- Parkinsonia control part of $620,000 for Mackenzie, Isaac/Connors catchment
- Council pest plans show room for catchment-wide approach
Government updates
- River remediation wins Premier's environmental award
- New Queensland State Landcare Coordinator appointed
- NR&M begins streamlining administrative processes
- Climate consultation continues
Natural resources news
- Mary Basin water resources under spotlight
- Rain welcomed, but water storage levels remain low
- New QWaLC board up and running
- Tropical Tree Day
New strategy sure as eggs
The Condamine Alliance and SEQ Catchments regional NRM groups will spend up to $130,000 to help the egg industry develop an environmental management system.
The system will help operators meet Environmental Protection Agency and local government requirements.
Eggs are big business in the Condamine. It is estimated that 80% of layer hens in Queensland reside in the Condamine catchment. A further 70% of egg producers, and 15% of the layer hen flock, reside in the SEQ catchment.
Dramatic inconsistencies between local council requirements for poultry farms have caused confusion in the industry as to what is required for sound environmental practice.
The project aims to develop an EMS for about 100 producers in south-east Queensland, with a focus on recommended practices, waste management, buffer zones, restoration of vegetation and minimising nutrient leaching in all production systems.
Environmental best practice will also contribute to the industry's ability to cope in the event of an avian influenza outbreak.
For more information, visit the Condamine Alliance web site.
Banana Shire gets tougher on weed spread
Banana Shire is to step up its battle against noxious weeds with plans for a second washdown facility.
The $120,000 project proposed at Theodore and close to the highway is the latest weapon in an increasingly united fight against the spread of sporobolous grasses (primarily Giant Rats Tail) and Parthenium.
The project is being driven by the Capricorn Pest Management Group (CPMG) with $60,000 initial funding from the Fitzroy Basin Association and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.
CPMG’s support officer Trudy Baker said she was waiting for specifications for the facility, which would join an existing facility at Moura in the Shire’s weed wars. An upgrading of the Moura facility was also planned.
For further information contact the FBA's Sharon Marks on 07 4999 2816.
Parkinsonia control part of $620,000 for Mackenzie, Isaac/Connors catchment
Fitzroy Basin Association has allocated $620,000 of Natural Heritage Trust and National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality funding to the Mackenzie and Isaac/Connors catchment.
The FBA's Katie Elder said the aim was to help landholders implement property plans that benefit the land's productivity and the condition of natural resources in the catchment.
Activities that could be supported include property mapping and planning, weed control, fencing and water points to manage land types and waterways, nature conservation, farm machinery modification for zero till and controlled traffic farming, and irrigation water use efficiency.
One of the projects FBA has funding for is a "neighbourhood catchment" approach to Parkinsonia control.
"Parkinsonia is a weed of national significance and big problem on the Isaac/Connors and Mackenzie River system and sub-catchment creeks. Groups of neighbouring landholders can work with FBA on developing property pest management plans and we can also fund on-ground control," Katie said.
For more information or to receive an application kit, contact Katie Elder on 0429 992 822 or 4999 2822.
Council pest plans show room for catchment-wide approach
An examination of local government pest management plans in the Condamine River catchment shows a desire to collaborate with neighbouring shires as part of a coordinated plant and animal pest management scheme.
This is the key finding of a report prepared for the Condamine Alliance by Katherine Purcell, an environmental management student from the University of Queensland, Gatton Campus.
Ms Purcell recently completed the report on the pest management plans of the 12 local government areas in the catchment as part of her industry placement project with the Alliance.
The report shows there is enough consistency in the identified target pests to develop a catchment-wide target list. Skill development of the on-ground officers is recognised as a necessary step for future success.
About $6.3 million (excluding Dalby town and Jondaryan shires) will be spent on pest control in the next four years.
For more information visit the Condamine Alliance web site.
River remediation wins Premier's environmental award
A project to clean up Australia's most polluted river has won the 2005 Premier's Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management (environmental protection category).
The $8 million Dee River Dams Remediation Project, near the historic Mount Morgan mine site in central Queensland, was a collaborative effort between NR&M, EPA and Roadtek (Main Roads) to decommission three heritage-listed but unsafe dams that were contaminating the Dee River with acidic mine tailings.
The river was contaminated by acidic seepage and runnoff of hazardous materials from the minesite as a result of more than 100 years of gold and copper mining. Some 500 000 tonnes of contaminated mine tailings were removed from a 2km section of the river.
The Premier's environmental protection award recognises projects that provide innovative and sustainable solutions to conserve natural ecosystems.
Congratulations to the project director, NR&M's Paul Woodward, and his team!
New Queensland State Landcare Coordinator appointed
Tony Gietzel has started work in his new role as Queensland's State Landcare Coordinator.
Tony brings a wealth of rural industry experience to the position. His 10 years within the potato industry included being national agronomy manager for Arnotts Snackfoods, with responsibility for working with potato growers in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Before that, Tony was a soil conservation officer on the western Darling Downs.
Tony said he looked forward to getting out and about and meeting people in the regions and working with industry.
You can contact Tony Gietzel on 3620 3823 or 0428 330 121.
Welcome aboard, Tony.
NR&M begins streamlining administrative processes
The Department of Natural Resources and Mines has continued to streamline administrative processes to speed up its dealings with proponents.
Recently there has been a change in financial delegations that allows the General Manager, Natural Resource Management Arrangements, to sign deeds of variation to contracts. Currently, variations have to be signed by the the department's Director-General.
This is one of a number of measures that NR&M will introduce to improve its service to regional bodies. For more information, contact Principal Prolicy Officer Anne Goeths on 3224 2389.
Climate consultation continues
The Queensland Government has held community meetings in Rockhampton, Mackay, Longreach and Townsville as part of its community consultation on climate change. A further meeting is planned for Caloundra on 7 December.
Queensland is getting hotter and our temperatures are rising more rapidly than both the global and national averages.
The Climate Smart Adaptation discussion paper deals with adapting to climate change. It provides information about Queensland's future climate, and explores some of the possible impacts of climate change and some responses.
Submissions on the discussion paper will help shape the Queensland Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan to be developed next year. Comments must be provided by 3 March 2006.
For more information, see the Climate Smart web site.
Mary Basin water resources under spotlight
The future of water resources in the Mary Basin is on the agenda for the Queensland Government.
Natural Resources and Mines Minister Henry Palaszczuk recently released the draft Mary Basin Water Resource Plan for public comment.
"The Mary Basin and the entire region are undergoing a period of unprecedented growth and change, with pressure on the sharing of water from the basin's catchments," Mr Palaszczuk said.
"The water resource plan will provide a vital framework for sustainable management of the basin's water resources into the future."
"I urge all interested people to obtain a copy of the draft plan and look forward to receiving submissions from the community," Mr Palaszczuk said
Comments and submissions will be accepted until 11 February 2006.
For more information, contact Belinda Wedlock at the NR&M Gympie office on 5480 6226. The draft plan and an accompanying overview report can be obtained from the NR&M web site or by phoning 5480 6226.
Rain welcomed, but water storage levels remain low
Recent rain across large tracts of Queensland was welcomed, but many of the State's water storages remained at record low-levels, Natural Resources and Mines Minister Henry Palaszczuk said recently.
Mr Palaszczuk said the State's south-east water storages in particular remained at critically low levels.
"Rain over the past six weeks has had very little impact on the Wivenhoe-Somerset-North Pine system, which provides most of the region's water," he said.
"Rain may be falling, but it is far too soon to talk about easing the current water restrictions."
Mr Palaszczuk said governments had to dispel any notions the storm rains had fixed the water supply situation and water use could return to normal.
"For a number of communities, like Capella in Central Queensland, recent rain has replenished water supplies, while the Sunshine and Gold Coast storages are above 75% of capacity," he said.
"The yet-to-be-completed Burnett River Dam already boasts some 60,000 megalitres of water or 20% of its capacity.
"However, many of our water storages remain at near-record low levels. The situation in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley remains very serious."
New QWaLC board up and running
The new Queensland Water and Land Carers (QWaLC) board is up and running.
QWaLC is the peak body for Queensland's "care" groups - Landcare, Bushcare, Coastcare, Waterwatch, catchment management and other volunteer groups working in natural resources.
Please contact your local QWaLC representative if you need to discuss any issues regarding land and water care groups in Queensland:
- SEQ/SEQ Western Catchments - Esma Armstrong
- Cape York & Torres Strait - Ian Adcock
- Burnett Mary - Paul Marshall
- Fitzroy Basin - Sandy Paton
- South West - Alan Travers
- Condamine - Dr Diana Beal
- Burdekin Dry Tropics/Mackay Whitsunday - Jim Meteyard
- Wet Tropics - Joe Crawford
- Queensland Murray Darling - Sue Ferguson
- Desert Channels - Elizabeth Clark
- Northern/Southern Gulfs - Currently vacant
For more information, contact Tess McGlone or Brenda Walhain by phoning 3211 4409 or check out the QWaLC web site.
Tropical Tree Day
Cairns City Council, in conjunction with Treeforce, Mulgrave Landcare and Catchment Group, Cairns Urban Landcare and Ergon Energy, will host "Tropical Tree Day" on Sunday 11 December.
National Tree Day is held in July each year but this is the start of the dry season in Far North Queensland - not a good time to plant trees.
In 2002, Cairns City Council persuaded Planet Ark to recognise that scheduling National Tree Day in July did not suit all regions. The following year, the council sought support from other local authorities, governments and local community groups to campaign for this recognition. Now Planet Ark supports other designated days to celebrate Tree Day.
Tropical Tree Day sites focus on establishing riparian corridors and often build on work local groups are doing.
It would be encouraging if other NRM groups and government agencies considered designating a local tree planting day which better suits the climate of their bioregion.
More information on Cairns Tropical Tree Day, visit the Cairns City Council web site or contact Venetia Andersen on 4044 3159.
We welcome your input and feedback on this newsletter. If you have any contributions, comments or suggestions please contact Shona Strachan or Paul Rees.
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The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Natural Resource Management Arrangements, Natural Resources and Mines, highlighting regional natural resource management activities around Queensland.
Last updated 05 April 2006