The Bugle - 31 March 06
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
- FNQ NRM picks up the pieces
- Ghost net site shows scary scene
- Mangrove health report released
- Get a job ... in the Fitzroy!
Government updates
- Salinity plan and Natural Heritage Trust should run 10 more years: Senate
- You dirty rat! Protecting Australian wildlife from exotic rats
- Natural Resources, Mines & Water offers uni scholarships
Reef news
Natural resources news
- 2006 ACF Peter Rawlinson Conservation Award now open
- Dam levels rise in wake of destructive Tropical Cyclone Larry
FNQ NRM picks up the pieces
FNQ NRM Ltd would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the offers of support and assistance we received from the Australian and State Governments, the RGC and Queensland’s regional NRM bodies.
Cyclone Larry badly damaged FNQ NRM Ltd's head office in Innisfail's main street. But structural and water damage can't keep us down and we expect to be back online next Monday, 3 April.
You can contact us on 07 4043 8000
Cheers,
Michaela Groenestyn, FNQ NRM Ltd
Ghost net site shows scary scene
Question: What do left-footed thongs, fishing gear and sharks have in common? Answer: They are the most commonly found items in the Carpentaria Ghost Net project.
You can find out about the rubbish that's being washed up in the Gulf of Carpentaria and much more on the new Ghost Net web site.
Ghost nets are lost or discarded fish nets that drift through the ocean wreaking environmental havoc. They kill turtles, dugongs, dolphins, whales, fish and other sea life.
The largest nets found in the Gulf so far are Taiwanese gill nets weighing as much as 5 tonnes. If stretched out, they would be about four kilometres long.
In other parts of the world, nets have been reported 2-3 times this size, giving rise to the name "walls of death".
The Ghost Net project aims to remove ghost nets from Gulf's coastline to stop them re-entering the ocean, collect information about these nets to help stop fishing nets becoming ghost nets and help Indigenous rangers to continue work on ghost nets beyond the life of the project.
For more info, check the web site.
Mangrove health report released
A comprehensive report released in the Mackay Whitsunday region this week charts the health of mangroves in the Bassett Basin.
The Mackay Whitsunday NRM Group's Kelly Flower said the report, developed in conjunction with Central Queensland University, investigated changes in herbicide levels in Pioneer River mangrove sediments and their relationship to mangrove health.
"This project was designed to address some of the deficiencies in knowledge relevant to the mangrove dieback problem identified by Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Group's Mangrove Dieback Working Group," Mrs Flower said.
She said the report greatly increased understanding of the health of the mangrove communities in the estuaries near Mackay. Their health has been of concern since the 1990s when dieback of the grey mangrove Avicennia marina was observed by recreational anglers.
Central Queensland University researcher Dr Judith Wake said a key finding was that "the overall health of the grey mangroves in the Pioneer River Estuary is good".
For more information, email Kelly Flower or phone her on 4953 3864.
Get a job... in the Fitzroy!
Feel like living and working in the Rockhampton area? The Fitzroy Basin Association has four vacancies:
- Regional coordinator (biodiversity)
- Strategic facilitator
- Communications coordinator
- Regional coordinator (monitoring and evaluation).
For more information, go to the FBA web site.
Salinity plan and Natural Heritage Trust should run 10 more years: Senate
A Senate inquiry into the impact of salinity on Australia's economy has found the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality and the Natural Heritage Trust should be extended another 10 years.
The Senate report, Living with Salinity - a report on progress, was tabled yesterday.
The cross-party committee that produced the report held public hearings across Australia and received 50 written submissions.
The first two of the committee's 23 recommendations were that:
- "The Australian Government and the state/territory governments extend the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality for a further 10 years, with matched funding at least commensurate (on a per year average basis) with the first stage NAP funding. It is recommended that negotiations over the future of the NAP be expedited to provide certainty to regional bodies and other stakeholders. It is recommended that any further consideration of the prioritisation of NAP funds include consultation with the states/territories and the wider community."
- "The Australian Government extend the Natural Heritage Trust for a further 10 years with funding at least commensurate (on a per year average basis) with existing funding levels."
You dirty rat! Protecting Australian wildlife from exotic rats
The threat posed by exotic rats to our native plants and animals has been formally recognised under federal environment law, the Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell said this week.
Senator Campbell has included the "predation by exotic rats on Australian offshore islands of less than 1000 km2 (100,000 ha)" as a key threatening process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
"Established populations of exotic rats on Australian offshore islands often have a devastating impact on birds, small mammals, tortoises, lizards, large insects and plant seeds and seedlings specifically, and increase the vulnerability of island ecosystems generally," Senator Campbell said.
"What this listing will practically do is escalate work on abating the threats posed by exotic rats and help bring together the range of work going on to control the impacts rats are having on our native vegetation and wildlife."
Read the Minister's full statement
Natural Resources, Mines & Water offers uni scholarships
The Queensland Government's Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water is offering up to 10 scholarships to university students interested in working with the department.
Natural Resources, Mines and Water Minister Henry Palaszcuzk said successful applicants for the NRMW Scholarship Program would receive assistance during the applicant's study as well as the offer of full-time employment and entry into the department's graduate program.
The scholarships are available in:
- Engineering (civil, environmental or agricultural)
- Land/water/natural resource management
- Spatial science (surveying)
- Urban and regional planning.
Visit the department's web site for more info. Applications close on 18 April.
Reef review well underway
The consultants reviewing the alignment of regional NRM groups' projects with the Reef Water Quality Improvement Plan have almost completed their analyses of the groups' investment strategies.
The review is designed to ensure the work of regional NRM groups that border the Great Barrier Reef lagoon contribute to attaining the Reef Plan's goals.
The consultants have begun setting up focus group meetings through the regional NRM groups to discuss their findings. Consultation will occur in April and early May.
For more information, email Suzanne Hoverman or phone her on 3239 3884.
2006 ACF Peter Rawlinson Conservation Award now open
Nominations for the 2006 Peter Rawlinson Conservation Award are now open.
This award acknowledges the outstanding voluntary contribution of an individual or group to conservation of the environment.
The award honours Peter Rawlinson, one of Australia's leading biologists and conservationists, who died in 1991 while undertaking field research on the Indonesian island of Anak Krakatau.
The award consists of $3000 and a plaque. Nominations must be received by 24 April.
For more information, see the ACF web site.
Dam levels rise in wake of destructive Tropical Cyclone Larry
More than 300 billion litres of water has flowed into north Queensland's major water storages - Burdekin Falls and Tinaroo Falls dams - in the wake of the destructive Tropical Cyclone Larry.
Water Minister Henry Palaszczuk said an extra 272 billion litres (or 272,000 megalitres) had flowed into Burdekin Falls Dam near Ayr and Charters Towers and an extra 42 billion litres in Tinaroo Falls Dam on the Atherton Tableland.
"These dams are now at 79% and 94% of respective dam capacities," he said.
Burdekin Falls Dam has a capacity of 1.86 million megalitres, while Tinaroo Falls Dam has a capacity of 438,900 megalitres.
We welcome your input and feedback on this newsletter. If you have any contributions, comments or suggestions please contact Shona Strachan or Paul Rees.
To view past issues of The Bugle visit the regional NRM web site.
Last updated 05 April 2006