The Bugle - 7 July 2006
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
- Arts program highlights NRM
- Dry times aiding noxious weed control
- Health check for country
- Indigenous people take up Care for Country challenge
- Condamine snags fishing grants
- Rain not just good for crops – good for activities too!
Government updates
Reef news
- Agricultural planning system supports Reef Plan
- Reef Plan provides technical info for property management plans
- Reef Plan not about fish and coral
Natural resources news
Arts program highlights NRM
Communities in the Queensland Murray-Darling region will have an opportunity to experience the arts under an innovative project to promote natural resource management.
The Queensland Murry-Darling Committee will invest $80,000 in the University of Southern Queensland's Creative Communities fund to conduct visual arts and theatre workshops in the Border Rivers catchment.
The USQ Arts Faculty will stage theatre performances, art workshops and visual arts exhibitions in various towns and communities.
USQ lecturer Janet McDonald said the next step was an audit of the towns, so the programs were relevant to local people.
"The show we create needs to deal with local people's stories and it needs to connect those stories to good management of their natural resources."
For more info, phone USQ's Connie-Louise Alexander 4631 2977 or 0439 760 106.
Dry times aiding noxious weed control
Bendemere Shire Council and landholders along the Wallumbilla Creek have banded together to combat Mother of Millions in a project supported by the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee.
The project, started in spring last year, will provide financial assistance to 16 landholders to control and prevent further spread of the noxious weed.
Maranoa Regional Landcare Coordinator Alexis Wegener said the dry conditions that were hindering other NRM activities were ideal to control weeds like Mother of Millions.
Bendemere Stock Route Supervisor Peter Maunder has been coordinating the project, and praised the efforts of participating landholders in working together.
Further information on this project, as well as other natural resource management projects in the area, can be obtained from the QMDC Landcare and Catchment Centre in Roma.
Health check for country
The intimate knowledge of Aboriginal people for plants and animals on their country is being tapped for the first time to measure the health of natural resources.
Three regional NRM groups in southern Queensland - Condamine Alliance, SEQ Catchments and South West NRM - are joining forces in a three-year, $390,000 program funded by the Natural Heritage Trust.
Condamine Alliance's Corie Leslie said Indigenous people historically assessed the health of their country through a learned process passed orally within communities. This assessment was often linked to water quality, perhaps by the presence or absence of turtles in a creek, or food plants along its banks.
"It is an opportunity to capture longstanding indigenous knowledge of country and the indicators used to determine health of the country," Mr Leslie said.
The three groups will explore the existence of Indigenous indicators, validate them with traditional owners and test them against conventional indicators of catchment health. They will also measure the impact of management practice change on these indigenous indicators.
For more info, phone Corie Leslie on 4620 0119 or 0419 773 750
Indigenous people take up Care for Country challenge
A pilot Indigenous training program in the Ipswich and Bremer area is providing a model for economic empowerment that could be replicated across Indigenous communities in Queensland.
A partnership between Queensland Baptist Aboriginal Corporation, SEQ Catchments and The Bremer Institute of TAFE is getting Indigenous people involved with protecting the environment while providing them with training, work experience and future employment opportunities.
The 10-week training program provides Indigenous people with accredited horticulture qualifications under the federally funded Brisbane Community Development Employment Project job creation program.
Environmental projects completed or underway include:
- erosion control at Paddy's Gully
- tree planting and weed clearing at One Mile Bridge
- revegetation at sites at Australian Hardboards Limited
- revegetation, weed management and erosion remediation activities at Blue Gum Reserve
- riparian management activities along the Bremer River from the junction of the Brisbane River to the Ipswich CBD under the "Bridge to Bridge" strategy.
For more info, phone Natasha Wright at SEQ Catchments on 3211 4404.
Condamine snags fishing grants
Two popular fishing sites in the Condamine River catchment have attracted $100,000 in funding from the Australian Government's Recreational Fishing Community Grants to improve in-stream habitats and boost native fish numbers.
Central to the success of the Condamine Alliance submissions for $65,000 for Archers Crossing on the Condamine River near Chinchilla and $35,000 for Bowenville Reserve on Oakey Creek was the voluntary commitment of local community groups, according to Fran Holt, coordinator of the projects for the Alliance.
Chinchilla and District Amateur Fishing Club, Lions Club of Chinchilla, Chinchilla Landcare and Oakey Fish Stocking Association all volunteered services to assist Chinchilla and Jondaryan shires with the projects.
The main focus will be to improve in-stream habitat by "re-snagging" the river and creek and rehabilitating the banks. Murray cod and golden perch (yellow belly) fingerlings will be released. Fish cleaning tables will be provided at both sites as well as materials for a walkway at Archers Crossing to enable wheelchair access to fishing sites.
For more info, phone the Alliance's Fran Holt on 46200117.
Rain not just good for crops – good for activities too!
Recent surprise rain around the Burnett-Mary region has not only been welcomed by farmers, but by BMRG activity proponents too!
While many farm dams got filled and thirsty crops enjoyed a well overdue drink, the heavy falls also provided substantial stream flows for an industry-driven water quality monitoring activity, undertaken by Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers Cooperative in partnership with BMRG.
The activity, which involves a substantial water quality monitoring element, focuses on trialing integrated, area-wide management principles in horticulture industries.
While regular monitoring of some coastal streams and on-farm trial sites has been ongoing for many months, the recent rain provided the first significant run-off and stream flow event for the activity.
For more info, email Bianca McCracken or phone her on 4132 8333.
Identifying barriers to change
Understanding the social and economic influences on natural resource management is vital, but detailed information on land managers' practices, attitudes and constraints to change is not available at a scale suitable for all regional NRM groups.
The Social and Economic SIP team has engaged consultants Forest Images to survey land managers in the Fitzroy Basin, Condamine Alliance, South East Queensland Catchments and South West NRM regions.
Land manager in the Burdekin Dry Tropics, Burnett Mary and Murray-Darling regions have already been surveyed.
The survey should provide baseline data for key social and economic conditions and trends at a scale that is suitable for effective catchment planning.
Regional bodies can use this information to develop both capacity building and incentive programs.
For more info, email John MacKenzie or phone him on 3224 7741.
Miracle: painless survey really only takes a minute to complete!
We know you are sick of surveys and you're very busy, but we need to know if The Bugle is meeting your needs.
So we've designed a survey that is very quick and completely painless.
But don’t take our word for it. This is an unsolicited email we received in response to the survey:
"I really appreciate your approach in getting people to do this survey - so frank, honest and straight to the point. So often surveys come via email and it goes straight to the bottom of my priority list of emails to reply to. This one was so quick and easy though!"
This survey is completely confidential. Respondents will remain unknown to us and won't be identified to anyone.
Fill out the survey now. It really will only take a minute. And it will be a big help to us.
Thanks for your help,
The Bugle team
Agricultural planning system supports Reef Plan
As part of an agricultural planning system, Action D6 of the Reef Plan reviewed the effectiveness and feasibility of regulatory and non-regulatory mechanisms (including voluntary, market-based and statutory options) for managing agricultural activities known to be diminishing reef water quality.
The review included options to manage the application of fertilisers that increase nutrient levels in waterways and the application of pesticides and herbicides that affect aquatic ecosystems.
The review has resulted in an agreed broad framework, including directions for implementation, which has been developed in consultation with peak industry bodies and regional NRM groups.
A joint agreement on priorities is the first step in the implementation of the agricultural planning framework and this requires all Queensland agencies to contribute resources to research, analyse and lead the process of developing agreement on priorities with stakeholders.
For further information about Action D6 of the Reef Plan visit the Reef Plan web site.
Reef Plan provides technical info for property management plans
Several Reef Plan participants are providing technical information to landholders to help them prepare property resource management plans in support of Action F2 of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.
The Environmental Protection Agency provides a range of technical information to the public that could be considered in property management planning. The information provides important background on water quality, biodiversity, threatened species recovery and coastal planning and management that should be included in the development of management plans.
The Department of Natural Resources Mines and Water is developing a range of landscape decision-support tools to help manage land, water and vegetation resources, including fact sheets, manuals, modules and guides, such as guidelines for the preparation of property resource management plans.
The department is also continuing the development of seasonal climate forecasts and decision-support tools and monitoring land condition and providing information through remote sensing of ground cover.
Regional NRM groups such as the Fitzroy Basin Association worked with NRMW salinity scientists conducting a salinity risk assessment project to produce a risk map for each major sub-catchment and to produce supporting information on suitable land practices.
For further information about Action F2 of the Reef Plan visit the Reef Plan web site.
Reef Plan not about fish and coral
"What's the way we manage cattle, cotton and cane got to do with the Reef?"
This is a common question from people who don't realise that the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan is not about just saving the coral and fish.
A recent survey of NRM stakeholders found many people thought the Reef Plan was about activities on the Reef, when it is actually about activities on land.
Most of the 65 actions in the Reef Plan are focused on ways to improve water quality in the rivers and streams on the land adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
The Reef Plan was released in December 2003 and since then has used the combined resources of all levels of government, industry and the community to meet its 10-year goal of halting and reversing the decline in the quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef.
Through improved farming and grazing practices, primary industries are helping to implement the Reef Plan and protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Many regional NRM groups' investment strategies have targets which are leading to activities on farming properties that improve water quality.
Australian and Queensland Government departments also have activities underway that help to reverse the decline in water quality within the rivers and streams adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef.
See the Reef Plan website to learn how you too can help improve water quality.
Export markets for Australian organic produce
Organic production is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global food industry, with an estimated global market value of $38 billion a year, the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Sussan Ley, said this week.
Ms Ley was launching Export Potential for Organics — opportunities and barriers, a new report from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, which identifies opportunities for Australian organic producers in a number of expanding markets.
"This research is yet another demonstration that organic industries are not a passing fad," Ms Ley said.
"The report shows that the organic market in the United States caters to nearly 145 million consumers each year, and the market is growing by 20 per cent annually.
"In the United Kingdom, three-quarters of the population of 60 million purchases organic produce each year, with a market growth of 11 per cent."
The European Union has an enormous market for organic produce, and there are export opportunities in the rapidly-growing markets in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
New Queensland Heritage Council members announced
Environment Minister Desley Boyle this week announced the appointment of two new members of the Queensland Heritage Council.
Ms Boyle said the National Trust's new representative would be Geoffrey Smith. Mr Smith manages Wood Works: The Forestry and Timber Museum in Gympie.
"Mr Smith's archaeological field work and museum experience is expected to be of great value," Ms Boyle said.
Mr Smith replaces Margaret Cook, who has been a heritage council member since 1998.
Brisbane-based town planning consultant Christopher Buckley is also a new appointment.
Read the Minister's media statement
Thought for the week
"Our ignorance about the interactions of species in natural ecosystems demonstrates that we humans are not really in control ... Many organisms regulate the fertility of the soil and the content of the atmosphere, but we have very little knowledge of which species are involved, how many there are, and precisely what they do."
Wild solutions: how biodiversity is money in the bank
We welcome your contributions and feedback. If you have any comments or suggestions for The Bugle please contact Paul Rees or Shona Strachan.
To view past issues of The Bugle visit the regional NRM web site.
The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Community Partnerships, the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water, highlighting regional NRM activities around Queensland.
Last updated 28 July 2006