The Bugle - 19 January 2007
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
- Local people know the true value of water
- Burnett Mary symposium targets farmers and resource managers
Government updates
- Grants to environment and heritage groups open
- Sustainable industries awards
- Weather forecasters receive $33.7 million boost
Queensland Wetland Programme updates
- Wetland maps now available
- World Wetlands day media kits hot off the press
- Wetlands program performs!
Natural resources news
- Riverprize nominations open
- Weather bureau releases annual climate statement
- CSIRO to discuss land use change in SEQ
- Awards to hail heroes of waterway health
- Science Day presentations now available for download
- Blood on the wire
- Landcare report released
- Get a job in NRM!
Welcome to the first edition of The Bugle for 2007. We hope you had a healthy and happy Christmas-New Year break.
Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions, or any ideas for stories.
Regional NRM group stories
Local people know the true value of water
People in the Mackay Whitsunday region will be given the opportunity to voice their opinion on how work will be done to restore and protect the region's waterways in a series of focus group sessions planned for early this year.
A series of community consultation activities will be conducted in February by catchment and Landcare groups across the region to help establish the environmental values that people hold for the waterways of the Mackay Whitsundays region.
The use of the environmental values information in the development of local waterway management strategies will mean that local people will be directing the use of Natural Heritage Trust and National Landcare funds. This money will be used to restore local waterways through actions such as stream bank revegetation, bank erosion and sediment loss control.
For more info, contact Carl Mitchell from Mackay Whitsunday NRM Group on 0448 856 297 or 4944 7840.
Burnett Mary symposium targets farmers and resource managers
Registrations are now open for the Farmland to Fraser – Resource Managers and Science symposium in Hervey Bay 19-20 February.
Hosted by the Burnett Mary Regional Group, the symposium will showcase the latest science, information and technology on offer in the Burnett Mary region. The two-day program will include plenary sessions, interactive workshops, a field trip to local farms and the Burnett Mary NRM awards gala dinner.
It is free to attend the symposium, but registration is required for catering and transport purposes. Download the registration form and draft program or phone Ashton Berry on 0400 462 151 for more info.
Sponsorship and trade exhibitor packages are also available. Please contact Queensland Landcare foundation on 3211 4413 or email Kerri Woodcock for more info.
Government updates
Grants to environment and heritage groups open
The latest round of Grants to Voluntary Environment and Heritage Organisations (GVEHO) is now open.
The GVEHO program helps eligible community-based environment and heritage organisations to value, conserve and protect Australia's natural environment and historic heritage by assisting with their administrative funding.
Grants of up to $10 000 a year are available over the three-year funding period.
Applications close 2 February. For info, visit the Department of Environment and Heritage website or call 02 6274 2422.
Sustainable industries awards
Nominations are being called for the 2007 EPA Sustainable Industries Awards to recognise Queensland's best and most innovative sustainability practices in business and industry.
The awards include seven nomination categories, from industrial ecoefficiency to rural sustainability.
Entries close 23 February.
For info, see the EPA website or call 3225 1999.
Weather forecasters receive $33.7 million boost
The Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, has announced a major new funding package for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to improve Australia's weather forecasting services.
Senator Campbell said Australia's current unpredictable weather patterns meant it was essential our weather surveillance, forecasting and warning services were of a world class standard.
The funding will support:
- Weather services to rural areas, including those targeted to the specific needs of rural communities
- Marine weather forecasting and information services
- Upgraded climate monitoring, prediction and advisory services, including increased reliability of El Niño predictions and seasonal outlooks
- Greater accuracy in drought monitoring and water resources assessments
- Better public access to Bureau information and services through the Bureau's popular internet site and other technologies.
Queensland Wetlands Programme updates
Wetland maps now available
The Queensland Wetlands Programme has released the most comprehensive maps available of natural and artificial wetlands for the Great Barrier Reef catchment.
Wetland managers such as NRM regional groups, local government and industry from the Wet Tropics to Wide Bay can now access detailed information on 37 000 individual wetlands.
The mapping identifies the location of a wetland, its size, type, degree of hydrological modification, frequency of inundation, salinity and vegetation.
The mapping is available as:
- made-to-order 1:100 000 scale maps based on lot-on-plan or co-ordinates
- pre-made 1:100 000 scale maps in PDF format
- a DVD.
The maps were launched by Townsville-based Queensland Environment Minister, the Hon Lindy Nelson-Carr MP and Federal Member for Herbert, Peter Lindsay MP at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s ReefHQ Aquarium on 18 December.
The mapping took more than two years to complete and involved mapping 58 million hectares of land and water. It is a major milestone for the Queensland Wetlands Programme, which was set up by the Australian and Queensland Governments to protect and restore wetlands.
For more information or for a copy of the DVD, email Angela Pattie or call 3006 4621.
Download the maps or see the Queensland Wetlands Programme website for more info.
World Wetlands day media kits hot off the press
Thinking of holding a World Wetlands Day media event but don't know where to start? Help is at hand.
The Queensland Wetlands Programme has produced a World Wetlands Day media kit to provide you with advice and assistance.
World Wetlands Day is held annually on 2 February, with community events undertaken across the week.
The international slogan for World Wetlands Day 2007 is Fish for tomorrow?, in recognition of the importance of fish and fisheries to all people around the world. The Australian and Queensland Governments, through the Queensland Wetlands Programme, are raising awareness of values and measures to protect wetlands throughout Queensland.
The kit includes important information about communicating with your local media, key messages about World Wetlands Week, examples of media alerts and releases, and background to give to the media about World Wetlands Day.
For your copy please phone Angela Pattie on 3006 4621.
More information about World Wetlands Day can be found on the Department of the Environment and Water Resources website and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands website.
Wetlands program performs!
The Queensland Wetlands Programme has released its 2005-06 performance report, which details the program's performance and achievements.
The program team spent 2006 working with wetland managers to protect and restore wetlands in Queensland.
In the year that was, the team mapped and classified wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchment, produced 15 on-the-ground information booklets for managing specific wetlands and produced an online tool for learning about wetlands.
The Australian and Queensland Governments, through the program, are committed to helping landholders, regional NRM groups, local and state government agencies and scientists to look after wetlands into 2007.
See the Queensland Wetlands Programme web site for more info.
Downlad the QWP performance report.
Natural resource news
Riverprize nominations open
Nominations for the 2007 Thiess Riverprize are now open.
The Thiess Riverprize is awarded during the Riversymposium for outstanding achievement in the restoration and preservation of rivers and waterways across the world.
The 2006 International Thiess Riverprize was valued at $225 000 and the National Thiess Riverprize at $75 000.
The deadline for submissions is Friday 30 March. Nomination forms and judging criteria are available at the Riversymposium website.
The call for papers for the 10th International Riversymposium and Environmental Flows Conference has gone out.
Abstracts are due 31 January. Papers should explore environmental flows from a science, policy, management and community perspective.
Definitions and a complete list of topics and submission procedures at from the Riversymposium website.
Weather bureau releases annual climate statement
The Bureau of Meteorology has released its 2006 annual climate statement. The statement paints a picture of two Australias - a wet northern Australia and a hot, dry south. As the statement says, "our climate is changing"...
Read the 2006 annual climate statement.
CSIRO to discuss land use change in SEQ
CSIRO researchers are keen to discuss land use changes in south east Queensland with planners, local and state government representatives, councillors, NRM professionals and representatives of regional NRM groups
In recent years, the CSIRO has been studying the best ways to manage small holding sub-division and changing land uses in SEQ. Much of this research will be relevant to future policies and planning in regions that are experiencing rapid change, and will inform long-term planning for the region.
CSIRO researchers would like the opportunity to discuss how to integrate their research findings into planning and policy processes, and therefore increase the potential for sustainable development in south east Queensland.
The CSIRO will host a discussion day on Wednesday 7 February at the Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia.
For more info, phone CSIRO's Fiachra Kearney on 3214 2358, or SEQ Catchment's Darren McPherson or Bruce Lord on 5422 0516.
A maximum of 80 people can attend, so please RSVP to Fiachra Kearney asap.
Awards to hail heroes of waterway health
Nominations are open for the annual South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Awards, which acknowledge people and programs that help make the waterways and catchments of South East Queensland healthy.
The awards recognise the work of dedicated environmental and catchment groups, scientists and researchers, university students and schools, plus business and industry working in collaboration with the community, right across the region.
Nominations for the 2007 awards are now open, with applicants having until 28 February to submit their entry. Winners will be announced 4 April.
A total of $20 500 in prize money is available, with the winners of seven categories each receiving $1500 and a Healthy Waterways trophy.
In addition, the category winner deemed to be the most innovative and collaborative will be awarded the $10 000 grand prize.
Visit the Healthy Waterways web site or contact Andrew Musgrave on 3403 9427 for more info.
Science Day presentations now available for download
The National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality's SIP Science Day last year was a great succes - despite the ludicrously hot weather - with 48 presenters ranging across the SIPs and 140 attendees.
Presentations covered science relating to water quality, salinity, sustainable agricultural production, capacity building and the social and economic aspects of NRM.
The proceedings are now available online and include a book of abstracts, as well as the presentations themselves, in PDF form. So, why not go and check out what went on at Science_Day web site.
Blood on the wire
Barbed wire is a major killer of wildlife in Australia: thousands of bats, birds, gliders and macropods become entangled and die each year.
Barbed wire is both a conservation and welfare problem. A number of threatened species, including spectacled flying-foxes, greyheaded flying-foxes, mahogany gliders and ghost bats are affected.
The deaths on barbed wire are largely preventable. In many cases, barbed wire does not perform an essential function, or else it could be replaced by other types of fencing and, where it is essential, relatively simple measures could reduce its impact.
However, because there is so much barbed wire in the Australian landscape – in both rural and urban environments – and very little awareness of the issue, it is will be a demanding (but achievable) task to reduce the wildlife toll.
The Queensland Conservation Council has produced an action plan to address the barbed wire problem. For more information, email Carol Booth or see the web-friendly fencing web site, which should go live in next couple of days.
Landcare report released
The Australian Landcare Council has released its 2005-06 annual report.
Get a job in NRM!
Are you interested in working with Queensland's regional natural resource management bodies?
Then head to the Regional Groups' Collective website where current job opportunities are now available.
Be sure to check back regularly to ensure you don't miss out on the job of a lifetime!
Thought for the week
In India, meat consumption per person per year is a mere five kilograms, what the average US citizen consumes in less than two weeks.
New Gaia Atlas of Planetary Management
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The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Community Partnerships, the Department of Natural Resources and Water, highlighting regional NRM activities around Queensland.
Last updated 10 January 2008