The Bugle - 25 January 2007
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
- Nominations open for Burnett Mary NRM awards
- Central highlands NRM group appoints new executive officer
- Something fishy about these snags
- Young dairy farmers mix hard work with play
- Expert panel checks catchment scorecard
Government updates
Natural resources news
Regional NRM group stories
Nominations open for Burnett Mary NRM awards
The Burnett Mary Regional Group is proud to be sponsoring the 2007 Burnett Mary NRM Awards.
The awards aim to recognise and reward the region's groups and individuals that have worked tirelessly to help the community to become better natural resource managers.
The Burnett Mary NRM Awards will be held on the night of 19 February in conjunction with the Farmland to Fraser – Resource Managers and Science symposium gala dinner in Hervey Bay.
For more info or to receive a nomination form, visit the BMRG website or contact Ashton Berry on 4124 8501.
Central highlands NRM group appoints new executive officer
The central highland's community-owned natural resource management group, CHRRUP, has appointed Anna Keetels as its new executive officer.
CHRRUP covers the Emerald, Bauhinia, Peak Downs, Belyando and Jericho Shires, which is an area of 95 000km2, with a staff of five – so Anna is going to be busy!
Anna, who holds a Bachelor of Natural Resource Economics/Agriculture (Hons) was recently the Queensland NLIS information and implementation officer, a state-based extension position. Her experience includes positions with AgForce and stints in Orange and Roma as an agribusiness manager with Westpac.
For more info about CHRRUP, visit the CHRRUP website or phone Anna Keetels on 4982 2986 or 0427 729 085.
Something fishy about these snags
Keen fisher-folk and council representatives from Chinchilla and Oakey were treated recently to a workshop on snags – but not the barbecue kind. The workshop, hosted by the Condamine Alliance, outlined the practicalities and science associated with placing "snags" back into our river systems for the benefit of native fish populations.
The Oakey and Chinchilla fishing groups have been voluntarily re-stocking river systems to boost fish numbers for the benefit of recreational fishing. Falling numbers of native fish populations, including iconic species such as Murray cod and golden perch, have made re-stocking a necessity.
Scientists believe the removal of snags from river systems has removed valuable native fish habitats and contributed to the decline in numbers. Re-snagging will provide conditions that promote "natural" increases in native fish populations.
The recent re-snagging workshop was led by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries conservation manager Jenny Fredrickson. Oakey Fish Stocking Association secretary Noal Kuhl said Jenny's experience and knowledge had provided the group with invaluable tips to ensure it avoided any problems in its conservation work.
Re-snagging projects will be conducted at Archer's Crossing, near Chinchilla, and Bowenville Reserve – popular fishing spots for locals and travellers. Both projects have received funding through the Australian Government’s Recreational Fishing Community Grants program and are scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
Local businesses are encouraged to consider involvement. With sufficient funding to provide materials, volunteer labour can be sourced to arrange construction. Anyone who has an interest in funding facility upgrades at either of the sites should contact Fran Holt at the Condamine Alliance on 4620 0117.
Young dairy farmers mix hard work with play
A network for "young" farmers on the Darling Downs is helping them to work smarter, not harder, in developing solutions to drought-related management issues in the dairy industry.
Last year, in its inaugural year, the Darling Downs Young Farmers Network moved from zero to 64 members up to age 40, representing 49 dairy farming businesses.
"Things have been dry on the Darling Downs for a while so drought talk is nothing new, however, input costs have increased so much that it is a completely different ball game now," network facilitator Theresa Kunde said.
The network is funded by the Condamine Alliance, Dairy Australia and Subtropical Dairy, with support from QDO, DPI&F, Parmalat and Dairy Farmers.
"At the inception of the network the idea was to bring young farmers together so they could learn from one another and share new ideas and ways of going about making their business more sustainable," Ms Kunde said.
But the network has been a success on many different levels: members have had the opportunity to participate in a young farmers' forum, access up to $5000 each to improve their natural resource management, and attend three workshops where they have been presented with information on topics chosen by the group.
Along with these educational opportunities, there has been a number of social gatherings. Amid drought and rising fodder prices, the network has become important as a peer support group. The group's social activities provide a rare opportunity for fun, such as the network's Christmas barbecue where an epic match of backyard cricket pitted northern Downs farmers against their southern Downs colleagues.
For more info, phone Theresa Kunde on 0428 147 749.
Expert panel checks catchment scorecard
The Condamine Alliance has convened a panel of 12 scientists – from the public and private sectors – to help develop and strengthen its innovative sub-catchment scorecard methodology to ensure that appraisals of resource conditions and trends are realistic.
This "snapshot" approach, developed by Alliance monitoring and evaluation coordinator Lucy Larkin, includes statements summarising available science on community, salinity, biodiversity, land and water resources in the catchment in line with the five themes addressed in the catchment NRM Plan.
"We are looking for an agreed approach to help the community understand the state of natural resources in the catchment and progress towards improving catchment health," Ms Larkin said.
Supporting the snapshot is a scorecard developed to assess the condition and trend information available to help highlight areas in the catchment that need targeted investment for specific issues.
Lack of resource condition information was found to be a significant gap during the development of this initial series of snapshots, but highlighting these gaps has enabled the Alliance and its partners to target investment in monitoring activities to better understand the state of the catchment and better inform future analyses of catchment condition.
For more info, phone Condamine Alliance M&E coordinator Lucy Larkin on 4620 0115.
Government updates
Turnbull appointed Environment and Water Minister in Cabinet reshuffle
The Prime Minister has appointed his parliamentary secretary for water as Minister for Environment and Water Resources.
The changes announced this week by the Prime Minister affect the natural resources portfolios.
Former Environment and Heritage Minister Senator Ian Campbell will become Minister for Human Services.
Two of the government's 12 parliamentary secretaries will also be appointed Assistant Ministers in recognition of their responsibilities and seniority.
John Cobb, the former Minister for Community Services, has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary and Assistant Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.
Greg Hunt, the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Environment Minister, will become Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The Department of Environment and Heritage will be renamed the Department of Environment and Water Resources.
Read the Prime Minister's statement
Labor promises single water agency
Federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd has announced a future Labor Government would establish a single agency to administer Commonwealth water programs.
Natural resource news
Hopes rain signals end to El Nino
Last weekend's heavy rainfall might have signalled the beginning of the end of the current El Nino period, the ABC has reported.
The Pacific Ocean climate phenomenon causes lower than average rainfall in eastern Australia.
Climate researcher Neville Nicholl from Monash University's School of Geography and Environmental Science and said there were some indications that the rainfall may indicate a shift away from El Nino.
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
As I have been travelling throughout the country,it is clear to me that Australians are deeply concerned about climate change and want to know what they can do to help.
Former "Next President of the United States", Al Gore
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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