| Home | Help | Contact |
Search:

Regional natural resource management

The Bugle - 22 February 2008

In news this week

Regional NRM group stories Government updates Natural resources news

Regional NRM group stories
Healthy Waterways Awards has new category

South East Queensland annual Healthy Waterways Awards are now open for entries. 

This year, a new category has been introduced, rewarding best practice in Water Sensitive Urban Design. The eight awards categories include:

A total of $22 000 in prize money is available, with the winners each receiving a cheque for $1500 and a Healthy Waterways trophy. The overall winner will be awarded a $10 000 Minister's Grand Prize.

The Awards are open to individuals, schools, community groups, students, primary producers, Government agencies, industry, planners, design teams and many more.

To enter download an entry form from the Healthy Waterways Awards website or contact Andrew Musgrave on 3403 9427.

The Healthy Waterways Awards are open to projects conducted in South East Queensland.

Applicants have until 7 April to submit their entries. Winners will be announced on 21 May 2008.

Top

Hymenachne weeded out

Fitzroy Basins' land managers along Hedlow Creek have shown working together can keep Hymenachne under control.

Fitzroy River and Coastal Catchments (FRCC) field officer Murray Bullock said, "FRCC, together with the Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA), helped a group of neighbouring property owners bordering Hedlow Creek to get funding.

"This enabled herbicide to be purchased and Rockhampton City Council offered great support through the availability of their quickspray unit, meaning land managers could spray the weed in a coordinated and targeted way to achieve maximum impact," he said.

"It's really given land managers in the area an opportunity to get on top of the Hymenachne weed problem," said Mr Bullock.

Annika Barrett, who helps run the 5500-acre Henderson Park with father David, said they were dealing with a 4km stretch of creek affected by the weed.

"Hedlow Creek is a major source of domestic and stock water and it's important to keep the waterway healthy to ensure we have a good quality water supply," Annika Barrett said.

For more information about this project contact the FRCC.

Top

Funding for land managers to protect bush

Burnett Mary Regional Group's chief executive officer David Brown has announced over $44 000 in funds to support the Nature Assist program.

"These funds will help five landowners (in the Burnett-Mary region) to protect and manage the natural values of their land," he said.

"I congratulate them for establishing nature refuges on their land, it makes a great contribution to preserving biodiversity," said Mr Brown.

Mr Brown said that the Burnett Mary Regional Group wanted to see more land protected through the Queensland Government's nature refuge program.

"Each nature refuge involves a perpetual agreement with the Government, which means that even if the land is sold or passed on to children, it remains protected forever," said Mr Brown.

The funding will be provided to:

For more information visit the Burnett Mary Regional Group website or EPA Nature Assist website.

Top

Murgon farming in the future seminar

The South East Burnett Landcare Group is bringing together a number of experts from various fields for a seminar to discuss a range of topics including:

A feature of the seminar will be a round table forum where panel members will discuss questions from the audience. 

To supplement the presentations organisations including DPI&F, BIEDO, AgForce, Meat and Livestock Australia and the Burnett Catchment Care Association will have display stands.

This seminar, which is being funded by the Burnett Mary Regional Group, will be held at The Pulse recreational centre in Murgon on the 19 March.

Registration is essential, and those wishing to attend should call Marg McGrigor on 4168 6108, or Penny Kennedy on 4168 6179.

Top

Traditional Owners meet in Longreach

Desert Channels Queensland's (DCQ) Aboriginal Advisory Panel (AAP), which comprises Traditional Owners (TO) and other Indigenous representatives from the DCQ region, held one of its regular meetings in Longreach this week.

"I am expecting that this meeting will have the largest TO representation to date, provided we don't get people held up by such things as flooded rivers," says Jeff Poole, Project Coordinator with DCQ. 

"Being such a large region, we face a huge challenge of getting everyone together. Many of our Traditional Owners no longer live on country and are having to travel from as far away as Cairns and Brisbane."

The Aboriginal Advisory Panel is an initiative of DCQ and provides a voice for the Indigenous people of the region in mainstream natural resource management. As well as providing input to DCQ’s programs, the AAP puts forward their own project ideas for caring for their country.

For more information please contact Jeff Poole on 4652 7813.

Government updates
Southern Murray-Darling Basin benefits from Queensland's good water management

Minister for Natural Resources and Water Craig Wallace said almost four Sydney Harbours of water, over 2100 billion litres, have flowed over the Queensland border into the southern Murray-Darling Basin since late last year.

During recent rain events, gauging stations on or near the Queensland/NSW border confirmed nearly 2100 billion litres had passed the border through the state's river systems.

This includes 974 billion litres in the Warrego river system, 21 billion litres in the Nebine/Mungallala system, 160 billion litres in the Lower Balonne, 35 billion litres in the Moonie and 960 billion litres in the Paroo.

In a win for the environment, over 40 billion litres mostly from Queensland's Lower Balonne River system has flowed into NSW's world-listed Narran Lakes wetlands, which have had no water for more than three years.

Minister Craig Wallace has congratulated Queensland irrigators who have been vigilant in ensuring that everyone is doing the right thing and delivering vital water for environmental uses.

"Current flows into NSW show Queensland is more than fair in its use of Murray-Darling Basin water when water is available," he said.

Although 25 percent of the total area of the Murray-Darling Basin is in Queensland, Queensland last year took only 2.6 percent of water extractions from the basin. In contrast, NSW took 43.3 percent and Victoria took over 41.6 percent.

For more information visit the NRW website.

Top

Fishers voice their strong views on new fishing rules

Thousands of commercial and recreational fishers have voiced their opinions on new rules proposed for Queensland's largest and most diverse fishery the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery stretching from Cape York to the Queensland-New South Wales border.

There have been very high attendance levels at the public meetings where the proposed rules, which were released for public consultation in December, have been discussed at length. Meetings will continue throughout the state for another four weeks.

More than 400 response forms have already been received by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) with some people being very vocal about certain proposals, including size and bag limits and netting in dugong protection areas which are all being proposed to ensure this fishery remains sustainable and profitable.

Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said, "These responses will be critical when reviewing the feedback on the proposal."

"Stakeholders also need to keep in mind that the goal is to develop rules which are fair and equitable to those using this resource, as well as ensuring the fishery is protected and sustainable for future generations to enjoy," he said.

The proposals were developed following extensive preliminary consultation conducted throughout the state in late 2006.

A summary of the proposed management changes is available on the DPI&F website and more information on the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery public consultation meetings can be obtained from this website or by calling 13 25 23.

New production systems for intensive farming in Lockyer and Fassifern valleys

Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) Tim Mulherin has announced a Property Management Systems Initiative (PMSI) project to improve profitability and sustainability in the intensive farming systems of the Lockyer and Fassifern valleys.

The project will be supported by the strong partnerships developed between SEQ Catchments, Lockyer Water Users Forum, Gatton Shire and the University of Queensland.

The successful project was proposed by the Lockyer Valley Alliance to develop more efficient water and nutrient management practices in intensive farming systems. It is seeking to support farmers in adopting continuous improvement in property management systems, and achieve a 30 percent increase in the uptake of water, soil and nutrient best management in priority sub-catchments.

To ensure cropping and the waterways remain sustainable, this new project will focus on areas of intensive production that have a higher than average risk of adding nutrients and sediments into the waterways and Moreton Bay.

An extension officer, based at the DPI&F Gatton Research Station, will help roll out the three-year project. The officer will working with growers, industry groups, the local council and regional NRM groups to identify gaps in current systems and monitor the economic and environmental impact of new management practices.

The project will draw on existing systems such as the Growcom and Queensland Farmers' Federation Farm Management System and is the ninth PMSI project approved so far for Queensland primary industries, with a total of 10 officers allocated to support the roll out of these projects.

For more information on PMSI projects visit the DPI&F website.

Top

Time's running out for rural land experts to nominate for committee

Rural land management experts interested in being a part of a government committee to advise the state government on the management and use of pastoral leasehold land have until 29 February to submit their applications.

Natural Resources and Water Minister Craig Wallace said that the role of the committee would be to provide scientific, technical and policy advice on specific issues related to the implementation of the recently released State Rural Leasehold Land Strategy, otherwise known as the Delbessie Agreement.

The Delbessie Agreement allows the standard 30-year lease to be extended to 40 or even 50 years where lessees demonstrate agreed environmental management practices and negotiate Indigenous access to the land.

Queensland's leasehold estate comprises 63 per cent of the state and is mainly used for pastoral, grazing or agricultural purposes.

It's important there is a broad representation of experts across the geographic extent of the rural leasehold estate to advise on the implementation of this strategy and there is a balance between experts from organisations, industry, gender, cultural and age groups.

"I encourage suitably qualified individuals to apply for this committee and contribute to this significant strategy," Mr Wallace said.

An information kit outlining the role of the State Rural Leasehold Land Ministerial Advisory Committee, selection criteria for membership and application details can be obtained by emailing State Land Management or by phoning 3224 8975.

Top

Weed control without hurting your hip pocket

Integrated weed management (IWM) combines herbicides with other cultural tactics for weed control, maximising the opportunity to prevent seed-set and to reduce the weed seedbank.

The method encourages land managers to use the full range of control methods available and not rely on a single 'quick fix' solution, such as herbicides alone.

Weeds CRC technical specialist Andrew Storrie said weeds can be managed without relying solely on herbicides and used sustainably, herbicides can be protected for future generations.

"Incorporating non-herbicide tactics for weed management will not only protect farmers' hip pockets, it will also protect farms from developing herbicide resistant weeds," Mr Storrie said.

And, with a growing list of weed species developing resistance to herbicides in Australia, and world glyphosate shortages seeing prices rise by up to 100 percent, that's no mean feat.

Many farmers don't adopt IWM because of the added short-term costs.

However, research and farmer experience have shown that failure to adopt IWM leads to herbicide resistance and long term costs.

Visit the Biosecurity Queensland website to learn more about IWM.

Top

Hotline for flood affected primary producers in Burdekin and Bowen

The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) has activated its local disaster response capacity in readiness to help flood-affected producers in north Queensland.

Local producers in the Burdekin and Bowen districts are being encouraged to contact the Department regarding crop and animal recovery as the flood waters recede and paddocks dry out over the next few days, producers will get a better picture of the damage. With one of the immediate priorities being animal welfare and getting feed to stock that may be stranded.

Returning stock to properties that have lost fencing may be another concern and for the latest advice regarding stock movement recording, producers should contact the DPI&F Business Information Centre.

DPI&F are mindful that issues such as continued seedling supplies, weed seed spread and integrated pest management may arise, so their experts are availalbe to assist.

DPI&F Farm Financial Counsellors can also support producers in obtaining any assistance that is available via the Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority, and other agencies.

The hotline number for the DPI&F Business Information Centre is 13 25 23 from 8am-6pm seven days a week.

Top

Australian Government will provide additional assistance to Mackay residents

The Prime Minister has announced that the Australian Government will provide additional assistance to Mackay residents seriously affected by the floods.

"Queenslanders always respond magnificently in a crisis and I'm sure this will be the case again," the Prime Minister said.

The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) will be made available to those people adversely affected by the storms and associated flooding that commenced in the Mackay region on 14 February. Those eligible will be able to receive a one off payment of $1000 for adults and $400 for each child to help relieve their hardship.

The federal government will continue to work with the Queensland Government and local community organisations to support those families through this difficult time.

The AGDRP will provide financial assistance to people whose principal place of residence has been destroyed or significantly damaged, as well as those who have been seriously injured and hospitalised for more than 48 hours as a direct result of the floods.

For information on the AGDRP call the Australian Government Flood Assistance Hotline on 180 2333 or visit your local Centrelink office.

More information on Australian Government assistance is available from the  Disaster Assist website. 

Top

Natural resources news
Pygmy crocodiles at risk from cane toad march

According to an ABC report this week cane toads are threatening to wipe out a rare pygmy crocodile found in only two places in the Northern Territory.

Crocodile specialist Adam Britton said the tiny reptiles, which grow up to 1.5m in length and fronted the first wave of the toads a few years ago, may already be extinct in Arnhem Land.

About 10 dead freshwater crocodiles have been found at a remote billabong near the Western Australian border, only 20km from the body of water which is home to the only known remaining group of this rare pygmy crocodile.

"An autopsy found their bellies were full of cane toads," said Sandy Boulter, from a toad busting organisation attempting to halt the spread of the feral pests.

"This fate awaits the rare Bullo River Station pygmy crocodile. It doesn't matter the size of the animal, the toxin of the cane toad will kill all of our Australian fauna," she said.

"This is the only population that we know of at the moment that hasn't been affected by cane toads," Adam Britton said, referring to the Bullo Station population.

Top

New botanists bloom in Canberra

Eleven students from around Australia will graduate from the Student's Volunteer Botanical Internship Program, run by the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research in Canberra.

During the seven week program students had the opportunity to learn practical scientific skills vital to pursuing a career in botany and related fields.

Internship coordinator Bronwyn Collins said, "Students work closely with botanical researchers and conservation managers, taking an active part in research projects, herbarium collection management and attending lectures and field trips."

More than 230 students have completed the program since it started in 1993. Past students have gone on to work in a number of areas, from conservation management to environmental policy writing.

The Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research is a joint venture between CSIRO Plant Industry and the Australian National Botanic Gardens' (ANBG).

More information is available from the CSIRO's science image website.

Top

QWaLC announces 2009 Queensland Landcare Conference

Queensland Water and Land Carers (QWaLC) has announced the hosts of the 2009 Queensland Landcare Conference will be a partnership of the Landcare groups of western Queensland and Desert Channels Queensland, including:

Cameron O'Neil of Desert Channels Queensland spearheaded the 2009 conference bid to host the event at Longreach. 

Mr O'Neil said "Partnerships are extremely important to the success of natural resource management in Western Queensland. This is why we have banded together to bring the conference to the heart of Queensland."

The conference theme will be 'Larrikins, Legends and Landcare'.

Hosts of the popular conference are determined through a bidding process coordinated by QWaLC, the peak body for NRM volunteers. Hosts are also provided with approximately $40 000 as a funding float to ensure all groups have the resources to host the conference.

The 2008 Queensland Landcare Conference is hosted by North Burnett Landcare Group and will be held in Monto from 21-24 September.

For more information visit the QWaLC website.

Top

AgForward workshop update

The AgForward team present a range of workshops to landholders, including, GPS Essentials, Computer Mapping, Vegetation Management and AgForest's Native forest field days. Between March and June this year AgForward will conduct around 107 workshops throughout Queensland! Upcoming workshops include:

More information on these workshops can be found on the AgForward website (under 'Workshops').

Top

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!

Here's a sample of what's on offer:

Regional body: Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ)

Title: Industry liaison officer

Tenure: 12 months

Salary range: $55 000 to $65 000

Location: Longreach

This position will work closely with the DCQ community, actively promote a range of services available to producers from agencies, private consultants, bankers and financial institutions, facilitate community meetings, workshops and information sessions for the DCQ community, and respond effectively to current and emerging community issues.

For a full position description and selection criteria contact Brittany Wakefield on 4658 0600.

Closing date: COB Monday 17 March

Top

Thought for the week

Creative work will increasingly involve people working in teams which combine members with different skills and backgrounds. These teams are more effective when people can trust fellow team members to play their part. In low-trust organisations, people will tend to hoard knowledge and only share ideas formally through memos and when requested. In high-trust organisations, people are more likely to bestow their knowledge on one another and develop joint understandings of problems and their solutions. Trust and co-operation will be vital to the work cultures of the future.

"Living On Thin Air" - Charles Leadbeater (1999)

 

Top

***

We welcome your contributions and feedback. If you have any comments or suggestions for The Bugle please contact Carl Glen, Shona Strachan or Aleisha Domrow.

View past issues of The Bugle.

Queensland Government logo

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 22 January 2009

| Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy | Feedback.

© The State of Queensland 2007.

| Queensland Government Gateway |