This update represents just a handful of NRM projects among hundreds across Australia, which are made possible through funding from the Australian Government, state governments and others.
Nganngi Kanyini – listening out for a new species of frog
South Australia – Alinytjara Wilurara Landscapes Board
Funded by a Grassroots Grant from the Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board, Anangu rangers from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the far north-west of South Australia are leading a project to learn more about a tiny and elusive amphibian using a combination of new technology and traditional knowledge.
Possibly Australia’s newest frog species – so new it has not yet been formally named – is a toadlet from the genus Pseudophryne. “This frog has only been located in this one spring, in an area about one metre by one metre,” says APY Ranger Coordinator Kieran Jairath.
The Anangu rangers will deploy audio monitoring devices called audiomoths, with the APY Team recruiting Dr Kyle Armstrong, from the University of Adelaide, to refine the machine learning software and hardware to analyse the recordings and identify the specific call of the new frog providing real-time monitoring and tracking of frog activity.
Critical to the project is the involvement of the local community. While the Anangu rangers are monitoring the spring and managing the audio recording, multiple generations of Anangu are embracing the project with school students incorporating it into their science curriculum and Elders imparting their cultural and traditional ecological knowledge.
Dampier Peninsula 2023 Burns on the Mark
Western Australia - Rangelands NRM
The Dampier Peninsula Fire Working Group closed out their final meeting of 2023 reporting that they had successfully burned 35% of the peninsula in 2023. Coordinated by Rangelands NRM, the Dampier Peninsula Fire Working is a multi-stakeholder collaborative comprised of Traditional Owners, Indigenous Ranger groups, pastoralists, non-government organisations, and various state and municipal government agencies that works on fire management on the Peninsula. The Group strategically applies fire using traditional Indigenous methods of mosaic burning supported by modern fire science to minimise the extent of large wildfires and to protect Country, assets, bush-tucker, and wildlife habitat.
Read more here: Dampier Peninsula Fire Working Group Meeting - Facebook
Record coral spawn collection event in Whitsundays
Queensland - Reef Catchments
Reef Catchments is supporting resilience in the Great Barrier Reef through their leadership in the Whitsunday Reef Island Initiative. The Initiative is establishing a network of climate change refuges to protect critical habitats on Great Barrier Reef islands that are significant sanctuaries for the Reef’s diverse marine life. The Initiative also works to assist the reef to recover from recurring major impacts, like coral bleaching and cyclones.
A project within the Initiative involves collecting coral spawn and then releasing it five days later as larvae into key areas for rehabilitation. The project began in 2021, and the number of coral spawn collected each year has doubled since then. This year 338 million coral spawn/eggs were collected, and 260 million coral larvae released. The Initiative selects sites, in consultation with its stakeholders, that need support for coral recovery, with this year’s larvae being released onto Ngaro Country in Maureens Cove and Hook Island.
View the project’s Facebook Reel: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1066014611260881
Hooded Plovers protected on island oasis
Tasmania – Cradle Coast NRM
Three Hummock Island is the focus of efforts to create a stronghold for nesting Hooded Plovers; a priority threatened species. The project focuses on key threats including - feral cat predation, spread of invasive weeds into nesting areas, and the risk of ingestion and entanglement in marine debris.
Tasmania’s Cradle Coast NRM reported the Australian government's ongoing support for the continuation of the feral cat control part of the project, under their ‘Supporting Communities to Manage Pest Animals and Weeds Project’, noting “That’s good because there aren’t many cats left …and we would like to take out the last few.”
For the whole story see pg 13 of their recent newsletter: Cradle to Coast Newsletter
Find out more information here.
1000 kilometres of waterways connect as fish superhighway opens
Victoria – North Central Catchment Management Authority.
The Taylors Creek Fishway just north of Ghow (Kow) Swamp in northern Victoria has officially opened, connecting 1000 kilometres of waterways for large bodied native fish in the Murray River, Little Murray and Lower Loddon rivers, Pyramid, Taylors, and Gunbower creeks, and Ghow Swamp systems.
North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) Major Projects Manager Tim Shanahan said fish migration was important ecologically, culturally, and economically for the region.
“Increasing native fish populations increases recreational fishing and ecotourism opportunities. Recreation fishing contributes more than $300 million a year to the wider regional economy.”
Mr Shanahan said the fishway construction couldn’t have happened without the close partnership between the NCCMA, Goulburn-Murray Water, the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, and the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation.
Read more here.
Riparian Revival
New South Wales – North Coast Local Land Services
North Coast Local Land Services is collaborating on a riparian vegetation improvement project which brings together landholders, state and local government agencies, Landcare groups and ecological restoration professionals. The project aims to reinstate ecological balance in riparian areas, help reduce pollutants entering waterways and increase bank stability during flooding events.
Genevieve Maley, Land Services Officer with North Coast Local Land Services, said “We have worked with macadamia growers and graziers to rehabilitate the riparian areas on their properties since 2019: increasing biodiversity, creating healthy wildlife corridors and rehabilitating the Big Scrub Rainforest.”
“This year, the project is set to enhance riverbank vegetation along more than 5.5 km of creek line along the Wilsons River, Skinners Creek and Maguires Creek.” Genevieve explained.
Read the full story here.