This update represents just a handful among the hundreds of NRM projects happening across Australia, which are made possible through funding from the Australian Government and respective State governments.

Reducing whale entanglements - OceanWatch Australia, Australia-wide

Since 2019 OceanWatch Australia has partnered with the NSW Ocean Trap & Line (OTL) fishers to understand whale / fishery interactions to reduce whale entanglement in fishing gear through the East Coast Whale Entanglement Mitigation Program. In 2022 the program was extended beyond NSW to include Queensland crab and offshore net fishers and Tasmanian southern rock lobster fisheries to better assess interactions with whales along Australia’s east coast.

The program has explored gear modifications to reduce the amount of slack rope in the water column to prevent entanglement, and to reduce lost/ghost gear from shipping cut-offs. Fishers are testing the gear in different conditions, depths, habitats and gear configurations, and the systems are now able to be used both in-shore and off-shore.

Read the OceanWatch News and more about the Program here.

Reviving Korrawinga: Restoring Great Sandy Strait’s ecological and cultural heritage – Burnett Mary Regional Group, Queensland

The Burnett Mary Regional Group is collaborating with the Butchulla Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC) to deliver the Healing Korrawinga project aimed at restoring both the ecological and cultural integrity of ten priority islands within the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Site.

The project will focus on addressing degradation caused by invasive pest and weed species, which threaten critical habitats for endangered and vulnerable shorebirds, migratory birds, wetland birds, and waterbirds, and implementing cultural burning techniques. The collection of cultural heritage is included in the project to support the Butchulla people’s connection to their land.

Read more here.

Results of feral cat trapping blitz are in – Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Kangaroo Island Landscape Board (KILB) has delivered the most intensive winter feral cat trapping and monitoring program since the eradication program commenced in 2020. Working with landholders and community members across the Dudley Peninsula and Pelican Lagoon from December 2023 through September 2024, KILB removed 347 feral cats using a combination of cage, soft-jawed leg holds, and thermal shooting.

KILB Feral Cat Eradication Program Leader Paul Jennings credited the program success to both community participation and sophisticated technology, including thermal optics, scopes, and drones, which have been used with very high success rates in locating and removing difficult-to-trap cats.

“Using information gathered from our extensive network of 4G cameras and community cat sightings, we know where to direct our attention” he said.

Read more here.

2024 PROGRAZE™ wrap up – Central West Local Land Services, New South Wales

Central West LLS has completed the final sessions of their 2024 PROGRAZE™ program with groups in Coolah and the Mid-Macquarie region. Twenty farm businesses and forty individuals received the training across the two groups.

Delivered by LLS since 1994, the PROGRAZE™ course was developed by NSW Department of Primary Industries to support graziers to develop skills in pasture and animal assessment that can improve the productivity and sustainability of grazing systems. These include pasture and animal assessment skills, and tactical decision making to manipulate pasture composition, control weeds and meet livestock production targets to improve productivity and sustainability.

Read the newsletter and more about Prograze Program.

Moreton Bay ecosystems impacted by construction run-off – Healthy Land & Water, Queensland

Healthy Land & Water’s (HLW) Chief Science & Sustainability Officer Dr Andrew O’Neill recently made the news when he was interviewed in an ABC segment highlighting the significant impact of runoff from Brisbane construction sites on Moreton Bay.

Through HLW’s Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) program, funded by the Queensland Government, they conduct regular audits of construction sites. The audits have uncovered that 50,000 dump trucks worth of pollutants enter their waterways each year, having a significant impact on areas like Moreton Bay and downstream marine environments.

Dr Andrew O’Neill says that full compliance with erosion and sediment control measures on construction sites is low at 15%, with many developers preferring to accept local government fines than comply with requirements. However, HLW’s data shows it's not all bad news. “Some great results are starting to be achieved with partial compliance nearly doubling. Dr O’Neil said.

Read more here and watch the ABC News episode.

The battle against weeds takes to the sky – Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (CMA), Victoria

Under the Budj Bim Connections Flagship project, Glenelg Hopkins CMA recently worked with contractors to capture data and conduct targeted weed spraying at a Tyrendarra wetland complex. Physical access to woody weeds, including Italian Buckthorn, Gorse and Cape Wattle is difficult on the steep rocky embankments on the 100ha site.

A multi-spectral drone was used to map the location of each type of weed across the site by capturing the various light spectrums of each weed. This data was converted to a prescriptive spray file, which was loaded into a DJI T40 drone for targeted chemical application.

Read more here.

Rivers to RAMSAR – NRM South, Tasmania

NRM South recently was awarded Australian Government funding for their ‘Rivers to Ramsar’ project to improve river health of key creeks that flow toward the Ramsar-listed Pitt Water-Orielton Lagoon, just out of Hobart and near the rapidly developing urban centre of Sorell.

Building on NRM South’s long-term commitment to restoring and protecting important Ramsar-listed wetlands, this three-year project delivered alongside partner organisations Landcare Tasmania and Sorell Council will work with public and private landholders to clear invasive weeds, replant riverbanks with native vegetation, limit stock and vehicle access to reduce runoff and improve water quality, and repair and restore altered drainage pathways.

Read more here.