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.

Sharing fire knowledge – South East Local Land Services (LLS), New South Wales

Building upon successful cultural burns led by the Walbunja Rangers from Batemans Bay Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) earlier this year, South East LLS recently facilitated a cultural burning practice knowledge-sharing event. Held at the Gidleigh Travelling Stock Reserve, the event brought together the Batemans Bay and Ngambri LALCs; Bungendore Primary School; the Upper Murrumbidgee and Upper Shoalhaven Landcare groups; and the Rural Fire Service, to share cultural burning practices and different perspectives on fire.

Read the newsletter article or watch the video.

Calculating total grazing pressure - Rangelands NRM, Western Australia

Rangelands NRM is looking at options for Hillview Station owners Darren and Kim Cousens to adapt to drought and other climate impacts by exploring and applying new technology and practices, such as increased use of satellite imagery to better track feed availability and quality, and using drones to assess total grazing pressure.

Building on learnings from a similar drone survey in 2022, Rangelands NRM recently visited Hillview Station, southeast of Meekatharra, to conduct drone transect surveys to detect kangaroos and wallabies. The survey demonstrated the effectiveness of remotely piloted aircraft in collecting accurate and comprehensive data and provided a preliminary evaluation of grazing pressures exerted by macropods at select locations on Hillview Station.

The work aims to equip pastoralists with the tools to assess the numbers of non-domestic herbivores more easily, and to inform understanding of the impact of macropods on the local ecology

Read more here.

Bio-cultural Landscape Profiles launched – Torres Strait Regional Authority, Queensland

The Malu Kiai Rangers, Malu Ki’ai Corporation and Torres Strait Regional Authority’s Traditional Ecological Knowledge team recently launched the Bio-Cultural Landscape Profiles of Boigu Island - capturing traditional language and ecological knowledge for future generations.

TSRA Chairperson Napau Pedro Stephen said, “The Bio-Cultural Landscape Profiles are testament to the deep connection between the people of Boigu Island and their environment.”

“This has been a three-year long project, led by a comprehensive flora and fauna survey which documented native wildlife and cultural elements such as star constellations, moon phases, and wind directions” he said.

Read more here.

New understanding of a rare plant brings back butterfly – Green Adelaide Landscape Board, South Australia

Green Adelaide has partnered with the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre to undertake research on how to propagate the coastal saw-sedge plant. The coastal saw-sedge is vital to the survival of the golden-haired sedge-skipper butterfly, which is considered extinct in the Adelaide area. The plant not only provides food and shelter to the caterpillar, but the pupae (cocoon stage) is also formed with leaves of coastal saw-sedge wrapped together with silk.

The coastal saw-sedge also attracts a range of other native butterfly species and provides good habitat for lizards and birds.

Read more here.

eDNA tracks platypus populations – Melbourne Water, Victoria

As part of a three-decade-long monitoring program, Melbourne Water recently completed comprehensive platypus mapping using eDNA testing in combination with traditional 'capture and release’ methods. Sampling was undertaken at 1,800 locations across Melbourne’s creeks and waterways between 2021 and 2023 with platypuses found in dozens of creeks and rivers throughout Greater Melbourne.

Climate change, contaminants and litter from increasing urbanisation are impacting the platypus. Melbourne Water’s platypus monitoring program is part of the Healthy Waterways Strategy 2018-2028.

“Tackling the complex issues that threaten platypus requires collaborative efforts, including all levels of government, waterway managers, urban planners, scientists, Traditional Owners and the community,” said Dr Rhys Coleman, Manager of Waterways & Wetlands Research, Melbourne Water.

Read more here.

Buoyant results from volunteer fish float count – Northern Agricultural Catchment Council NRM, Western Australia

Funded by the Keep Australia Beautiful Council, Northern Agricultural Catchment Council (NACC NRM) has harnessed the community to monitor and document fishing related litter that washes up along the Northern Agricultural Region’s coastlines as part of their Fishing Float Survey project.

They aim to identify the proportions of lost and discarded items from different fisheries plus analyse old and new items to assess the rate of recent losses or disposals.

As part of the project NACC are partnering with other groups like the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), Tangaroa Blue, the Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation Ltd Sea Rangers and Central Regional TAFE to run clean up events and gather data. NACC’s Coastal and Marine team were very heartened by the high numbers of volunteers and clean-up events.

Read more here.

Improving Midlands biodiversity – NRM North, Tasmania

The Midlands region of central Tasmania has been identified as one of 20 Priority Places in the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032.  However, the area’s high biodiversity values and conservation significance is threatened, including by inappropriate fire regimes, invasive weeds, and habitat clearing, fragmentation and degradation. A new project for NRM North aims to restore and enhance the biodiversity of the Midlands region by addressing key threats, promoting sustainable land management, and engaging the community in conservation efforts.

Funded under the Australian government’s Natural Heritage Trust and the Saving Native Species Program, NRM North will work with a range of partners, including leading conservation groups and property owners to protect threatened ecological communities in the Midlands, including native grasslands and woodlands. There is particular emphasis on threatened flora in the project, including efforts to survey priority habitat for the presence of a number of critically endangered orchid species.

Read more here.