RCS

Free soil health workshops in January

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Land managers will have the opportunity to participate in workshops to improve soil health this January under the guidance of soils expert Professor Ross Coventry from JCU.

Reef Catchments will partner with Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association, Pioneer Catchment and Landcare Group, and Whitsunday Catchment Landcare to offer two full-day soil health workshops with Professor Coventry.

The workshops will be an opportunity for local farmers from all industry sectors to learn more about farm management practices that will improve soil health, including advice on increasing soil carbon levels.

The FREE workshops will be held at Wests Leagues Club in Walkerston on 17 January the Proserpine RSL on 18 January.

Registrations to attend the Walkerston workshop on 17 January should be forwarded to Claire Bartron on 4944 1979 or Claire.bartron@reefcatchments.com.

To register your attendance at the Proserpine workshop on 18 January phone Christine Peterson on 4945 1017 or Christine.Peterson@whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au.

Reef Rescue grazing update

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The Reef Rescue Grazing team has worked tirelessly to make the final year of Reef Rescue Grazing the best yet. Graziers from Clare View to Bowen have been keen to take advantage of the available funding for on-farm projects to help improve water quality leaving the farm.

In 2012 alone 91 graziers joined the program, constructing a little over 160 km of riparian and land-type fences and 130 off-stream watering points to help manage the cattle’s access to the creek and river systems around their farms.

Up to 50 per cent of the total cost of pasture and stock monitoring, stream protection works, off-stream watering points, land-type fencing and projects aimed at reducing soil erosion have been funded through the Reef Rescue program, with many graziers coming back to complete or add to existing projects

If you know anyone that would like to get involved in the Reef Rescue Grazing program please contact Scott Underdown on 0437 344 851 or drop into the Reef Catchments office at 172 Victoria Street, Mackay to lodge your expression of interest.

Reef Rescue stock watering point
One of 130 off-stream watering points funded through Reef Rescue during 2012.
Reef Rescue fencing
The Reef Rescue program helps fund fencing projects to assist in managing stock access to creeks and river systems.

Reef Rescue counts big wins

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We are now in the final 6 months of Reef Rescue and it’s a good time to reflect on the great outcomes and look ahead to the potential opportunities to continue the great work into the future.

For more than four years regional NRM organisations* have worked closely with agricultural producers and industry bodies to implement projects that improve water quality leaving farmland and flowing out into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon. Reef Rescue projects are funded through the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program.

The initial target set for engagement across the Great Barrier Reef catchments was 650 graziers representing 3.8 million hectares and 1300 producers in the sugarcane, dairy, grains, cotton and horticulture industries. After only the first four years of the program these number were reached and far exceeded, with 900 graziers covering 6 million hectares and 2213 other producers engaged. These numbers will increase once we include the fifth and largest year.

Demand for the program continues to grow, highlighting the agricultural community’s willingness to invest in improved land management to support the Reef, as well as the appropriateness of the program.

In the Mackay Whitsunday region the Reef Rescue program has been immensely successful at engaging landholders and fostering change in their land management practices. At the end of the fifth year nearly 60 per cent of local sugar producing enterprises will have participated in the program and 100 per cent of the land under cane production will have benefited from the program through projects run by the local industry and extension bodies.

Local grazing enterprises have also been keen to get involved. In the first four years 184 projects have been undertaken constructing 314 km of fencing and 154 watering points to prevent stock from entering waterways.

Over the last four years the Reef Rescue program has injected more than $22 million to improve water quality in the Mackay Whitsunday region. This investment has been more than doubled by local landholders who have contributed at least 50 per cent, with over $50 million invested to ensure the long term health and resilience of the Reef.

With the increasing demand from landholders and the growing awareness of the importance of maintaining and improving the health of the reef there is the potential to continue to improve the water quality reaching the Great Barrier Reef through the agricultural community and programs such as Reef Rescue.

Reef Rescue counts big wins

*Reef Catchments Mackay Whitsunday Isaac, Fitzroy Basin Association, Burnett Mary Regional Group, NQ Dry Tropics, Terrain and Cape York Sustainable Futures.

Monitoring the breeding patterns of low-flow spawning fish in Cattle Creek

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Reef Catchments’ Land and Water Coordinator for Healthy Waterways, Melanie McSwiney, is undertaking an Honours research project through CQUniversity that is investigating species composition and abundance patterns of low-flow spawning fish larvae in upper Cattle Creek.

Why do this Research?

The research will collect accurate data that may be used to enhance water quality management strategies. In particular it will improve our understanding of the requirements of ecological assets critically linked to water flow.

Project Aims

The project will seek to:

  • confirm which low-flow spawning fish species are present in upper Cattle Creek
  • improve understanding and certainty of critical water requirements and spawning periods of low-flow spawning fish , and
  • produce data that can be used in models to assess potential risks to the guild.

Melanie said the project is a great opportunity to incorporate her university research work with her Reef Catchments work.

“I really love being able to incorporate my research with my work at Reef Catchments and feel very lucky to have the support of Reef Catchments in undertaking this project,” she said.

“Being part of CQUniversity’s Centre for Environmental Management also allows me to access a fantastic level of support, both financially through the provision of necessary equipment and consumables, and through the invaluable direction of my supervisors, Dr Judith Wake and Dr Leo Duivenvoorden.

“The Department of Natural Resources and Mines Water Services Natural Resource Operations Group—Central Region is also providing support for the project, allowing me use of their larval fish traps and providing expert advice and assistance, for example with species identification.”

Melanie McSwiney from Reef Catchments
Melanie with a larval fish trap, Cattle Creek, Pioneer Valley.

 

Healthy Waterways team expands to Proserpine office

The Healthy Waterways team is now represented locally in the Whitsundays region, with Melanie moving to Prossy to take up residence in the new Reef Catchments office at 45 Main Street, Proserpine.

Mel says she is keen to become familiar with the region, particularly local waterways, and encourages locals to get in contact with her on 0407 171 046 or melanie.mcswiney@reefcatchments.com.

Keeping Watch on the Engineered Log Jam Demonstration Reach

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The engineered log jams recently constructed on the O’Connell River to stabilise a 200m stretch of failing streambank will be closely monitored over the coming wet season to watch the way the structures change the behaviour of water in the river.

Reef Catchments has installed time-lapse cameras at the site, which will provide a complete record of what happens on the reach as the river changes throughout the wet season.

Kerri Woodcock from Reef Catchments
Reef Catchments’ Kerri Woodcock assists with installing the time-lapse cameras in a tree at the streambank stabilisation demonstration reach.

Capping off a year of Coastal Community Activities

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The final Coastal Community Activities of 2012 were held on Saturday 1 December at Bucasia and Haliday Bay.  Over 30 dedicated volunteers celebrated the first day of summer at the event, coordinated by Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council.

Volunteers planted over 600 trees to improve the condition of coastal dunes at Bucasia Beach and Haliday Bay. Following the Activities, volunteers gathered for free BBQs and were treated to free plants, Coastcare hats and T-shirts, and reusable cups to thank them for their support and contribution to the Coasts and Communities program throughout 2012.

Coastal Community Activities have been widely supported by local residents throughout the year, with 96 volunteers contributing over 400 hours of time looking after our local beaches.

The events on 1 December also launched Coastcare week, which ran from 1 to 8 December. Coastcare is an Australia-wide community of volunteers who care for their coast.  A major element of the Coasts and Communities program is to work with coastal communities to identify local environmental problems and achieve practical solutions.

The work of Coastcare volunteers complements the full suite of on-ground activities that are occurring across Mackay Regional Council’s 23 coastal residential communities, from Midge Point in the north to Armstrong Beach in the south.

On-ground achievements of the Coasts and Communities program include:

  • 3,343 native species planted to improve the condition of coastal dunes to stabilise our coastal dune system and provide habitat for native animals
  • 180 hectares of coastal environments cleared of invasive weeds to promote native rehabilitation across an area the size of 265 football fields
  • 27 truckloads of rubbish and marine debris removed from our beaches and coastal reserves to prevent rubbish from smothering native vegetation or ending up in our waterways and oceans
  • 1,658 metres of coastal fencing installed to protect and define dune rehabilitation areas and define pedestrian access tracks to protect nationally threatened beach scrub habitats
  • 144 beach access tracks maintained to ensure public access to the beach for all.

To volunteer at Coastcare events in 2013, subscribe to our email updates to find out what projects are happening on our coast by emailing kerri.woodcock@reefcatchments.com or call 4968 4207. Coastcare events will begin again in February 2013.

Coasts and Communities is a joint initiative of Mackay Regional Council and Reef Catchments with support from Mackay Regional Council’s Natural Environment Levy and the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country initiative.

2012 year in review

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As another busy year draws to a close, it’s timely to look back on all that we’ve achieved, both as an organisation and as a community.

Here we review our achievements during each month of 2012, from hosting the Island Symposium in Canberra in January to the final 2012 meeting of the Healthy Waterways Panel in December.

January

  • 7–9—Developed and coordinated by Reef Catchments, the second Island Symposium, which was held in Canberra, attracted 120–150 delegates, some of whom are national and global leaders in conservation planning for islands. Over two days, delegates heard about key works and deliverables and also developed key future aspirations and policies as they relate to the management of Australia’s island systems.
  • 12—Reef Catchments commenced the development of a new project and account management system.

February

  • 27–29—Reef Catchments and partners ran the second annual Project Catalyst Forum in Townsville. Project Catalyst combines the skills and passion of three NRM regional bodies, WWF, Coca Cola and 75 innovative sugarcane farmers and their families. The program seeks to identify and validate innovation in sugarcane farming practices via a program that supports farmers via the provision of grants incentives, extension and validation services in terms of production impacts and economic and water quality assessments. Outputs from the program are then communicated to the wider sugar production audience.
  • 29—Reef Catchments launched its new-look website and also commenced the use of social media platforms for enhanced communication and engagement with collaborators, stakeholders, members and the general community.

March

  • 19—Reef Catchments presented its Ngaro co-management program at the annual National Land and Sea Indigenous Protected Areas Workshop. The program offers coordination and management supervision to the Ngaro people for coastal land focus areas in our region.
  • 24—State election was held and we all went to polls—the change in government kicked off a range of department changes and policy redirections that required Reef Catchments to effectively engage and support local members and ministers and work with new agency staff.

April

  • 2–4—Federal and State government teams visited the region to inspect project delivery actions as they occur on the ground. The visit allowed Reef Catchments to showcase some of its major project initiatives and offer commentary towards program improvements.
  • 16–19—National NRM conference was held in Adelaide—representatives from all forms of government, along with staff from the 56 regional NRM bodies in Australia, came together to hear about key program actions and to debate and discuss delivery arrangements and policy actions aligned to natural resource management in Australia.
  • 28—Local government elections were held—the results saw significant changes to local government mayors and councilors, resulting in Reef Catchments commencing a new set of engagement and awareness meetings with respective local governments in our region.

May

  • 5—Reef Catchments participated in the Australian Small Islands Forum. Located on Lord Howe Island, the forum provided an opportunity for Reef Catchments to table the Island Arks Symposium platform and to update delegates on regional actions being undertaken to conserve and rehabilitate key islands in our region.
  • 15—Inaugural meeting of the Reef Catchments Partnerships Committee. This committee is responsible for providing feedback to the Reef Catchments board on improved NRM operations as viewed by the regional community.
  • 20—Reef Catchments hosted a ‘back on country’ field trip for the Ngaro Elders. The field trip allowed Reef Catchments to work with the traditional owners and discuss key opportunities for future programs.
  • 25—Reef Catchments coordinated the operational agreement between the Ngaro people and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) for co-land management in focus areas in the region.
  • 30—Reef Catchments successfully prepared a broadscale wild-fire risk assessment for road corridors in Central Queensland for the Department of  Transport and Main Roads.
  • 31—Reef Catchments board meeting, which commenced the following key actions:
    • Approval of the 2012/13 year budget
    • Sign off on the commencement of investigation to establish a key operational centre in the Whitsundays
    • Support for the funding and delivery of a new NRM Regional Plan, which is to be a key activity over the next two years and will include a state of the environment report, NRM plan, investment strategy and communication/engagement program
    • Support for the evaluation of Reef Catchments looking towards the purchase of a new building complex that would take effect in early 2013.

June

  • 1—Inaugural Reef Rescue Grazing Forum—over 100 delegates (partners and interested graziers) attended the forum to hear about sustainable grazing practices and operations being undertaken in the region.
  • 6–7—Review of Project Catalyst operations. Partners met in Brisbane to undertake a detailed review of Project Catalyst operations and plan for the future growth of the initiative.
  • 13—Healthy Waterways  Symposium and Awards—collaborators, investors and those interested in regional water management issues came together at CQU for two days to hear about key project actions seeking to improve the health of our regional waterways, culminating in a formal dinner and awards night where local efforts to care for our waterways were awarded.
  • 15—Commenced service delivery for Carpentaria Land Council to develop local fire management guidelines and fauna survey training. The contract with Carpentaria Land council marked the first commercial fire service project undertaken by Reef Catchments Solutions.
  • 21—Reef Catchments commenced discussion with 25 other regional NRM bodies throughout Australia to investigate the development of a commercial carbon trading entity. Subsequent discussions and planning resulted in Reef Catchments determination that due to other priorities it is not able to offer the level of financial support required, but remains interested in working with others to further opportunities aligned to carbon aggregation servicing.

July

  • 12—Mackay Regional Council hosted its inaugural Eco Mackay Open Day. The day was resounding success with Reef Catchments, along with other exhibitors, overwhelmed with the level of community interest.
  • 16—Discussion with Industry Groups about opportunities aligned to Best Management Practice (BMP) and its linkage with a Reef Rescue 2 program.
  • 19—CQU held its annual University Open Day. Reef Catchments took on an exhibition booth to showcase to current and future students the opportunities that exist in the field of natural resource management.

August

  • 28–29—Annual Reef Rescue forum held in Brisbane. The forum brought together NRM, industry, government and NGOs providing regional, industry and government updates on the key deliverables achieved during the past year. This year’s forum included an opportunity for all collaborators to offer insight towards what a Reef Rescue 2 program might look like and what additional operations would be of value.

September

  • 20—Whitsunday Major Projects Summit. This year’s summit included a focus on the environment and ways in which the extractive mining industry could better align its operations with requirements for landscape sustainability and repair. Environment Minister Andrew Powell formally opened the summit, with Reef Catchments taking advantage of the opportunity to talk with industry leaders and collaborators and to table a set of new approaches towards better engagement between the mining industry and NRM groups.
  • 27—Reef Catchments Annual AGM. Three directors are voted into office.
  • 27–28—Completion of the region’s first logjams, in which trees and excavation works are used to create new flow paths and water hydrodynamics in streams and rivers and reduce stream bank erosion, creating habitat for key species following the wet season. The program’s purpose is to monitor the effectiveness of the logjams compared with more traditional rock bank systems. If proven successful more logjams could be established, reducing costs and creating better environmental outcomes.

October

  • 20—Reef Catchments sponsored the Sustainability Award at the Whitsundays Tourism Awards. As part of its program of increasing awareness of sustainability, Reef Catchments chose to sponsor an award that recognises the efforts of tourism operators and communities focused on deliverables aligned with a healthy environment and links to tourism in the region.
  • 29—Reef Catchments commenced its early investigations towards a new facility to house its staff in Mackay post June 2013.

November

  • 1—Inaugural meeting of the Reef Catchments Solutions board. Reef Catchments Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reef Catchments Limited and is the commercial arm of Reef Catchments. This facility allows for greater transparency of Reef Catchments’ operations and a separation of our public services role from the commercial services also now provided.
  • 10—Final release of the Mackay Regional Council Natural Environment Plan. Commissioned by Mackay Regional Council and developed by Reef Catchments, the plan incorporates the leading science and prioritisation processes, offering Council the ability to plan for current and future investment options for its environmental fund.
  • 22—National NRM CEO meeting.
  • 26–29—The CEO and Chair of Reef Catchments attended the annual Bonsucro AGM and conference. Held in London in 2012, the annual conference brings together about 70 global leaders in sugar end-of-supply-chain companies, mills, producers, intermediate supply chain users, commodity marketers, financial institutions and civil society groups. The conference and AGM allows members and interested parties to hear about key sustainability actions being undertaken in sugarcane production and processing throughout the world. At the 2012 AGM and conference Reef Catchments presented an overview of Project Catalyst and discussed future ambitions for the program.
  • 30—Celebration of the coastal careers network with a comprehensive series of beach cleanups and volunteer days over 2012. The program actively plans for and encourages local residents to become involved in the care of a particular beach area.

December

  • 12—Meeting of the Healthy Waterways Panel, whose members include key state and regional leaders who have influence over key water and waterway health management actions in the region. The panel meets regularly to hear of the progress toward improved landscape management as it relates to water and waterway health, and to provide strategic advice and direction to Reef Catchments’ Healthy Waterways program.

Keep it in the paddock

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According to local Paddock to Reef sugar cane water quality monitoring trials, cane farmers can greatly reduce herbicide loss if there is a significant gap of at least three weeks between herbicide application and substantial rainfall. The trials also found that applying herbicide before an infiltrating rainfall helps to incorporate herbicide into the soil and further reduces the risk of loss. Overhead irrigation has the same effect.

How it works

The trials show two complimentary strategies for keeping herbicides in the paddock where you need them.

1. Keep an eye on short term rainfall predictions

The wet season came early in 2010/11. Herbicides were applied and within seven days there was a runoff event. Enough rain fell to saturate the soil and flow off the property. The herbicide was still fresh on the surface of the cane trash blanket; therefore a relatively large amount was lost in this early runoff event.

The wet season data for the season showed that the majority of herbicide loss occurred within twenty days of application. In fact, within one month of herbicide application, approximately 92% of the total wet season runoff loss of the regulated herbicides had occurred although only 6% of the season’s rainfall runoff had occurred.

During this period the trials experienced heavy rains. A total of 3300 mm of rainfall was recorded between 1 September 2010 and 30 April 2011, well above the long-term average of 1468 mm. This resulted in 1751 mm of runoff.  The regulated residual herbicides applied were found in high concentrations in the first runoff event and then rapidly declined.

2. Time herbicide application to coincide with infiltrating rain or follow with overhead irrigation

Applying herbicide prior to an infiltrating rainfall event—one that does not runoff —or following herbicide application with overhead irrigation moves herbicide through the trash blanket and into the surface soil, making it less available for runoff.   This was demonstrated at the Paddock to Reef trial sites in the 2009/10 wet season when there was very little herbicide detected in the runoff collected with a much longer time between application and a runoff event and a beneficial 8 mms of rainfall seven days after application.

Herbicide application should not be taken lightly. John Agnew, MAPS Senior Productivity Officer and Paddock to Reef Agronomist, recommends that as growers prepare their cane for the new season they carefully follow recommendations on the product label and any associated regulations. These may include waiting at least two days after herbicide application on bare soil before watering in, not applying herbicides to water logged soil or delaying application if runoff-causing rainfall is predicted within 48 hours of the planned application.

About Paddock to Reef

The Paddock to Reef sugar cane water quality monitoring trials aim to show that industry-promoted best practices can improve grower’s profitability and have water quality benefits.

Paddock to Reef uses water quality monitoring and modelling tools across paddock, catchment and marine scales to measure and report on improvements in agricultural runoff entering the Great Barrier Reef catchments. In the Mackay Whitsunday region, Paddock to Reef is coordinated by Reef Catchments and conducted by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM), Mackay Area Productivity Services (MAPS) and two local sugarcane farmers.

The water quality monitoring sites are on two local farms with different soil types—loam over clay and black cracking clay—that represent 44% of soils in the Mackay Whitsunday area. Both sites are looking at the effect of row spacing (controlled traffic versus conventional), nutrient (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) and herbicide management (knockdowns and residuals) on productivity, profitability and water quality.

For more information on the Paddock to Reef trials in Mackay contact Belinda Billing at Reef Catchments on 4968 4208 or belinda.billing@rc2019.thedma.com.au.

Celebrate Coastcare week

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Mark your calendars for 1-8 December

Coastcare week recognizes the efforts of local volunteers to preserve our coast for future generations.

The week kicks off on Saturday 1 December with Coastal Community Activities and free BBQ at Bucasia Beach. Hosted by Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council, these events recognise volunteer contributions during the past twelve months.

From 8-10 am on Saturday, residents and visitors alike are invited to the final Coastal Community Activities of the year. Volunteers will be planting trees to stabilise dunes and improve the condition of the coastal environment. It’s a great opportunity for families to get outdoors. To participate, meet at beach access track, accessed via easement beside 172 Waverley Street, Bucasia.

Volunteers from across the Northern Beaches are invited to a complimentary ‘Thank You’ BBQ from 10:30am-12pm on Saturday 1 December at Seaview Park, Bucasia Esplanade. Please RSVP to Reef Catchments for catering purposes on 0448015775.
On top of the sizzling sausage, volunteers will have a chance to win prizes at the BBQ including a ‘Beach Pack’ and vouchers for Reef HQ Aquarium.

There’s more than one way to win: visit Mackay City Library to share why you love the coast on the Coastcare display in the main foyer and enter the prize draw.

Coastcare is Australia-wide community of volunteers who care for their coast. Coastcare volunteers identify local environmental problems and work together to achieve practical solutions. There are currently 2,000 Coastcare groups across the country.

Download the PDF calendar of Coastcare events.

Annual aerial feral pig shoot scheduled for December

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It’s that time of year again. While some are planning Christmas celebrations and others are hard at work on the land finishing up the crush, community groups are planning the fate of many feral pigs.

Communities in the Gregory River and Rocky Dam Creek Catchments along with Reef Catchments and Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association (SLCMA) have collaborated throughout the year to bait and trap feral pigs as part of an integrated control plan.

This December, local landholders aim to deliver a major blow to feral pig population. Feral pigs are on the move searching for water and food due to the relatively dry weather, making them good targets for those who wish to reduce their impact. The pigs cause a significant amount of damage to roots, tubers, sugarcane, riparian vegetation and grazing paddocks.

Land holders invited to participate in shoot

Land holders in the Rocky Dam Creek catchment (Koumala and the surrounding area) with the help from SLCMA and the Mackay Regional Council are planning an aerial feral pig shoot for first week of December, weather dependant.

There is still plenty of time for new landholders to get involved. The cost is approximately $395 per landholder. The fee keeps the helicopter in the air for an hour, which is relatively inexpensive when compared it the cost of the damage done by feral pigs to properties. In 2011, 23 hours were flown and 247 feral pigs were humanely controlled. This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country initiative.

Get involved

Contact Michelle Field from Reef Catchments on 4968 4209, Saskia vonFahland from Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association on 4956 1388 or Michael Tuckett from Mackay Regional Council on 0403 266 211.

1080 Baiting Program

Earlier this month, Whitsunday Catchment Landcare, Whitsunday Regional Council, the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Canegrowers Proserpine, and private grazing land managers combined feral pig 1080 baiting programs to control feral pigs across an extensive part of the Whitsunday Catchment including the Gregory River Sub-Catchment.

PIGOUT®, containing 1080 poison and 500 gram blocks of meat injected with 1080 poison, were used. Baits were distributed via helicopter over inaccessible areas by a licensed operator and distributed by vehicle in accessible areas.

Regional Ecological Monitoring Database

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As part of Reef Catchments Citizen Science Network a new database is bringing together information on ecological monitoring from a range of sources across the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.

The database will increase awareness of environmental monitoring in the region, provide a common, single point of access to information about monitoring programs and help identify where there are gaps and where future efforts may best be directed.

A broad range of environmental monitoring occurs across the region but the information on who is doing what and where is in different formats, held by different groups, which makes it difficult to get a clear picture of all activities that are being undertaken.

What is it and how is it useful?

The Citizen Science Regional Ecological Database is a central hub for information on ecological monitoring from a range of sources across the Mackay Whitsunday Issaac region.  The portal will increase awareness of environmental monitoring in the region, provide a common, single point of access to information about monitoring programs and help to identify where gaps exist and future efforts may best be directed.

The database will allow for the easy flow of information from, to and between all involved (including Government agencies, organisations, volunteers, schools and students, groups, businesses, industry, and community members). The portal is not designed to supply online access to actual monitoring data; it is simply aimed at communicating concise details and locations of Mackay Whitsunday Isaac ecological monitoring programs, allowing us to build an overall picture of ecological monitoring being undertaken in the region.

Call for contributions

As part of the project Reef Catchments is inviting other organisations and groups to contribute information on their ecological monitoring by completing this template and returning via email to Healthy Waterways project officer, Melanie McSwiney.  You can also contact Melanie by phone on 0407 171 046 to provide details of your monitoring activities or for more information.

What kind of monitoring can be included and who can contribute?

The aim is to incorporate a broad suite of environmental monitoring activities from sources ranging from government agencies, to schools, councils, businesses, industry, landowners, volunteer groups and everyone else!  Anyone conducting any kind of ecological monitoring is invited to contribute.

It is important to emphasise that the portal is not designed to supply online access to actual monitoring data; it is simply aimed at communicating concise details and locations of Mackay Whitsunday Isaac ecological monitoring programs.

Database location

The database portal will be available via the Reef Catchments website in the coming weeks and will include:

  • The group undertaking the monitoring and any partner organisations
  • Key contact and contact details
  • Monitoring location/s
  • Monitoring indicators (what is being monitored)
  • Frequency of monitoring
  • Temporal coverage (program start/end dates and if ongoing)
  • Where data is stored/reported

Land managers got lowdown on pest management

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Whitsunday land managers attended an information session on wild dog and feral pig control last week.

Regional Landcare Facilitator, Christine Peterson, said that pest animals such as wild dogs and feral pigs cause an estimated $720m impact annually state-wide. Control is a necessary and often expensive part of most agricultural enterprises.

Mr Duncan Swan, Principal Biosecurity Officer from Biosecurity Queensland, was available on the day to give a presentation and answer specific questions from land managers.

One of the key messages of the session was that control methods need to match the problem at hand. Options include trapping, shooting, baiting, fencing, and increasingly in some areas or for some stock types, using guardian animals.  Land managers often need to use more than one control method.

In terms of baiting, Mr Swan said that while the use of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) and strychnine are coordinated by Biosecurity Queensland and local government on-ground, they are actually administered by Queensland Health under the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996. Very stringent guidelines are in place to ensure their safe use.

During discussion between graziers, local government officers and Mr Swan, it became clear that local government pest officers, across the state, provide a great deal of support to land managers participating in baiting events, assisting with both technical advice at odd hours of the day and with the vital process of notifying neighbours of planned baiting campaigns.

Land managers with pest animal problems in the Whitsunday Catchment should contact Bren Fuller, Pest and Vector Control Officer, Whitsunday Regional Council on 4945 0237.

The information morning was hosted by Whitsunday Regional Council and Whitsunday Catchment Landcare. For more information contact Christine Peterson: 4945 1017 or christine.peterson@rc2019.thedma.com.au

Feral Pig control efforts in the Gregory River catchment

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Land managers, community groups and government are working together to address the problem of feral pig damage in the Gregory River catchment.

Following an information session in May, land managers have accessed free feral pig traps and ongoing advice and information regarding best practice control methods.

Regional Landcare Facilitator Christine Peterson said there is no stand-alone option to control the impacts of feral pigs; land managers have to use what is appropriate for their land and situation. Other control methods include shooting, hunting with dogs, fencing, and baiting.”

The Gregory River feral pig project recently assisted with aerial baiting using Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) in cooperation with land managers, Whitsunday Regional Council, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and Whitsunday Catchment Landcare. Ground distribution of 1080 is also underway.

“The aim of this project was to reduce the impact of feral pigs, a Class 2 Pest. Feral pigs cause economic and environmental damage throughout the region, including direct crop damage, loss of pasture available for grazing, predation on native fauna and flora and degraded water quality from pig diggings” Ms Peterson said.

Land managers interested in borrowing feral pig traps or in participating in future coordinated baiting events are encouraged to contact Bren Fuller, Pest and Vector Control Officer, Whitsunday Regional Council on 4945 0237.

The Gregory River feral pig project is part of a Mackay Regional Pest Management Project supported by Reef Catchments, through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country.

For more information contact Christine Peterson, Regional Landcare Facilitator, Reef Catchments: 4945 1017 or christine.peterson@rc2019.thedma.com.au

Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy | Update from CEO Rob Cocco

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The Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy presents the vision and principles guiding future port development and planning in the Great Barrier Reef coastal region to 2022. The Queensland Government’s aim is to ensure that port development in the region occurs in a balanced and incremental way to support economic development while maintaining the outstanding environmental value of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy includes a number of questions about the future operation of Queensland’s port network. Issues for consideration and response include:

  • Best use of each port
  • Assessment and management of environmental impacts
  • Strategic use of port land
  • Improvements to port planning including master planning
  • Commercial funding models and barriers to investment
  • Opportunities to improve efficiency and limit environmental impacts.

Results of consultation will inform a Queensland Ports Strategy. Have your say by 14 December 2012.

Strategic Assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area | Update from CEO Rob Cocco

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The Australian and Queensland governments are working together to undertake a comprehensive strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the adjacent coastal zone under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The strategic assessment will ensure that we continue to achieve best practice in managing a balance between growth and environment protection.

In accordance with the EPBC Act, the assessment will address impacts on Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), including world heritage properties, nationally threatened species and ecological communities.

The comprehensive strategic assessment will, in part, respond to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s decision of July 2012 that the Australian Government undertake a comprehensive strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

There are two key components of the strategic assessment – a marine component and a coastal zone component. The marine component, led by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), will look at the arrangements in place to manage and protect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area. The coastal zone component, led by the Queensland Government, will assess how Queensland’s coastal management, planning and development framework manages environmental protection within the Great Barrier Reef region.

The coastal zone strategic assessment requires the preparation of two reports:

  • A program report which describes in detail the Queensland management, planning and development framework (the Program) being assessed
  • A strategic assessment report which assesses the potential impacts on MNES from the implementation of the Program.

The Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities it expected to release the draft program and strategic assessment reports for public consultation in early 2013. It is also expected that the draft program and strategic assessment reports will be available for consideration by the Australian Government by the end of 2012.

Carbon Farming Futures- Extension and Outreach Program | Update from CEO Rob Cocco

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The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is currently seeking applications for project funding under the Extension and Outreach Program, as part of the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Futures Program. The CFI is a voluntary carbon offset scheme that provides a financial incentive for farmers and land managers to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases or to sequester carbon in the landscape.

Additionally, the CFI will increase the land sector’s resilience to a changing climate, protect Australia’s natural environment and enhance long-term farm productivity.

The Extension and Outreach grants funding will deliver information that is clear, consistent and current for farmers, land managers and their key influencers using a mix of traditional and new extension services.

Extension and outreach activities supported by the program will assist farmers, land managers and key influencers to reduce land sector greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon in the landscape and participate in the CFI by:

  • Providing technical information and support about integrating carbon management into whole farm planning and farm performance
  • Sharing new research and farm techniques for the property and farm business, including those generated through the Carbon Farming Futures programs
  • Increasing communication resources and channels available
  • Creating tools and information systems to improve knowledge of land sector emissions
  • Enhancing productivity and environmental sustainability.

To be included in the first assessment, applications need to be received by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by 5.00 PM AEDT on Wednesday, 19 December 2012.

Paddock to Reef Water Quality Monitoring Trials revamped for new season

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Changes are underway at the Mackay Paddock to Reef paddock scale water quality monitoring trial sites. Site improvements will help build understanding of herbicide application and add to the valuable information the Paddock to Reef trials have provided to the Reef Catchments Sustainable Agriculture program for three years.

Monitoring on two treatments, comparing best management practice with conventional management practices, has been undertaken at the site by DNRM and Mackay Area Productivity Services (MAPS) for three years. From this project we have gathered important information on the benefits of controlled traffic farming, the influence of nutrient rates on run-off and timing of application of herbicides.

The Paddock to Reef water quality monitoring site includes the following treatments:

T1: Conventional Practice

  • 1.5m row spacing
  • Broadcast regulated residual herbicide
  • Calcino nutrient rates

T2: Best Practice

  • 1.8m row spacing
  • Broadcast non-regulated residual herbicide application + knock downs
  • Six easy steps nutrient rates

T3: Conventional practice with wide rows

  • 1.8m row spacing
  • Broadcast regulated residual) herbicide application
  • Calcino nutrient rates

T4: Best practice with banded herbicide

  • 1.8m row spacing
  • Banded regulated residual – inter row weed control with knock down if required
  • Six easy steps nutrient rates

The third Paddock to Sub-catchment Scale Water Quality Monitoring of Sugarcane Management Practices technical report detailing run off and productivity data from the 2011/12 season will be ready for dissemination in the coming weeks.

Please contact Belinda Billing on 4968 4208 or Belinda.billing@rc2019.thedma.com.au if you would like a copy.

Volunteers clean up beaches

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Bucasia and Eimeo coastal volunteers removed over 750 kilograms of invasive weeds and marine debris from their beach and coastal creek on Saturday 27 October.

Nearly 30 local residents volunteered their time to care for the coast at the events, which are coordinated by Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council as part of the Coasts and Communities program.

The problem with weeds

Invasive weeds are a major threat to the coastal environment.  By competing with native plants and eventually replacing them, the weeds change the balance of natural systems and reduce the habitat quality for native animals.

Weeds typically produce large numbers of seeds, assisting their spread. Seeds are distributed by wind, waterways, birds and other animals.  Unfortunately, weeds are also introduced into our coastal environment by the illegal dumping of green waste which contains garden plants which invade our natural environment.

What we are doing to help

The Coasts and Communities program provides a holistic approach to coastal management in the region.  Volunteers make major contributions to the program through activities such as weed removal, which encourages the growth of native vegetation and restores the balance of the natural environment.  The benefits go both ways. Through the coastal volunteer program, local residents can learn about the coastal management initiatives that are underway across the region and make a difference at their beach.

How you can get involved

The next Coastal Community Activities will be on Saturday 1 December at Bucasia (from 8.00-10.00am) and Haliday Bay (from 3.00-5.00pm).

To get involved in the Coasts and Communities program, view and download the full list of upcoming Coastcare activities or contact Noni Zahmel at noni.zahmel@rc2019.thedma.com.au.

Reef Rescue 2, rural fire services support and more: October update from CEO Rob Cocco

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Update from Reef Catchments CEO Rob Cocco. 

Reef Rescue Phase 2

Last week Reef Catchments received correspondence from Ministers Burke and Ludwig confirming the government’s strong interest toward continuing Reef Rescue for a further 5 years. In the correspondence, both Ministers praised the alliance of partners for the outputs and outcomes being achieved. Reef Catchments is currently working with the Commonwealth toward further development of Phase Two of the program.

Supporting rural fire services

As many readers are aware, Reef Catchments has focused heavily for the past 3 years on improving fire management across the landscape. Our focus toward managing fire is as a result of the large contribution fire has toward enhancing biodiversity conservation and the critical management risk aligned to the protection of infrastructure and human life in many regional areas.

In the past month Reef Catchments has offered its support to the Queensland government as part of its review of rural fire services provision. Our action seeking to ensure that the key role of rural fires services is not lost and hence we are able to continue to utilise the local partnerships which are well on the way toward not only saving lives and infrastructure but also repairing our landscape via the correct use of fire.

Maintaining fisheries services

Under new Queensland Government arrangements, the services and staff previously supporting such projects as fish way barrier design and construction, dam construction advice,  fisheries policy advice, fish salvage and freshwater and estuary fish monitoring are to be terminated by the end of June 2013.

Reef Catchments, along with many other NRM groups, local government, and commercial businesses have routinely utilised these services. With this in mind, Reef Catchments has formally outlined interest toward the provision of these same services to the Queensland Government.

Currently under discussion, the opportunity into the future, subject to agreement of key terms and conditions, could see Reef Catchments continuing the provision of these much needed services to the Queensland community.

Our new office in the Whitsundays

This week Reef Catchments signed off on the lease agreement for our new office operations in Proserpine. It is expected that final fit out of the complex should be completed by mid-December.

Reef Catchments looks forward to the official opening of the office in late December 2012. The office and movement of key staff to the our Proserpine operations further supports Reef Catchments aim to be a region-wide service support organisation for the Mackay Whitsunday and Isaac communities.

Continuation and expansion of Project Catalyst

Reef Catchments has this month signed off on the continuation of Project Catalyst for a further 12 months. This 2012/13 investment marks the fifth year of investment from the US based Coca-Cola foundation.

In addition to the Coca-Cola investment, Reef Catchments and partners has formally signed off on a MOU with Bayer Crop Science Australasia which will see Bayer staff and programs supporting Project Catalyst.

Along with reinvestment from Coca-Cola and support from Bayer, Reef Catchments be talking to key sugar value chain sustainability leaders within Rabobank, Unilever, Kraft and BP at a series of meetings in London in November. The goal is to attract further investment to promote innovation in sugar cane farming both locally, nationally and globally.

Nutrient Offsets Pilot

In what will be a first for Queensland, both Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council have sought interest from the Queensland government toward the pilot evaluation of a nutrient offset program. The pilot initiative seeks to evaluate the opportunity of allowing local government to offset the dispersal of nutrient contained in water discharge from a water treatment plant versus incurring the high cost associated with the removal of some nutrients at very refined rates.

The local government offset funding would then be utilised to support rural or other land management practices which would support a 3-4 times higher level of water quality improvement as compared to the investment in additional water treatment within the same water body.

Working strategically to manage Mackay’s pests

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Over 2700 exotic plants and 73 exotic animals have been introduced into Australia, severely impacting agriculture systems, urban areas and the natural environment. To combat the invasion and prevent new pest incursions in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Region, Reef Catchments works closely with the Mackay Regional Pest Management Group (MRPMG).

Together, we implement strategic pest management projects across the region.
Established in 2002, the MRPMG consists of organisations whose core business involves the provision of pest management information and expertise.

To articulate and promote best practices, the Regional Pest Management Strategy Mackay Whitsunday Isaac 2011-2014 was written for the MRPMG by Reef Catchments and published in January 2012. The aim of the strategy is to coordinate pest management across the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Region and to ensure that best practice principles are carried out in a consistent and efficient manner.
The Strategy breaks the region into 4 landuse types: Grazing; Intensive Agriculture; Urban, Transport Corridors; and Disturbed Verges.

Within these landuses, pests—either plant or animal—were selected out of a regional pest list compiled by technical working groups. The selected pests were evaluated by a landuse-prioritisation tool to determine their level of impact on the landuse. For example, the top pests for the Grazing landuse were Giant Rats Tail Grass, Mimosa pigra, Lantana, Parkinsonia and Sicklepods.

Based on the Strategy and the organisational aim, the MRPMG will be exchanging a series of letters with current and future organisations to:

  • Confirm continual participation of a representative in pest management meetings and relevant activities.
  • Identify the key pest management actions undertaken that align with the Strategy.
  • Confirm stakeholder pest management actions and commitments each year.
  • Seek stakeholder reports on the progress of the actions each year.
  • MRPMG will compile an annual report that showcases combined efforts towards strategic pest management.

Through these communications, MRPMG co-ordinates the flow of information between organisations involved in pest management, enables organisational representatives to discuss pest management issues, identifies and promotes the achievements of organisations through an annual MRPMG reporting process, and provides evidence of a strategic pest management approach to support future funding applications.

 

Ringing in year five of Reef Rescue

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The fifth and final year of Reef Rescue is off to a flying start. In 2012/13, cash incentives worth over $5.6 million are available to landholders for ‘on-farm’ projects.

To date, more than 800 Mackay Whitsunday land managers in the sugarcane, grazing and horticultural industries have received Reef Rescue funding to improve their farm with direct, positive benefits for the water quality leaving each farm involved.

In 2012/13, we plan to work with 347 landholders to plan, implement and complete projects by the end of May 2013 with an emphasis on properties that have not been involved with Reef Rescue.

Reef Rescue incentives are also available to cane and grazing industry groups to ensure knowledge and best practices are available to all land managers regardless of their involvement in a project. For example, a current industry project is developing guidelines for the application of mill mud on cane properties.

Knowing the nutrient content of mill mud and the difference in nutrient content between mills will give growers confidence in the rate at which the mud is being applied and growers can then calculate whether further nutrients (if any) are needed.

Estimated load reductions made possible by Reef Rescue from 2008-2012

  • Suspended sediment load reduced: 189,380 t/yr
  • Particulate Nitrogen load reduced: 399 t/yr
  • Particulate Phosphorus load reduced: 222 t/yr
  • Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen load reduced: 240 t/yr
  • Total Pesticides load reduced: 1618 kg/yr

These estimates are based on Reef Catchments models linked to the Reef Catchments Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Improvement Plan (2008).

Meet the Werners

Annette, Dennis and John Werner are third and fourth generation family farmers. Their 330 hectare property includes 112 hectares of cane, an area leased for council quarry, and grazing paddocks. In 1989 they were one of the first farms to be 100% green cane harvested. Their property sits in the Cattle Creek sub-catchment.

Reef Rescue helped the Werners to make improvements on their farm including the adoption of a controlled traffic system with improved nutrient management. With Reef Rescue funding, the Werners were able to modify their existing equipment and purchase some new equipment to make adopting their ideal system possible in a short time frame.

This year through Reef Rescue funding, the Werner’s will build a sub-surface mill mud applicator and aim to apply rates at 20 tonnes/ha, which will cover 2 years of phosphorous requirements.

“Without Reef Rescue, we would have still been keen to do all of this work, but it would have taken much longer,” said John Werner.

Volunteers reduce marine debris at 12 Mackay Beaches

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A total of 2,689 kilograms of rubbish was removed from 12 Mackay beaches as part of the Mackay Coastal Clean Up on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October.

Hosted by Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc., with funding from the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) Hay Point Coal Terminal Expansion Stage 3 (HXP3) project, the Mackay Coastal Clean Up removed marine debris from over 40 kilometres of shoreline.

The problem with marine debris

Approximately 6.4 million tonnes of marine debris ends up in the world’s oceans and seas each year.  80% of marine debris originates from land-based sources such discharge from storm water drains, untreated municipal sewerage, littering of beaches and coastal recreation areas, tourism and recreational use of the coasts, and ship-breaking yards among many others.

Our combat strategy

Reef Catchments adopted Town Beach as part of the Clean Up and were keen supporters of the event.  The Mackay Coastal Clean Up initiative complements Reef Catchments’ existing Coasts and Communities program that is delivered in partnership with Mackay Regional Council and includes a program of Coastcare activities.

Working in partnership to improve the condition of our coastal environments is what the Coasts and Communities program is all about.  Coastcare activities provide opportunities for local residents to make a difference at their beach all year round.

Lend a helping hand

To get involved in the Coasts and Communities program, view and download the full list of upcoming Coastcare activities or contact Noni Zahmel at noni.zahmel@rc2019.thedma.com.au. Check out the Facebook album to see successes from past events.

3 Engineered Log Jams on the O’Connell River completed

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With the highly anticipated construction of three Engineered Log Jams (ELJs) on the O’Connell River Streambank Stabilisation Demonstration Reach, the past weeks have been action-packed for the Reef Catchments Healthy Waterways program.

The O’Connell River ELJs are designed to:

  • Stabilise a failing streambank
  • Reduce the load of sediment entering the river
  • Stop further losses of agricultural land
  • Provide habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms

Over 300 logs and machinery for the project were sourced locally. Construction was completed without a hitch thanks to the skill of excavator drivers Gary McMillan, Gerald Lovell, and Daniel McFee and expert supervision and direction by Dr Andrew Brooks of Griffith University.

Partnerships

The ELJ project was undertaken in collaboration with Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, Local Land Managers and the Pioneer River Improvement Trust with funding from Caring for our Country, the Queensland Government and Rio Tinto’s Hail Creek Mine Community Development Fund.

YouTube videos

View the construction process and ELJ partnerships.

Weed of the month: Parthenium

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Each month the Mackay Regional Pest Management Group will help you to identify weeds that degrade pasture, poison animals or outcompete native species. October’s weed is Parthenium.

Features of Parthenium Weed (Parthenium hysterophorus)  

  • An erect, much-branched, vigorous growing annual herb
  • Height: up to 2 metres
  • Stems: woody with age.
  • Leaves: Pale green, deeply lobed and covered with fine soft hairs
  • Flowers: tiny, creamy white and in numerous distinctly 5-cornered heads about 4mm across adorn the tips of the many stems in other words the large open branched terminal sprays
  • Seeds: black, wedge shaped and approximately 2mm long, attached are 2 white spoon like appendages

Flowering period

Parthenium Weed generally flowers in spring and early summer.  It produces flowers and seeds through its life and then dies in late autumn. During summer, Parthenium can flower within four weeks and if the conditions are right, it can flower and seed all year long. Seed can be spread by wind, water, contaminated soil and stock feed and harvested material, vehicles, machinery, stock and other animals.

The damage of the weed

Parthenium will invade:

  • degraded and over gazed land
  • land that has weak pastures or sparse ground cover along with heavily stoked areas around water points and yard
  • disturbed areas
  • roadsides

Parthenium not only reduces pasture quality, it also can cause dermatitis and hay fever in humans.

How to manage Parthenium

If your property is free of Parthenium:

  1. Ensure that all machinery has been adequately washed down
  2. Do not allow people to drive their vehicles over your property
  3. Prior to moving new stock into your pastures place them in withholding yards to ensure any weed seed drops off them
  4. Pay particular attention to these areas for weed emergent (weed seedlings) and check pastures and paddocks regularly

If your property is infested with Parthenium:

  1. Ensure that it will not spread to road corridors, neighbouring properties.
  2. An active weed management plan will be need and it is best to get in touch with your local landcare or local council for assistants with desgining one.
  3. Control options include; Herbicide control, Biological control and a limited amount of burning providing pasture cover is established very soon after fire.

More information on weeds

Reef Catchments pest page or forum, the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry website or call your local council or landcare group.

Parthenium_hysterophorus_flower

Image: Parthenium hysterophorus flower by Nesnad

Collecting field data on local rivers

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Reef Catchments has been working with Australian Rivers Institute Geomorphologists collecting field data from areas of streambank failure along the O’Connell and Andromache Rivers as part of the Reducing Sediment Pollution in Queensland Project, which is being undertaken across three Queensland Catchments.

The aim of this research is to develop an integrated channel and catchment erosion model, tailored to Queensland conditions, which can be used to efficiently target rehabilitation actions throughout the state.

Researchers, with the assistance of Reef Catchments staff and volunteers from our regional Landcare Groups and CQUniversity, conducted Rapid Geomorphic Assessments (RGAs), Jet Testing, and Borehole Shear Tests, collecting data that will be input into the erosion model.

What’s an RGA?

A Rapid Geomorphic Assessment involves:

  • Determining the relative stability index of the bank by completing a channel-stability ranking scheme assessment.
  • Recording the species of vegetation present (including location, height, structural form, percentage cover and root information).
  • Collecting streambank/terrace information such as bank heights, slope length and angle, the type of material present, moisture content, the compressive strength of the soil, shear strength of the bank, root density, and maximum depth of exposed roots.

These assessments are a quick geotechnical investigation which gives an idea of soil strength and the point at which shear resistance will be exceeded and streambank failure will occur.

Thanks to O’Connell River and Andromache River land managers

Reef Catchments and the Australian Rivers Institute researchers would like to extend a big ‘thank you’ to the wonderful land managers who have made the project possible by providing access to the rivers through their land, which has been very much appreciated.

The next steps

The research team have moved north to the Normanby Catchment but will be returning around the end of November to complete the project in our region.

Funding Opportunity: Reef Rescue water quality improvement grants for land managers

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Land managers are invited to apply for a Reef Rescue water quality improvement grant for a project that will improve water quality leaving their farm. Grants are available for up to 50% of the project cost.

Reef Catchments has funding to support Reef Rescue projects on 85 additional grazing properties. More than 200 graziers have received over $1.5 million in financial support through Reef Rescue.

Examples of Reef Rescue activities

  • Improving nutrient and herbicide application methods
  • Paying for new machinery or modifications to existing machinery
  • Erecting new land type or riparian fencing
  • Installing off stream watering points for cattle

Reef Rescue projects improve both the environmental and economic sustainability of local farms.

Eligibility

Land managers must:

  • Own or manage a grazing property within the Reef Catchments area (minimum property area 20ha).
  • Earn min $20,000 P/A from a grazing enterprise.
  • Agree to undertake a DAFF course “Stock Take” and complete a property plan.
  • Match requested funds through your own cash or in-kind contribution such as labour, machinery, posts etc.

Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)

Download and submit the form today. Reef Catchments will visit grazier’s property and plan works that can attract up to 50% funding. On-ground works must be completed by 30 April 2013.

Reef Rescue in a nutshell

Reef Rescue aims to help farmers and graziers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment to improve farming practices to reduce sediment, chemical and nutrient run-off entering the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon. This will give the world heritage icon the best chance to build resilience to deal with future stressors.

Reef Rescue is a key component of Caring for our Country, the Australian Government’s initiative to restore the health of Australia’s environment and improve land management practices. Caring for our Country has invested $200 million for Reef Rescue.

Landcare provides information to land managers, volunteers and community

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From June to September, Whitsunday Catchment Landcare (WCL) has encouraged Whitsunday land managers and community members to seek advice on land management and participate in events such as National Tree Day, Weedbuster Day and Walk & Talks.

A number of Whitsunday residents participated in a Wetland Walk & Talk on a private property on Goorganga wetlands. This enabled participants to have a close up view of a successful grazing operation in a biodiverse wetland setting. The ‘talking’ part of the morning consisted of information about native vegetation, weed control, fire regimes and fauna –mostly water birds—although a Red-bellied Black Snake received a mention after the adrenaline subsided.

Whitsunday Catchment Landcare (WCL) holds Walk & Talks on a regular basis. Those interested in participating should contact WCL on 4945 0267 or www.whitsundaylandcare.org.au.

Furthermore, WCL supported land holders in their property management with the tools and information. We are never idle working in NRM and Landcare, a one-stop-shop for many people for advice on land management. Our work involves phone calls, ‘drop-ins’, property visits and events. This allows land managers to tackle their own property management with tools and information provided.

Busting weeds and supporting volunteers in Sarina

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Over the last few months, Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association (SLCMA) was busy working on a variety of projects including coordinating community coastal activities at the Sarina Beaches, working with landholders in the Middle Creek Dam catchment to undertake on-ground activities to improve water quality, undertaking property visits, delivering the Land for Wildlife Program on behalf of Mackay Regional Council, and facilitating local events.

Weedbuster Week was popular with landholders, who brought their ‘bag of weeds’ along to our Weedbuster display. Having their plant identified, landholders left satisfied with some helpful advice on how to control it as well as swapping it for a non-weedy native plant.
SLCMA volunteers celebrated Landcare Week with a ‘morning in the gardens’. Volunteers enjoyed a guided tour of the Sarina Community Native Gardens, some ‘hands-on’ weeding and seed collecting followed by a sausage sizzle.

SLCMA works with the community to help protect the natural environment within the Sarina Catchment. We do this by providing free property visits and land management advice to landholders; undertaking on-ground rehabilitation projects; and engaging youth and volunteers in educational and practical landcare activities. For more information contact SLCMA on 49561388 or visit www.sarinalandcare.org.au.

Partnering for cleaner Mackay stormwater

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Mackay Regional Council’s Natural Environment Levy is working for cleaner urban waterways. In September 2012, Reef Catchments, Mackay Regional Council, and Eco Barge Clean Seas met on site at Ooralea, a suburb just south of Mackay, to walk through the design of a new stormwater management and monitoring program.

The Mackay stormwater maintenance and monitoring program is funded by the Mackay Regional Council Natural Environment Levy (NEL) and will be delivered in partnership with Reef Catchments and Eco Barge Clean Seas Services.

Earlier this year, the Natural Environment Advisory Committee (NEAC) assessed the stormwater management program as a high priority healthy waterways project for the Mackay local government area. Previously, the Ecosystem WQ Think Tank of the Healthy Waterways Alliance had prioritised a series of waterway projects to be rolled-out with the assistance of the Mackay Regional Council Natural Environment Levy. This is the first of the waterways project funded by the Levy to be underway in our area.

Using solid pollutant filter nets, rubbish will be captured from stormwater outlets adjacent to Cuttersfield Estate subdivision and the new shopping precinct at Ooralea. Water from the stormwater outlets at this location eventually flows into Bakers Creek, south of the city, and then into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Thankfully, there’s a solution to reducing pollutants entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon through stormwater. End of line solid pollutant filter nets are proven as effective pollutant and litter retention devices.The systems are designed to be installed at strategic ‘hot spots’ with the devices capturing a range of gross pollutants from stormwater flows.

The filter devices consist of a stainless steel sleeve extension that is inserted and fixed into existing, or new, pipe outlets. The extension is fitted with a net for capturing and retaining gross pollutants. When the filtration net becomes full it disengages from the extension cylinder sleeve. A pull cord then tightens around the net throat and prevents the remobilisation of captured pollutants. When the rain event has ended the net is emptied and resecured.

Eco Barge Clean Seas will work with Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council to maintain and empty the nets after rain events.
The captured debris will then be sorted by type and quantity and the information stored in a database for later analysis. Typically these units collect and retain 91% of gross pollutants larger than 19mm in diameter at a range of flows.
It is an exciting project for Reef Catchments and may be the beginning of a new program to involve the community in keeping our waterways healthy.

By collecting size, type and quantity information on the debris collected, we can start to glean a picture of the common sources of pollutants that are finding their way into our rivers, streams and the Great Barrier Reef lagoon from urban areas.

Monitoring water quality in regional catchments

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The 2012 wet season marked three years of water quality monitoring for the Paddock to Reef program in Mackay. The monitoring program has gathered water quality information on various management practices at the paddock scale and also collected multi-farm and multi-block water quality data along with sampling in the Sandy Creek Catchment.

The paddock scale water quality program uses strip trials to look at A (aspirational) and B (best practice) sugarcane farming practices with C (conventional) strip trials for comparison. Conducted at Victoria Plains and Marian, the trials monitor runoff and the collected information on productivity and economics. The trials help to determine which management practices are most practical for farmers both economically and environmentally.

In our sugarcane monitoring, some early results show that the 1.8m controlled traffic system averaged 18% less runoff compared to a traditional 1.5m system. Furthermore, results show that applying herbicides within 14 days of a runoff event has resulted in significant losses when compared to applications that benefited from having more time before a runoff event and/or being incorporated such as through irrigation.

Work has begun to update the paddock scale monitoring program. Over the last three years, we have found the Marian site is prone to prolonged flooding which makes it difficult to measure water quality results throughout the wet season. A plan has been drawn up to increase the number of strip trials at the more reliable Victoria Plains site and the monitoring equipment has been removed from the Marian site. Following the 2012 cane harvest, two new strip trials will be created to compare the banding and broadcasting of residual herbicides.

The Paddock to Reef program started filling the knowledge gap around coastal grazing systems with a rainfall simulation trial. Infiltration and runoff rates in coastal grazing land were tested through the trial run in Proserpine this April. This is the first trial to examine infiltration and nutrient runoff on Mackay Whitsunday coastal grazing land.

The trial was designed by Michael Boyd and Belinda Billing from Reef Catchments along with DNRM rainfall simulation lead, Bruce Cowie, to measure infiltration rates on alluvial flats and plains and eucalypt hills and ranges. Trials were carried out at the end of the wet season on both A/B class and C condition pastures within both land types. The trials also looked at nutrient loads in runoff. Fertiliser (DAP) was applied three weeks prior to the simulation, which replicated very heavy rain over a prolonged period of time.

Initial results showed that infiltration on alluvial flats and plains (cane soils) was rapid, with very slow to almost zero runoff. Conversely the hills and ranges ran-off almost immediately showing poor infiltration, despite high levels of ground cover. Further information will come following analysis of the samples collected. The results will be used to better inform models that represent our coastal grazing land, which has seen very little research to date.

The Paddock to Reef program has developed a comprehensive baseline for management practices in the cane and grazing industries in Mackay Whitsunday.

Reef Catchments worked with Mackay Area Productivity Services, Plane Creek Productivity Services, Proserpine Productivity Services and CANEGROWERS to survey sugarcane farmers in the region. This has been provided to QDAFF who have combined the results with Reef Rescue data sets to ascertain the hectares of cane land under A, B, C or D management for nutrient, soil, irrigation and chemical management. The collected data has been shown to local industry leaders who agree this will be a vast improvement on the previous baseline used to measure change.

The improved grazing baseline for the region was completed through a combination of QDAFF grazing surveys and information gathered through the Reef Rescue property planning process. This new data allow us to accurately measure and model the adoption of improved cane and grazing management practices in our region and across the Great Barrier Reef catchments.

Rehabilitating the O’Connell River with engineered log jams

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The O’Connell River drains one of the largest catchments in the Mackay Whitsunday region flowing from high in the Clarke Connors range to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. It has an expansive catchment area of more than 83,000 hectares.

As one of 10 priority catchments under the federal government Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, the O’Connell River is an important area for the Mackay Whitsunday community. In an effort to promote river health, Reef Catchments has been coordinating the development of the O’Connell River Streambank Stabilisation Demonstration Reach that includes the construction of three engineered log jams (ELJs) designed to reduce bank instability and erosion.

Reef Catchments has been working in close partnership with the Australian Rivers Institute of Griffith University, Pioneer River Improvement Trust and a team of O’Connell River land managers on the project. The demonstration reach is located on a 300 hectare grazing property in one of the upper reaches of the river.

Construction of the ELJ structures has just been completed on the wide section of the river where the high unstable outside bank was taking the full sheer force of the river flow, causing soil erosion and sediment run-off. Over time, the structures should change the behaviour of the river, helping to re-align the channel, while also creating pools and in-stream habitat.

Constructing the ELJs has not been light work. The three structures required around 90 logs each up to 8 metres in length, most with intact root balls. The root balls are critical in stabilising and anchoring the structures into the river bed and bank.

The O’Connell River Streambank Stabilisation Demonstration Reach is funded through Australian Government Caring for our Country and Queensland Government with assistance from the Rio Tinto Hail Creek Mine Community Development Fund.

Supporting the Clean Energy Futures program

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The Australian Government is supporting regional NRM groups to update existing NRM Plans through the Land Sector package of the Clean Energy Futures program. Funds will be provided over the next five years to guide planning for climate change impacts and maximise biodiversity, water and agricultural benefits.

Funding to update regional plans is divided into two separate streams; Stream 1 to help support NRM groups identify opportunities within the landscape for adaptation and mitigation activities and Stream 2 to support development of regional-level scenarios about the impacts of climate change for use in NRM land use planning.

The Stream 2 funding was announced in mid-August 2012 inviting research institutions to submit proposals to the eight clusters around Australia. Reef Catchments is part of the Wet Tropics cluster and representatives from each NRM group in the cluster have met and developed a brief for research institutions to consider in developing their proposals.

Key issues and concerns for the Wet Tropics cluster include change in distribution and abundance of invasive species and emergent risks, impact of sea level rise on coastal ecosystems and communities, and impacts on rural and primary industries and adaptation opportunities among many others. Stream 1 funding will be announced in early October.

Reporting on Reef Catchments business operations and governance

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Total income for the 2011/12 financial year was $14,676,598 of which $12,582,638 was from Commonwealth and State governments via their respective Caring for Our Country and Q2 Coasts and Country programs. Additional commercial investment toward Natural Resource Management (NRM) income was $1,820,538, with donations and interest totalling a further $273,422.

During 2011/12 allocation of income to Reef Catchments was spread across five major programs of operations for the organisation being:

  • Land, Water, Waterways and Community – $11,093,870
  • Biodiversity, Coasts, Marine and Indigenous – $1,364,527
  • Corporate services – $1,845,501
  • Climate Futures – $330,361
  • Public Fund – $42,339

During the 2011/12 financial year, contract analysis of project investment in the region determined that an additional in-kind portion from project partners and land mangers totalled $35,223,835. When combined with Reef Catchments direct on-ground investment, this takes the total investment toward NRM priority projects in the region, managed by Reef Catchments, to $49,900,433.

Expenditure by program, during 2011/12 shows a total of $1,363,546 expended in “Corporate Services” programs, while “Land, Water, Waterways and Community” Programs and “Biodiversity, Coasts, Marine and Indigenous” Programs expenditure totals were $9,019,087 and $916,360 respectively.

Further analysis of expenditure outlines an overall percentage comparison of component expenditure to total expenditure of the following;

  • 20% of total expenditure is toward Reef Catchments overheads inclusive of salary and wages, infrastructure, and all internal business expenses.
  • 19% of total expenditure is toward NRM partnerships and services provision by third parties, and
  • 61% of total expenditure is toward on ground aligned actions.

Reef Catchments undertook a number of key governance and operational improvement actions during the 2011/12 financial year. Development and implementation of strategic policies concerning Reef Catchments position toward key actions aligned to issues such as: sustainability and climate change, water management and regional landscape health.

Reef Catchments continues to develop and refine internal operational and governance policies aligned to Finance and Audit, Human Resources, IT, Work Place Health and Safety, Corporate Risk and subcommittee governance.

There have been many activities including the implementation of a board and staff renumeration benchmarking exercise, forward planning and budgeting toward the development in 2012/13 of a revamped regional NRM plan, and increased of Reef Catchments’ formal engagement with regional, state, national and global stakeholders.

Showcasing Reef Catchments projects to Chinese water researchers

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On 21 August Reef Catchments hosted 15 delegates from the Pearl River Water Resource Commission. Visiting Queensland from Guangzhou, China, the delegates toured Mackay to learn about Reef Catchments water quality improvement programs.

Reef Catchments took the delegates to three sites, including a Paddock to Reef sugarcane monitoring site at North Eton, a Landcare site at Marian and a Mackay Coasts and Communities site at Shoal Point. Later Reef Catchments staff presented to delegates on Project Catalyst, Healthy Waterways, Pest Management and Reef Rescue.

Delegates travelled to Mackay as part of a state-wide trip to learn about coastal and estuarine water quality management. Their trip was funded by the Australia China Environment Development Partnership (ACEDP), a five-year $25 million Australia Government and AusAID initiative.

One project, ‘River Health and Environmental Flows in China’, aimed to establish methods for assessing and improving river health and environmental flows in Chinese rivers. Pilot studies were completed in three river basins: the Yellow River, the Gui River (in the Pearl River basin) and the Taizi River.

The Gui River study was undertaken with the Pearl River Water Resources Commission, who visited Reef Catchments. The delegates spent three weeks in SE Queensland in laboratories and lecture halls before traveling to view sites in Townsville and Mackay.

“It’s been useful to get out into the field in Mackay. The delegates were keen to talk to the scientists, managers and farmers who are doing the on-ground activities,” said Mr Hanington, who has hosted multiple groups of Chinese delegates since 2009. “NRM groups have always been engaging and hospitable.”

“We were interested in seeing Australian rules and measures for assessing water health,” said Pearl River Water Resource Commission director Mr Wu Xiaolong. “We wanted to improve our knowledge of biological monitoring and river health assessment by viewing Reef Catchments sites.”

Collaborating to protect the rare Proserpine rock-wallaby

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The sailing catamaran ‘Wild Cat’ departed Mackay Marina before dawn on 17 July. Crewed by Wild Mob and Reef Catchments staff, the catamaran was on a passage through rough seas and overcast conditions to Gloucester Island. After picking up a team of volunteers from Griffith University at Airlie Beach, the ‘Wild Cat’ reached Gloucester Island late afternoon in time for us to establish our base camp for the next 9 days.

That evening a team briefing was conducted by staff of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Our task: a comprehensive survey of the endangered Proserpine rock-wallaby with the goal of improving our understanding of the biology and ecology of the rare unique species.
In much improved weather, calm seas, and blue skies, morning routines were quickly established with captured wallabies being safely and carefully examined. Wallaby health was ascertained under expert veterinarian supervision before they were released back into their natural habitat. In the afternoons, volunteers and staff made major efforts in removing weeds toxic to the wallabies, such as pink periwinkle, and habitat altering weeds, such as rubber vine.

60 Proserpine rock-wallabies were examined. The data collected will provide invaluable information that will guide conservation of the species. Weeds within four areas of habitat, critical for wallaby survival, were removed as part of ongoing management strategies by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and hundreds of kilograms of marine debris removed from the island.

As our only way to access remote wallaby habitat areas was by small boats, opportunity arose to remove marine debris from turtle-nesting beaches and in areas where seabirds might suffer entanglement from rope, nets and other plastics. Libby and Dave Edge of EcoBarge Clean Seas transported the marine rubbish to the mainland after first collecting data describing the type and amounts of debris as part of a nationwide research project designed to find ways of reducing this threat to the marine environment.

Working together, Reef Catchments, Wild Mob, Queensland Parks and Wildlife, and Eco Barge Clean Seas helped to protect and preserve the wallabies.

During the survey, it seemed that the natural environment rewarded the team for its efforts. Humpback whales made regular morning transits around our workboats and flotillas of manta rays provided a spectacular backdrop in the afternoons.

The collaboration continued when Reef Catchments and the Office of National Parks Minister Steve Dickson issued a joint media release about the survey of the Proserpine rock-wallabies on Gloucester Island. Featured in newspapers Courier Mail, Daily Mercury, Whitsunday Coast Guardian and Whitsunday Times as well as radio station ABC Tropical North, the survey was well-received by local and state-wide press in September.

Celebrating coastal carers

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From hosting volunteer events to coordinating on-ground works, the Mackay Coasts and Communities program continued to improve management of the regional coastal zone in the past quarter.

More than 18 first-time and 22 returning volunteers attended the winter program of Coastal Community Activities at Ball Bay, Haliday Bay, Shoal Point, Bucasia, Blacks Beach, and Eimeo. Hundreds of native seedlings were weeded, fertilised and watered by the volunteers. By fostering native plants and removing invasive species, volunteers help to stabilise sand dunes and protect critically endangered coastal vegetation.

As part of the winter program, coast carers were invited to attend a free bus tour hosted by Pioneer Catchment and Landcare Group showcasing Mackay’s best coastal rehabilitation sites. 35 participants visited three coastal sites including Blacks Beach, Shoal Point and Sandfly Creek Environmental Reserve to view the on-ground activities that are underway to maintain and restore coastal ecosystems. The tour highlighted the importance of planning and maintenance of rehabilitation sites, and the critical role that community volunteers and partnerships play in the success of coastal management initiatives.

As always, the volunteer program compliments the suite of high-priority on-ground coastal projects implemented across the region in partnership with Mackay Regional Council. During the winter months, strategic weed control occurred in the Shoal Point to Bucasia dunes, coastal wetlands on Council land at Keeleys Road, and the Slade Point Reserve for Natural Resource Management. These projects are undertaken by specialist weed contractors as a regeneration technique to improve the condition of local vegetation communities.

Moving from winter to spring, we see the arrival of nesting marine turtles and migratory shorebirds to the Mackay Whitsunday coast. The spring program of Coastal Community Activities is now underway, providing many meaningful opportunities for coastal communities to engage in on-ground initiatives at their beaches. The full calendar of events is available at www.rc2019.thedma.com.au.

The Mackay Coasts and Communities program is a joint initiative of Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council with funding through the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country program and the Mackay Regional Council’s Natural Environment Levy.

Welcoming the Waders

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Over 20 community members enjoyed an afternoon of activities at Sandfly Creek Environmental Reserve on Saturday 6 October.  Attendants took part in a guided bird watching tour through the Reserve presented by Daryl Barnes from Birdlife Mackay and learnt some tips for minimising our impact on resident and migratory shorebirds.

About shorebirds

Up to 23,000 shorebirds migrate from the northern hemisphere to the Mackay Whitsunday region every year from October to April.  While the birds are here they are resting in order to build up their strength to make the long journey back to the northern hemisphere to breed.  Sandfly Creek Environmental Reserve includes one of a suite of shorebird roost sites mapped across the Mackay Whitsunday region that together are recognised as an internationally declared Important Bird Area.

How you can help

With disturbance from recreational activities being identified as one of the major threats to shorebirds while they visit our shores, the Welcome to the Waders event promoted the small things we can all do to help reduce our impacts on these birds, such as:

  • keeping dogs on a leash
  • avoiding walking at high tide in known roost locations.

Dogs are prohibited from the Sandfly Creek Environmental Reserve between 1 October and 30 April each year to ensure reduced disturbance at this roost site during the migratory season.

Partners in coast caring

The Welcome to the Waders event was held in partnership by Reef Catchments, Mackay Regional Council, Conservation Volunteers Australia and Birdlife Mackay. View photos from the event on the Reef Catchments Facebook page.

Watch The Cane Tube Round two winning films!

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The Cane Tube Round 2 winners have been announced. Cane tube is a partnership between Reef Rescue and CANEGROWERS.

First prize – Cane-mation

A big congratulations to Lachlan Hughes and his team, who created the awesome multi-plane, stop-motion animated short film Cane-mation. Lachlan and his team have won $8,500 for their efforts on the creative clip, which took them longer than five weeks to create. The film is comprised of 3000 digital photographs played back at 25 frames per second. All the elements were hand crafted from felt, paper, cardboard, balsa wood and an array of other materials including refined cane sugar and coffee beans. It also features an original composition on the electric guitar.

Written by: Lachlan Erle Hughes, Kerryanne Hughes
Animated by: Emily Howard, Lachlan Hughes
Narration by: Kerryanne Hughes
Original Composition by: Joshua Howard
Sound Design by: Daniel Van Werkhoven

Second prize – Sweet Aussie Cane grower Rap

Congratulations to James-Anthony Callea who composed a quirky rap about Australia’s sugarcane industry. James’ imaginative and creative clip was given points for the judges for also including many of the innovative changes sugarcane growers have made on farm, resulting in environmental wins. In addition to winning second prize, James has also won the most viewed prize, for gaining more than 4000 views! Congrats James!

Watch more Cane tube winning entries.

Weed Watch: Giant Rat’s Tail grass

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G, R and T: three innocent letters that make up the acronym for one of the worst weeds in the State, Giant Rat’s Tail. GRT (Sporobolus natalensis) is currently a Class 2 declared weed in Queensland that causes significant amounts of damage to grazing lands and natural areas.

Originally from Africa, GRT was introduced to Australia for pasture evaluation. GRT spread through the contamination of pasture seed. Mature GRT leaf blades are tough, making it difficult and unpalatable for cattle to graze. In turn, this reduces animal feed intake and production. It also increases the pressure on other pasture species which in turn reduces competition which promotes further spread of GRT that degrades pastures.

In botanical terms, GRT is an erect, clumping and robust perennial grass that grows to a height of 1.7 metres. The leaf blades are flat or folded and linear from 25 to 50 cm long, whilst the width of the blade is approximately 2 to 4 mm wide. Basal leaf sheath margins are hairless. Seed heads are located on a spike that is 25-80 cm long and young seed heads are ‘rat tail’ shaped (hence the name), opening into a pyramid shape when mature with spikelets loosely spaced and fairly even. The seeds themselves are brown and incredibly tiny, 0.7 -0.8 x 0.4mm in size.

There are a range of GRT control options. Often the best results are obtained by combining a number of techniques including burning, chemical control (currently flupropanate or Glyphosate) and developing or maintaining vigorous, dense pastures. However management will depend on the size and density of the infestation, cost of control, access to the infestation, soil type and weather.

Reef Catchments encourages land managers to discuss with their neighbours best practices for GRT control. Any questions or comments? Head to the Reef Catchments Pest Management Forum and put up a post.

Good works on the Gregory River

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Since 2010 Reef Catchments has been working with the Gregory River community on a series of projects to improve the ecosystem health of the river. Despite the diverse land use, the Gregory River has retained moderate ecological value. However there are significant areas for improvement, including instream habitat and riparian vegetation.

Priority projects were directed by the recommendation of the 2008 Water Quality Improvement Plan. Over time, work in the Gregory River has focused on restoring and protecting riparian habitat, removing barriers for improved flows for fish, and collaborating with land managers for water management planning that can enrich stream productivity.

Reef Catchments recently met with Gregory River land managers who participate in the waterhole monitoring project launched last year. This was a chance to revisit the program aims and build on the community knowledge about water use and waterhole persistence.

As fate would have it, higher than average rainfall during the past two seasons meant that minimal irrigation was needed on the Gregory River cropping lands. However, our partner land managers in the waterhole monitoring project are still keen to gather data when irrigation becomes a priority on their paddocks in the future.  Ultimately the information these land managers gather will lead to a greater understanding of the relationship between waterholes, extraction, and in-stream habitat persistence.

One major barrier to fish migration remains on the Gregory River. By mid-2013 we should see this causeway redesigned and built to ‘fish friendly’ specifications. Once this final barrier to fish migration is removed, Reef Catchments plans to survey the fish in the Gregory River with a major point of interest of possibly finding Jungle Perch in the river system.

Furthermore, Reef Catchments is partnering with Whitsunday Catchment Landcare to work with Gregory River land managers for the development of property specific pest and land management plans.  Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) Hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexicaulis) and Gamba Grass (Andropogon gayanus) were identified during a recent weed survey on the Gregory.

Currently in the works, the action plans will provide land managers with the necessary information to control these WoNS.  Site visits will be conducted on 15 properties and additional assistance provided with implementing the action plans through on-ground training and the provision of equipment.

For further information visit the River Restoration page.


Over $12 million invested into on-farm improvement through Reef Rescue

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More than 800 Mackay Whitsunday land managers in the sugarcane, grazing and horticultural industries have received Reef Rescue funding to improve the quality of water leaving their farms.

The Reef Rescue program is now in its fifth year. Over the years Reef Rescue coordinators have successfully engaged agricultural land managers to improve the water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon from agricultural land. Improving the water quality of the lagoon will help the reef build resilience to other stressors such as climate change and increasing coastal development.

During year four 183 new and 145 repeat land managers from across the three eligible industries got involved in the program. Together they co-invested in on-farm improvements worth over $12 million. This included more than 68kms of fencing and the construction of 26 off-stream watering points on grazing land to prevent stock from entering waterways and allow for better management of stock during the wet season.   In the cane and horticultural industries a further 24,635 hectares of land came under improved management.

Reef Rescue incentives are also available to grazing and cane industry groups to ensure that program benefits are available through shared learning and deliverable services. For example, a current industry project is looking at developing guidelines for the application of mill mud on cane properties. Knowing the nutrient content of mill mud and the difference in nutrient content between mills will give growers confidence in the rate at which the mud is being applied and can calculate further nutrients (if any) that are needed.

This financial year is the last round of Reef Rescue.  We are encouraging all farmers and graziers to get in touch with the Key Contact person for their industry or contact us here at Reef Catchments to lodge an Expression of Interest. This year will be the biggest of all the years with more funding available than in previous years.

Coast carers launch into spring

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The spring calendar of Coastal Community Activities is now available.  Activities in the coming months will include weeding, watering, and rubbish collection to protect our coastal environments.

With the return of nesting marine turtles and migratory shorebirds to our beaches and foreshores, spring is an exciting season on our coast. Every year up to 23,000 migratory shorebirds—known as waders—visit the shores of the Mackay Whitsunday region between October and April.

While the shorebirds are here they are resting in order to build up their strength to make the long journey back to the northern hemisphere to breed.  These birds feed on the mudflats at low tide and gather to roost during hide tide, where they are most vulnerable to disturbance by dogs and other recreational activities.

To celebrate the arrival of the shorebirds and learn what you can do to help, come along to Welcome the Waders on Saturday 6 October at Sandfly Creek Environmental Reserve.  Between 1 and 4pm from the River Street boat ramp there will be guided walks through the Reserve, bird watching activities, and a free barbeque for all attending.  This event is being held in partnership with Conservation Volunteers Australia and Mackay Regional Council.

To get involved in the Coasts and Communities program, view and download the full list of upcoming Coastal Community activities or contact Noni Zahmel at noni.zahmel@rc2019.thedma.com.au.

From the CEO | Open days and Everyone’s Environment grants

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Welcome to the August 2012 Natural State eNewsletter. I hope our readers will find it informative and would encourage our readers to contact our staff if you have any questions.

August 2012 has seen many of our regional projects delivering communication and engagement sessions with the local community, which highlighted the good weather on offer this time of year.

I take this opportunity to thank Mackay Regional Council and CQU for allowing us to take part in their respective Eco Mackay Expo and CQU open days. Interest from the community in natural resources was very evident at both days with our staff fielding many questions aligned to the work of both Reef Catchments and our partners.

In terms of funding of natural resource work, please note there is only six weeks left to apply for the Everyone’s Environment grants from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Protection. This program provides funding for projects that clean up, repair and restore the local environment. Grants of between $2,000 and $100,000 are available for projects like:

  • Tree planting and restoring land
  • Community clean up
  • Cleaning up waterways
  • Reducing run-off and improving water quality
  • Enhancing the natural beauty of local communities
  • Monitoring the level of pollutants in streams

Submissions close 28 September 2012, so apply now to help get your project underway. Visit www.ehp.qld.gov.au to find out more and or contact Reef Catchments to find out more.

Notice to anglers | Helping scientific research in the O’Connell River

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A new research project is starting this month in partnership with Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Up to 100 adult fish in the O’Connell and Andromache Rivers will be uniquely coded and tracked using acoustic telemetry transmitters. The transmitters will allow scientists to track fish movement from the river to the estuary and the sea.

Target fish species include barramundi, jungle perch, mangrove jack, sea mullet and tarpon. It is anticipated that the work will help answer a number of questions around behaviour and breeding of these fish species.

Primary research questions include:

  • Do these species move between different rivers?
  • What influence does river flow have on breeding cycles?
  • What effect do natural and artificial barriers have on fish migration?
  • Are there certain types of waterholes that these fish species tend to habitat?
  • What influence do factors such as water quality have on fish movement?

Receivers will be downloaded monthly until May 2013 with data updates available through the Reef Catchments website. In addition to the fish movement information, flow data will be collected from existing gauging stations. Water quality and depth loggers will also record water temperature, electro-conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH and water level.

The information gathered through this work will complement the demonstration reach research program that is investigating the ecological and geomorphological benefits of engineered log jams as bank stabilisers in tropical river systems.

Download the research program flyer for information about what to do if you catch a tagged fish.

Graziers, apply by October 1 for Reef Rescue Funding

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Graziers in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region are called to submit expressions of interest for Reef Rescue Water Quality Improvement Grants by 1 October 2012. More than 200 farms have received over $1.5 million in financial support through Reef Rescue. We need 85 more graziers to receive funding and complete “on farm” improvement projects that can attract up to 50% funding by April 2013.

Since 2008, Reef Rescue funding paid for:

  • 184 kms of riparian fencing
  • 154 off-stream watering points
  • 130 km of land type fences
  • 240 pasture monitoring sties
  • 230 soil tests
  • Many sediment reduction projects

Download an application form and submit it online today.