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ARCHIVED NEWSLETTERS - 2001
Issue 19 December 2001
“The Lake Eyre Basin process is unique in the world,” says Phillip Toyne, one of Australia’s leading environmentalists and retiring member of the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group.
“This is a community-driven process asking State governments to treat the Lake Eyre Basin as a whole and ignore traditional boundaries.”
Phillip Toyne was addressing the annual combined meeting of the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group at Longreach on the 6th of November and was optimistic about the Group and its future.
“We are capable of imaginative thinking and solutions that can be world’s best practice.
“The marketing of organically grown beef from the Channel Country is one example of making the most of a chemical-free, natural environment.”
According to Mr Toyne, the challenge before the Group now is to adapt to the changing funding environment and go to the next level of activity, securing funds for further projects from a range of government, industry and community bodies.
The Coordinating Group is currently running 10 projects including Parkinsonia Control, Heritage Tourism, and Water Information System for the Environment (WISE). These are funded by a variety of Government programs, the principle one being the Federal Government’s Natural Heritage Trust (NHT).
As part of its ongoing work, the Group is identifying other projects that need to be undertaken to support the sustainable natural resource management aims of the community of the Lake Eyre Basin and governments.
The message that community organisations are getting very loud and clear is to develop projects that deliver real benefits to the community. The Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group is now in a strong position to do this following extensive consultation and planning over the past few years.
“Governments are interested in assisting community groups who have strong community backing and the skills to manage projects,” says Lindsay Nothrop of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Australia and the Commonwealth Government observer on the Coordinating Group.
“Governments do not wish to just throw money at fixing problems; they also want to be assured that the natural resources will be better managed in the future.
“While expenditure is in the short term, government’s sights are set on 40 to 50 years out.”
Once again people from all over the Basin converged for the Annual Combined Meeting held, this year, in Longreach. About 100 people representing all stakeholder groups attended the open meeting where they discussed sustainable natural resource management issues and heard the latest on several exciting research projects.
An important agenda item was how to ensure we are best placed to compete for funding to support the implementation of priority projects across the Basin.
The meeting agreed in principle to a ‘business model’ approach that strengthens the organisation’s leadership role across the Basin and reflects our base as a proactive community body managing action projects.
The list of achievements across the Basin continues to grow. Weed control in progress, water management plans being developed using our community networks, ongoing research into sustainable grazing and river flows, plans for sustainable tourism, and organisational-level partnerships with the Great Artesian Basin Consultative Council and the Arid Areas Catchment Water Management Board.
What hasn’t changed is the passion for ecologically sustainable development among our members, provided they shape direction rather than being told what to do. What hasn’t changed is our pressing need to build partnerships with government agencies and private sector companies, based on an updated strategic plan. And what hasn’t changed is our desire to be inclusive and open to new ideas.
The Wetlands Information Session held at Longreach was a prime example of the independent and open role we can play in dealing with new and challenging issues, in this case the protection of significant wetlands.
The Lake Eyre Basin features strongly in a large-format film Australia: Land Beyond Time that has been pre-sold to IMAX theatres across Australia and around the world.
The film, to be released in the second half of 2002, explores the raw beauty and natural history of the great southern continent and is specially designed to bring this ancient land to life on the giant screen.
Australia: Land Beyond Time is about the ingenuity of life adapting to an ancient, largely arid environment, and the strategies many species have developed to survive the Earth’s most challenging extremes.
Much of the footage was shot in the Lake Eyre Basin and shows the flora and fauna of the dry landscape responding to the flooding of 2000.
Australia: Land Beyond Time is part of the ‘life-long learning’ philosophy and will be supported in this role by a companion website that will deliver educational information on the subject, links to other sites, as well as insights into the making of the film.
An estimated world-wide audience of 20 million will view our special part of the planet over the next four years.
Strategic Control of Parkinsonia
The Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group has successfully gained funding of $295,000 through the National Weeds Program for the control of the declared pest plant, parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata) in the Lake Eyre Basin.
With the bulk of the Basin’s infestations in the north-eastern sector, pastoral production and the environment stand to benefit greatly from this latest initiative of the Coordinating Group.
According to the Group’s Coordinator for the Cooper’s Creek Catchment Committee, Nora Brandli, the aim of the program is to assist landholders effect practical on-ground results that will reduce the spread of parkinsonia.
“This is an excellent opportunity for the Basin community to show what it can achieve in weed control when landowner commitment and hard work are supported by some financial assistance,” Nora Brandli says.
“Because of the pattern of infestations, with heavy infestations in the upper catchments of our major river systems, and the way parkinsonia seeds are water-borne, the Lake Eyre Basin was identified in the National Parkinsonia Strategic Plan as a strategic control area.”
Much of the Basin (66%) is either clear of parkinsonia or has only sporadic infestations while the remainder contains localised areas of heavier infestations, usually restricted to streamlines and watering points.
The Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group, through its catchment committees for the Cooper’s Creek and the Georgina/Diamantina has been working closely with shire councils and government departments in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory to develop the parkinsonia program.
Parkinsonia, a thorny shrub or small tree native to central America, was introduced into Australia at the end of the 19th century as an ornamental and shade tree. It has become well established over some 800,000 hectares mainly across the north of the continent and has serious impacts on both pastoral production and the environment.
The Lake Eyre Basin has some of the finest grazing lands in Australia. It is an important production area for wool and organic beef, and has world-wide acknowledged conservation values.
“We are very fortunate to have these devolved grants funds available for the strategic control of parkinsonia across this highly productive area,” says Nora Brandli.
“The response from individual landholders, groups, and corporations has been very positive. Santos has generously donated the use of two helicopters to conduct survey work across the central part of the Basin, and this has been carried out with the location of parkinsonia being marked with the aid of GPS for ground-based eradication.
“This is a great opportunity to get rid of this pest where it is only beginning to get established, and to prevent further spread from areas where it is already firmly entrenched.”
The National Parkinsonia Program is funded by the Natural Heritage Trust through Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Australia.
Welcome to the new look newsletter. In the last twelve months, the focus of the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group (LEBCG) and the catchment committees has changed very much from planning to projects and actions. We wanted the newsletter to reflect that change and have given it a new look.
The two catchment committee updates will be replaced by individual catchment newsletters that will come out early next year and go to residents of the individual catchment. We will continue to bring you news of the other three regions of the Basin although for this edition the format will vary.
The annual combined meeting, held this year in Longreach, endorsed the LEBCG as a primary organisation to develop and implement projects across the Basin. We are eagerly awaiting further information on the next stage of the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) to see what role the LEBCG will have with that.
The meeting also gave people the opportunity to meet and get to know Lake Frome representative, David Lord and the new representatives for Western Rivers, Phil Gee and Colin Greenfield. Phil and Colin replace Andrew Clarke who was the interim representative for Western Rivers on the Coordinating Group.
This month has also seen us strengthen our relationships with some key groups across the Basin. I attended a meeting of the Rangelands South Australia Integrated Natural Resource Management Group in Port Augusta. This group currently has the responsibility for NRM across all of the South Australian rangelands, hence a good working relationship between us will be essential.
We also met with the New Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Clare Martin and the Minister for Central Australia, Peter Toyne. The Ministers expressed a strong interest in participating in the Lake Eyre Basin process. In early December we are taking up the invitation to talk to a joint meeting of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association and the Alice Springs Industry Advisory Committee. On the same trip we will be meeting with the mayor of Alice Springs to discuss opportunities for involvement of the Basin’s largest urban centre.
Our organisation continues to grow. From the last round of NHT funding, we were successful with a number of projects, among these, the Salinity Project. We will shortly be appointing a Project Officer (see story on page 11) for this and will also become the employer of Alun Hoggett who manages the Lake Eyre Basin Integrated Information System.
Two thousand and two will be a year of great activity with the LEBCG actively implementing all the projects for which we have gained funding. We will continue to support local groups and communities and continue to develop new activities and initiatives. We will also continue to refine our planning processes and linkages.
With 2002 proclaimed as the Year of the Outback, the level of activities associated with it should see considerable interest and activity in the Lake Eyre Basin and the rest of the outback.
On behalf of the members and staff of the organisation, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and look forward to working with you in a prosperous 2002.
Lake Eyre Basin Biennial Conference
The Lake Eyre Basin Biennial Conference will be held on 24, 25 and 26 October 2002. The Conference will coincide with the second anniversary of the Lake Eyre Basin Inter-governmental Agreement, which was signed by relevant Commonwealth, Queensland and South Australian Ministers in October 2000. Further information on the Agreement is available from www.dwr.sa.gov.au/publications/lake.html
The Conference, sponsored by the Queensland, South Australian and Commonwealth governments under the Agreement, will see the opportunity for members of the Lake Eyre Basin community, government officials, scientists and other parties with an interest in the sustainable management of the Basin to share their views and aspirations. It will also provide an opportunity to review progress of the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement. A Community Forum will be held on 26 October 2002, the final day of the Conference.
The Conference will have a focus on issues associated with the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement, which provides for the sustainable management of water and related natural resources in the major cross-border river systems in the Lake Eyre
Basin. Session themes will cover issues such as river health, floodplain processes and water management.
For further information on the Conference contact Peter McLeod on (07) 4658 0600 (email pmcleod@lebcg.org.au) or Scott Parker at the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum Secretariat (email scott.parker@ea.gov.au).
The Scientific Advisory Panel to the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum is to prepare a ‘State of the Rivers’ report for the Queensland and South Australian sections of the Georgina, Diamantina and Cooper’s Creek systems.
These rivers vary greatly in both the frequency and extent of their flows with the Cooper being acknowledged as the most variable river in the world.
According to Scientific Advisory Panel head, Professor Peter Cullen, preparing the report will be a rather perplexing exercise with these ephemeral rivers.
“The first thing we need to do is identify critical issues and our level of knowledge on these issues,” says Professor Cullen.
“Some things we know, some things we think we know, and some things we don’t know – identifying these will drive our research agenda.”
The State of the Rivers report will be used by the Ministerial Forum as a basis for planning and policy development for the management of water and related natural resources in this cross-border section of the Lake Eyre Basin.
A twelve month ‘Land for Wildlife’ pilot project has kicked off in four shires in western Queensland.
The Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group (LEBCG) is managing the project which is a joint initiative between itself, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and the shires of Barcaldine, Barcoo, Diamantina and Tambo.
David Akers, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Longreach District Community Extension Officer, says the project is a first for western Queensland.
“Land for Wildlife has never operated in western Queensland,” says David. It was originally designed for south-eastern Australia where there have been extensive changes to the landscape.
“Vegetation communities in the south-east have become extremely fragmented and the intention of Land for Wildlife was to encourage landowners to retain and manage critical areas for nature conservation.
“The aim of our Land for Wildlife project will differ due to the fact this region generally has very intact vegetation communities.
“Our main focus will be education, support, and information sharing.”
The aims of the project are:
- assist landholders to carry out an ecological assessment of their property, identifying areas of particular value and establishing monitoring sites if they desire
- provide resource material to participants (reference books on birds, mammals, reptiles, and plants) to enhance their knowledge of the ecology of the property
- develop new resource material specific to western Queensland
- foster a network of learning and information exchange within the community, targeting both adults and children
“Land for Wildlife is an information and education network,” says David.
“It aims to support and encourage private landholders with an interest in retaining wildlife habitat on their property.”
“It is also applicable to public land such as Town Commons,” he adds.
If you are a landholder in any of the shires of Barcaldine, Barcoo, Diamantina or Tambo, and are interested in participating in this exciting project, please contact your local shire office or David Akers at QPWS, Longreach on phone 07 4652 7301.
Kate Andrews Wins Community Fellowship
Previous Chief Executive of the Lake Eyre Basin Coodinating Group, Kate Andrews is the recipient of an inaugural Community Fellowship from Land and Water Australia. Kate will be writing up the experiences of the Lake Eyre Basin process so other groups can draw on those experiences to overcome conflict, face diversity of opinion, respect local knowledge, and turn talking and planning into action.
WISE (Water Information System for the Environment)
The WISE team has sourced 350 documents on the Cooper catchment so far and expect to find another 200 to 300 before they conclude their search.
According to Susan Davis, Project Officer for the Cooper’s Creek Catchment WISE Project, support has been strong and the project is running to schedule.
“We’re already sourced material from departmental, university and community libraries and corporations in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland,” says Susan, “and we’re well advanced in building the database.”
is an interactive CD-ROM that provides comprehensive, multi-level information on a catchment, in an easy to use and interesting format. It includes flora, fauna, streams, industries, towns, and issues, as well as a research and reference database, all valuable aids in the sustainable management of a river system.
Susan says an integral part of the finished product will be the visual presentation, so the sourcing of images, both moving and still, is a important aspect of project.
“Community members and government departments such as Queensland Parks and Wildlife, the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, and the Department of Primary Industries have been very generous and provided us with some great contemporary images of the catchment.
“We have also been fortunate in sourcing historical images from collections such as the Longreach Powerhouse Museum and the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame.
“A number of these images have been used as background screens for the CD, including a Catchment Information introductory screen. This screen uses artist-designed icons as ‘buttons’ to guide users to various screens presenting information on flora, fauna, rivers, wetlands, towns, maps and multimedia (video and audio files) for the Cooper Catchment.”
Among the multimedia material will be video material of flooding, water management and land use as well as oral history interviews.
The WISE Project is also liaising with the Lake Eyre Basin Integrated Information System (LEBIIS) to access map layers showing rivers, wetlands, towns, bioregions, departmental and council boundaries, and the topography of the catchment.
Key issues identified for the Cooper Creek Catchment include pest species, tourism and river flows. Relevant references, videos and audio material will be identified for these key issues with a view to including the information on the WISE CD.
“In addition,” concludes Susan, “we are investigating the possibility of adapting WISE for the internet. This is an exciting prospect because it will open it (WISE) up to a huge audience.”
The Cooper’s Creek Catchment WISE Project is due for completion at the end of 2002.
A nesting pair of the rare Grey Falcon (Falco hypoleucos) was the subject of a recent shoot by acclaimed wildlife photographer, John Young at a secret location in the Lake Eyre Basin.
John, who maintains total confidentiality with landholders, says it was an honour to be entrusted with the location of the nesting birds and a thrill to have been able to film them.
“We’re not sure about it yet, but these could be the rarest falcon in the world,” says John, “and it’s paramount that we preserve their habitat.”
The Grey Falcon is one of Australia’s rarest raptors with only an estimated 500 breeding pairs. It is found over much of Australia but mainly along the timber-lined watercourses of the interior.
When a switched-on Basin resident discovered a nesting pair, the network wires began to hum. John Young, who has filmed some of Australia’s rarest and most elusive birds, was soon on the way, armed with all the latest gismos to capture the birds on film.
He often builds a tower platform to film from but has also perfected techniques for moving about in the rainforest canopy and recently filmed the Red Goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus) from 20 stories up.
Nothing quite so extravagant was required for the Grey Falcon which was recorded alighting, perching and preening, with a 2000 millimetre lens from a rocky vantage point. John also slipped a pencil-cam over the lip of the nest and captured the parent birds returning with prey, tearing it up and feeding the almost fully-fledged chick.
The landholder said he was pleased to be involved with a process (Lake Eyre Basin sustainable natural resource management) aimed at maintaining the balance between production and biodiversity.
“The Grey Falcon is an example of the unique wildlife that occurs in the Lake Eyre Basin,” he said. I’m proud to have them nesting on our land.”
Sunday, 14 October, 2001
It’s a crisp, sparkling morning on the shores of Coongie Lakes in the very heartland of the Lake Eyre Basin. Yesterday’s burst of rain has refreshed the landscape, still blooming from an exceptionally good season. There’s a fringe of lush, green, river couch grass around the lakeshores, a sharp contrast to the golden reds of the backing dunes and the grey-brown waters.
A straggle of gaunt coolibah trees, their stripped branches reaching starkly skyward cluster on a small sandy spit extending like a finger into the still lake waters. Every spare hollow in these well-worn trees is occupied by a couple of raucous corellas or their more resplendent cousins the pink-breasted galahs. Scavenging mobs of crows glide in effortlessly to occupy the higher branches and add their mournful cries to the early morning chorus.
A nearby, two metre high hedge of lignum bushes form a latticed maze of leafless stems, a safe home to the armada of swamp hens busily working the shores. Myriads of other water birds dot every cove and sand spit in sight. On a sandy island a cluster of pelicans regally observe their domain.
It’s easy to see why this very special place in the Lake Eyre Basin was designated as a protected area and a wetland of international significance. It is also easy to see why so many people are flocking here and to the rest of the Outback with its rich array of natural and cultural assets.
Visitor numbers to key destinations in the Basin are increasing as more people have the means and desire to experience the magic of the Outback. The unfortunate downside to this is the increasing impact on the most accessible and desirable spots such as Coongie Lakes or the many waterholes along the Cooper around Innamincka.
Poor camping practices, especially litter, fires and basic hygiene, tend to affect the immediate environment and the quality of experience of those campers who find a great spot desecrated. The resources of land managers and local landholders are often severely limited to control and rectify these problems. In short, the onus has to be on the responsible and caring visitors who outnumber the ignorant few.
In essence each traveller has to take on a personal management role that not only minimises their impact but also takes on the responsibility of clearing up the mess they come across, rather than complaining about it and moving on to carve out a new pristine site for themselves. If we are to have any hope of protecting, managing and enjoying the fantastic heritage we have in the Lake Eyre Basin then those of us who visit have to do our bit.
I wonder how many share these sentiments and will take up the challenge?
The Lake Eyre Basin Integrated Information System (LEBIIS) is embarking on an exciting project to begin providing interactive maps via the internet.
LEBIIS Project Officer, Alun Hoggett says that the increasing demand from both inside and outside the Basin for more knowledge about our unique region, coupled with a wider use of the internet, is driving the push for web-based mapping products.
“LEBIIS maintains the most comprehensive and up to date information over the whole region,” says Alun Hoggett, “but it is not easy for the public to access it.
“The web will change that. We can draw together many different types of information and allow the community to see themselves within the changing landscape.
“The challenge will be to work with the suppliers of data to allow us to provide their information publicly and in a timely way, and to find the best way to provide maps on an easy to understand web site.”
Alun urges those interested to have a look at the mapping websites: http://insite.dnr.qld.gov.au/resourcenet/atlas/ http://www.lpe.nt.gov.au/atlas/index.html http://www.canri.nsw.gov.au/
He also encourages your input to make sure the LEBIIS web mapping is well suited to your needs, and can be contacted on 07 4658 4922 or Alun.Hoggett@dnr.qld.gov.au
The demand for LEBIIS maps and information has grown dramatically as the community becomes more aware of what mapping can do to improve our understanding and management of the region. The current activities of LEBIIS include: preparation of custom maps for landholder groups to assist with weed mapping; development of a property name dataset over the whole Lake Eyre Basin; providing maps to the multimedia WISE project for the Cooper Creek catchment; providing maps to landholders showing where the wetlands of national importance are; and providing tailored maps as part of an education program.
An initiative by the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group, aimed at avoiding the mistakes made in other catchments around the country, will get underway in the new year.
The Salinity Project will identify, collect, collate, map and review local, scientific, and historical knowledge to determine the extent and nature of salinity in the Lake Eyre Basin. It will then identify areas at high risk or requiring further investigation.
Coordinating Group Chief Executive, Peter McLeod says they will be advertising for a Salinity Officer early in 2002 and then it is down to business.
“This project, in some ways, characterises much of our project work,” says Peter, “- proactive rather than reactive.”
“We don’t want to get to the point where we are saying ‘Oh my gosh! We have a salinity problem. Our management practices of the past 25 years have caused this.’
“We want to know the current state of salinity in the Basin, identify the threats, acknowledge sound management and be able to say, ‘The Lake Eyre Basin doesn’t have a salinity problem because the community acknowledged the risks and adopted world’s best practice to avoid potential problems’.”
Peter says the initial stage of the project is essentially a knowledge gathering exercise and hopes the knowledge will be used in the regional planning activities of state and local governments and catchment committees.
Birgitte Sorensen is a senior Catchment Management Officer with the South Australian Department for Water Resources and is a member of the Georgina Diamantina Catchment Committee and a proxy on the Cooper’s Creek Catchment Committee. Over the past 4 years, she has worked closely with the former Arid Areas Water Resources Committee and the newly formed Arid Areas Catchment Water Management Board.
Birgitte has worked on a range of issues in the arid areas, particularly the community consultation phases for the management of the Great Artesian Basin, the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement, and the establishment of the Arid Areas Board. This has given her a good understanding of the key issues important to the people in the arid areas.
Birgitte has also worked closely with other rural and urban communities throughout South Australia to develop water allocation plans. Previous to working in water resources, Birgitte spent 8 years in the agricultural areas of South Australia on a range of projects, including wheat and barley research, developing medic pasture species, and the conservation of endangered native plant species. She has a Science Degree (Botany and Zoology) and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Environmental Studies.