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Mitchell River Review
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M I TC H E LL RI V E R W A TE RS H E D M A N AG EM E N T G RO UP I NC NEW S L ET TE R
Mitchell River Review
December 2005
Inside this issue:
Fire project update 2
Bellyache bush update –trial spraying
In our last Mitchell Review and Fiona from
Weedbuster week in 3
Irvinebank we talked about the mas- the Mitchell
sive problem posed by Group. Apart
Bar Barrum cross 3 bellyache bush (Jatropha from providing
cultural workshop gossypiifolia ).These infes- advice on the
Working with Cape 3 tations are unique, no process, the
York where else in Queensland- research staff
What’s happening 4 does bellyache bush grow were involved to
around the catchemnt only within the high banks gather informa-
of the river. This situation tion to get off-
poses many challenges as The low, dark plant within the river bank is Belly- label registra-
For yo ur it means the plant is very ache bush on the Palmer River. tion for the her-
informatio n : quickly spread when the bicides. Cur-
river is in flood, it also trial aerial spray on the rently, to use these sprays
• Envirofund –Round 8 will open
for applications in February means the plant has the Palmer River and we will requires a huge amount of
2006. Community groups best conditions for grow- be respraying in April. paperwork (not to mention
and individuals can apply
ing (this is why it can The project involved four lots of money!). We also
for grants of up to
$50,000 (GST inclusive) to flower and seed all year Tropical Weed Research put in a joint submission
undertake local projects round). It also means it is Centre staff, Russell Gra- for funding under the De-
aimed at conserving biodi-
very difficult terrain to get ham and Trevor Meldrum feating Weed Menace
versity and promoting
sustainable resource use. in there and do the work. from Cape York Weeds Program. We will continue
In mid November we did a and Feral staff, Wendy to keep you informed as
• Wild Rivers
Rivers—want to know
Seabrook from the project progresses.
more about this legisla-
tion and what the nomina- Peninsula Pastor- We will be really chasing
tion means, how to make alist Landcare this issue as bellyache
a submission ?
Committee, Leon bush spreads for more
Go to :
www.nrm.qld.gov.au/ Kingsley and Ma- than 81km on the Palmer
wildrivers goo from Mt Mul- River.
grave and Deb
• Are you in the ‘shared’
Mitchell area? Did you Aerial spraying starts at the upstream extent
know that Peninsula Pas-
toralists Landcare Com-
mittee also have funding
for computer training,
Grazing Land Manage-
ment, and land rehabilita-
Rivers – health check for the lifeblood of our landscape
tion projects Rivers and streams are the agricultural activity. One cern ed about possible im-
• JAMMARR Nursery -
lifeblood o f any region, way to assess and monitor pacts from some of the old
Congratulations to JA- and the quality and diver- the health status of the mines so that is one impact
MARR who have received sity of life is dependent on catchment is through a that will be tested for. Da-
funding from Northern their health. Waterways are water quality analysis, so mien will also be seeking
Gulf and Gambling Com- only as healthy as their Damien Burrows from the local feedb ack to link his
munity Benefit Fund to catchments, and the upland Australian Centre for research to current commu-
build a nursery in Mt
Molloy –well done Rupert Mitchell River catchment Tropical Research will nity concerns, so that an-
& Juliana !
lies in an area of high conduct some assessments. swers to the most pressing
population pressure and We know people are con- questions can be addressed.
Page 2 Mitchell River Review
Fire Project Update — Peter Thompson, Coordinator Fire Project
The 2005 fire season is almost over satellites have been withdrawn from improving land management prac-
but a week before Christmas it is still service, replacements have gen erally tices. As an example approximately
hot and dry and there are many big maintained or improved the effective- 20,000 hotspots were record ed in the
fires burning. Predictions that we ness and reliability of the information Mitchell Catchment in 2005 with
would have a difficult year have been over time and this can be seen when 1000 recorded in one week in Decem-
borne out. The map below shows fires we compare the records. What has ber.
have occu rred over large areas, most changed is the level of use and the
notable have been extensive fires in community expectation that all fires Next year the fire program will be
the middle reaches o f the catchment, will be detected and that the informa- expanding activity to include the pur-
particularly north o f the Mitchell tion will always be available. There chasing of Aster satellite imagery to
River itself. Proactive burning was are many reasons why the current sat- assist in the development of property
limited because land managers were ellite system misses some of the fires scale mapping and working closely
justifiably worried about the potential that do occur, including cloud cover with the DPI Grazing Land Manage-
severity of the 2005 season and what and exactly when the satellite passes ment Project and landowners in devel-
could happen to the limited feed av ail- over (you can find an explanation o f oping sustainable management prac-
able. Maitland Downs did an early some of these reasons on the fire web - tices. We are also hoping to develop a
season aeri al burning program and this site under “ Help – Background” in the network o f interested people to pro-
proved effective in halting September main menu). However the Fire Project vide better access to timely informa-
fires. has survived funding difficulties and tion to their neighbours/local commu-
continues to provide the only available nity. It is expected that these keen
Quite a few people have commented mechanism to monitor fire activity people would receiv e a small annual
that they thought there was a decline across the large areas o f North Queen - contract payment as well as appropri-
in the sensitivity of hotspots in detect- sland and provide detailed ongoing ate training so that your community
ing fires. While it is true that ageing mapping of burnt areas to assist in has resources at its finger tips.
Page 3
Weedbuster week in Irvinebank
For most people weeds are nothing Congoo (NR&M Land Protection Of-
short of hard work, but activities or- fi cer) visited the school to talk about
ganised during Weedbuster week, in weeds. Andrew and the kids (along
the second week o f October, help get with their teacher Belinda and Donna
the message out there that weeds are from Irvinebank Land care) walk ed
everyon e’s problem. around the school grounds and identi-
fi ed what weeds are there. Using this
Weedbuster week is a national pro- inform ation, they will develop a plan
gram that aims to raise awaren ess and to address the weed issues. One of the
increas e public understanding about school’s worst weed problems is
the problems weeds cause. Mother of Millions.
Andrew Congoo from Natural Resources and Mines
The students of Irvinebank school Well done Irvinebank, it is activities
showed their enthusiasm tackling en- like this that foster community owner- talks to the students about costs and other impacts
of weeds.
vironmental issues when Andrew ship of problems.
Community Awareness grant—Bar Barrum cross cultural workshop
More exciting news for the Bar Bar- combine Indigenous traditional
rum community at Emuford. Not only knowledge with science to help get
have they received funding from the Aboriginal youth back on country.
Foundation for Rural and Regional
The program will provide an ex-
Renewal (FRRR) to buy a second wa-
change of knowledge on natural re-
ter tank, but they have also received
source management including issues
funding from the Department of Natu-
such as fire management and biodi-
ral Resources and Mines. This $2500
versity. In October several commu-
Community Awareness grant is one
nity members completed a tourism
of only 21 in Queensland. So well
course and the May workshop will
done to the Bar Barrum mob.
also provide young people with skills
This grant will be used to run a cross- to support a cultural tourism venture
Tourism course graduates- include Lily Max
cultural workshop in May that will on Bar Barrum country. and Rob and course teacher Marcy front (L)
Working with Cape York
In early December we had a meeting Northern Gulf natural resource man- us a call and we will help you with
with the groups involved in the agement regions. At this meeting it some ideas and information and what
‘shared’ area of the Mitchell Catch- was decided that to make it easier for to do next so you can get your pro-
ment. What the ‘shared’ area really people who live in this area , that the ject happening. (N.B. PPLC provided
means is that people who live on the Mitchell River Group would be a first some money towards the Palmer bel-
north side of the Mitchell River have point of contact. So if you have an lyache project and Dept of Commu-
the opportunity to access project idea or a project you would like to do nities have also provided some funds
funding across both Cape York and but aren’t sure what to do next give for catchment management services)
Next Mitchell meeting:
MITCHELL RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT GROUP INC NEWSLETTER
Our Postal Address :
January 25 9.30am—2.30pm Dimbulah Bowls Club, Dimbulah
Mitchell River Watershed Management Group Inc
PO Box 646N Cairns Q4870 Come along and have your say about management in the Mitchell
You can find us at : catchment, raise your issues, find out about funding and hear about ;
208 McLeod St Cairns
Tilapia –Stirling Peverell will tell us how to identify a tilapia, what
Phone: (07) 4031 3432Fax: (07) 4031 3049
Email: Mitchell@cypda.com.au
to do and who to contact if you have caught one.
Wild Rivers– Robin Clark, NR&M Wild River Coordinator will tell us
Sustainable Management of the Mitchell Catchment.
what this legislation really means.
For more information and project updates
Check out our website : www.mitchell-river.com.au
What’s happening around the catchment
• Mit chell River Wat er Resource Republic Gold has been doing ex- • Peninsula Past oralist s Landcare
Plan ploratory work around Northcote and Committ ee (PPLC)
Tregoora for some months to work
The planning is progressing well. The PPLC have been very active and
out how much gold they can recover
There have been three community have lots happening on the ground.
using a process called heap leach-
reference panel (CRP) meetings held Properties already involved in GLM
ing.
and there will be a fourth meeting in ($avannaPlan) include Bamboo, As-
Mareeba in March. This meeting will There is a useful website where you trea, Artemis, Strathburn, Strathmay
be the opportunity for the CRP to can find out more about mining and Kimba, with lots more interested.
review and provide comment on the leases and tenure, go to: The computer training is proving very
Draft Water Resource Plan . www.webgis.nrm.qld.gov.au/ popular. This joint project between
webgis/webqmin Landcare and the Fire Project that pro-
Want to find out more, go to:
vides one-on-one training. If you live
www.nrm.qld.gov.au/wrp/mitchell • Gully Erosion and Riparian
on Cape York and would like to be
Condition
• Mining involved call Debbie Gostelow
There are many projects happening 40951434. PPLC also have funding for
As commodity prices increase and
that will increase our understanding a range of land rehabilitation projects
methods for extracting minerals be-
of the processes affecting the water- There has been nearly $300,000 al-
come more efficient there is often an
ways . Andrew Brooks from Griffith ready provided for projects. As part of
increase in the level of mining activ-
University will use satellite photos for the building the Landcare Ethic project
ity and we are seeing this happen at
mapping and classifying areas of PPLC will also be purchasing tables
the moment around the Mitchell
gully erosion. This project will study and chairs for the Lakeland hall - Land-
catchment. Many of you will be
the Mitchell and Coleman Rivers care has something for everyone !
aware that the Alice River gold mine
(and three others outside the re-
is really picking up and you may
gion) and will help to work out
have seen the semi trailers carting
some of the underlying processes
gear in there as the mine and accom-
that are adding to the erosion, sedi-
modation is being re-established.
mentation causes are not just about
Wolfram Camp is another site where land use. Another project will be
there is a lot of activity happening. recording information about the
The company has been doing a lot of condition of the riparian area
drilling to establish how much mo- (between the high banks) of the
lybdenum and wolfram is still avail- rivers. These projects will help pro-
able and exactly where it can be vide information for management
found. and record how well are rivers are Joe Rolfe, Michelle & Margie Innes, Anne & Ashleigh Raymond,
doing over time. Clinton Innes & Rodney Raymond inspect pastures on Kimba as
part of $avannaPlan
