Summary of events over the next two weeks:

• 16 April: Applications close, Beach Scrub Project Officer Position
• 16-21 April: Desert Uplands Information Days
• 16 April ClimEd Workshops, Alpha
• 16-20 April MTSRF Research Synthesis Conference
• 17 April: ANPC National Forum: What lies beneath? The role of soil biota in the health and rehabilitation of native vegetation
• 19 April: ClimEd Workshops, Clermont
• 19 April: Over the Garden Fence and Far Away - Communities
• 20 April: Julia Creek Dirt and Dust Festival
• 22 April: Earth Day
• 22 April: Symposium on biological control of weeds. Montpellier, France
• 23 April: Applications close, Paid Indigenous Cadetship
• 24 April: AgSIP 13 Economic Valuation Workshop
• 26 April: IPAA Regional Symposium, Townsville
• 27 April: Ten Days in the Towers
• 27 April: Rotary Club of Townsville's Mayor's Charity Ball
• 27 April: Applications close for Envirofund
• 27 April: Nominations close, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships
• 27 April – 5 May: Primary Industries Week

Additions to our “What’s On” web page

• 1 June: Applications close, Peter Doherty Awards for Excellence
• 4-6 June: Water ’07, Melbourne
• 8 June : Competition closes for 'Drawing Together'
• 11 June: Registration closes, Queensland Rainforest Recovery Forum, 25-27 June
• 31 July: Applications close for NFPN Awards for Nonprofit Organisations
• 14 August: CHRRUP Board Meeting
• 9-12 October: 2nd National Indigenous Land and Sea Management Conference: CARING FOR COUNTRY, our people, our nation, our responsibility, Cardwell

For more information on all the events above and more, go to www.bdtnrm.org.au/news/on/index.html

1. 18th April: Alternative Irrigation Project – Farm Walk
2. BDTNRM Volunteers Monitor the 'Big Wet'
3. Fish Barrier Assessment, Burdekin Region
4. RGC Training on GIS and GPS
5. ‘Blueprint for the Bush' Initiative
6. New Natural Resource Website: North Australian Land Manager
7. Community NRM Groups Survey
8. Innovative Weather Scheme
9. Indigenous Land & Sea Management Website
10. Management of Rambutan Pests
11. Mimosa Biocontrol Release
12. GVP for Queensland's Primary Industries and Fisheries
13. News Updates
14. Community Effort in Environmental Response

18th April: Alternative Irrigation Project – Farm Walk

BDTNRM is funding an Alternative Irrigation project to look at the use of overhead irrigation versus flood irrigation in the Lower Burdekin area. On behalf of Chris Hesp, chairman of the MAFIA, interested parties are invited on a ‘farm walk’ to inspect the Evaluating Alternative Irrigation project field site, 18th April at 8:30am. Please advise Kate Masters, at BDTNRM, if you would like to attend.

BDTNRM Volunteers Monitor the 'Big Wet'

During February's 'Big Wet' trained volunteers collected water samples from the major waterways of the Burdekin Dry Tropics Region. As the majority of sediment and nutrients are transported during major flood events, samples were collected from the rising, peak and falling stages of river flow. The data will identify sub-catchments within the region that contribute the highest concentrations and loads of sediment and nutrients. This will assist BDTNRM in prioritising funding for on-ground actions to address the loss of vital soils and nutrients within the catchment.

Researchers from the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research (ACTFR), James Cook University have been working with grazier and cane farmer volunteers to collect samples over the past four wet seasons, but the recent rains have caused the largest river flows in the region since the commencement of the project.

For more information on this project go to /initiatives/wq_events_monitoring/index.html

Fish Barrier Assessment, Burdekin Region

At last month’s River Management Workshop, Dr Scott Crawford, BDTNRM, announced Alluvium Consulting (Queensland) has won the tender to undertake fish barrier assessment across the Burdekin region. The project will improve understanding of habitat requirements of native fish and what is required to increase their distribution across the region with the modification of barriers (constructed and natural), particularly in coastal areas. Community meetings will be incoporated to provide an opportunity to contribute their knowledge of the type and location of the many barriers that exist to the movement of native fish in and out of our catchments.

Background information relating to this project can be viewed on: www.bdtnrm.org.au/initiatives/swg.html

RGC Training on GIS and GPS

The Regional Groups Collective (RGC) are conducting training for regional officers in satellite imagery and spatial imagery capture. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) officer Dustin Edge, hosted by BDTNRM, is leading training workshops across Queensland in GIS and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). The workshops have been running every fortnight since December and are available for regional NRM staff and land managers. Since December, 55 people have completed the GPS training while 40 people have taken part in the GIS training program.

The next training course will be held on 19-21 June at Collinsville. For more information please contact Gale Duell at BDTNRM.

‘Blueprint for the Bush' Initiative

Pest animals and weeds will be targeted under the Queensland Government's $11 million `Reclaim the Bush: A Pest Offensive' program, which is a major part of the government's `Blueprint for the Bush' initiative. More than $2 million will go to projects targeting wild dogs and feral pigs. Funding will also go to researching biocontrols for weeds like prickly acacia, bellyache bush and cats claw creeper; 10 new wash-down facilities; and satellite imaging to detect and monitor the distribution of weeds.

New Natural Resource Site: North Australian Land Manager

The site has almost 20,000 items of NRM information grouped into different regions (States, Territories, bioregions), different topics (fire management, weeds monitoring etc.) and different types of information (case study, video, research paper etc.). Initially focused on fire management and biodiversity management, it is intended that the site will grow in response to user feedback to provide practical information for natural resource managers in north Australia. A link has been placed to this site from our Non-Government Links page www.bdtnrm.org.au/links/nongovernment.html

Community NRM Groups Survey

Queensland Water and Land Carers is conducting a state-wide membership survey to canvass the needs of the NRM volunteer sector. The survey gives community NRM volunteers an opportunity to contribute to the future direction of their peak body. The findings of the survey will be used to better represent community NRM groups to key decision makers, such as the Queensland Government.

The survey will be conducted by Yarramine Consulting and includes a mailed questionnaire and telephone follow-up, if express permission is given. For more information about this survey or QWALC, go to our non-government web page www.bdtnrm.org.au/links/nongovernment.html

Innovative Weather Scheme

An innovative scheme initiated by Central Highlands farmers has installed a network of 13 fully automated, real time weather stations in the Comet cropping region, allowing farmers to use current information to optimise spraying and irrigating decisions. The data will also be integrated into research work on grains and cropping, and water use efficiency systems.

A collaborative project between CHRRUP, DPI&F Cropping Extension staff, IAWM, and the Comet Sustainable Farmers Association, funded by the National Landcare Program, Landcare is looking to include the project in a national case-study publication, so that other farming groups around the country can learn from the success of this scheme.

Indigenous Land & Sea Management Website

A website to promote the 2nd National Indigenous Land and Sea Management Conference: CARING FOR COUNTRY, our people, our nation, our responsibility, is also hoped to promote the work occurring in Indigenous Land & Sea Management around Australia. For further information use the link from www.bdtnrm.org.au/links/nongovernment.html

Management of Rambutan Pests

The fruit of the Rambutan is very popular throughout Asia, with a increasing market in Australia: it is estimated 600 tonnes of rambutan are produced in Australia annually, with a value of around $4.5 million.
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), has worked with the tropical fruit industry to develop an integrated pest management system for Australian rambutans. The research identified which animals cause damage, and which animals are beneficial to rambutan orchards. A range of insecticides were screened and eight were selected because of their good environmental profiles and unique modes of action and suitability for managing insecticide resistance. The project also identified a number of priority areas for future research. Use our link www.bdtnrm.org.au/links/government.html to access a copy of this report from RIRDC, or find out more about this organization.

Mimosa Biocontrol Release

Introduced into Australia in the late 1800s as a curiosity, Mimosa escaped from the Royal Darwin Botanic Gardens into the Adelaide River system and is now a serious weed of northern Australian wetlands and floodplains, being declared one of Australia's 20 Weeds of National Significance in 1999.

The mimosa flea beetle, Nesaecrepida infuscate , was specifically chosen to fight mimosa in tropical wetlands because its larvae feed on mimosa roots and the soft tissues of seedlings, often killing them. Adult beetles feed on the leaves. These parts of the plant are relatively untouched by current agents (12 insects and two fungi have been released since 1983). The Weeds Management Branch of the Northern Territory Government in Darwin is mass-rearing the beetle ready for initial releases on local infestations.

GVP for Queensland's Primary Industries and Fisheries

The gross value of production (GVP) for Queensland's primary industries and fisheries is forecast at $10.62 billion for 2006-07, an increase on previous forecasts and just 3% lower than 2005-06. While production has been affected by the drought, it is greater than was originally expected, for more details go to our Links Page www.bdtnrm.org.au/links/government.html

News Updates

The latest Farmers Info Newsletter includes information about minimising Ag and Vet chemicals risk, a fuel catalyst for clean air, benefits of organics, soil health, among many others. The Drought Update features articles on the Federal Water Plan, assistance and grants. You can link to these from our web page www.bdtnrm.org.au/news/links/index.html

Community Effort in Environmental Response

A school on the Queensland coast had planned to celebrate World Harmony Day by releasing 2,000 helium filled balloons. Although the balloons were bio-degradable, some members of the school and wider community objected on the grounds that it could potentially harm marine life and was generally polluting. An email from Australian Seabird Rescue Inc sparked an international wave of responses - over 1,000 emails condemning the release were received at the school and the Department of Education. The school decided to celebrate in a different way in recognition that Harmony Day “is to acknowledge and respect diversity”, and that there were different ways of viewing the proposed event.

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