Burdekin Bites 24 November 2006

  1. Eungella Reservoir Spot Scene of the week
  2. 28 November Value Beef Forum
  3. 5-12 December Coastcare Week
  4. 18 December Broadband Connect Proposals Due
  5. 18 December 2 January BDTNRM office closed
  6. 22 December Applications close for National Leadership achievement award for women
  7. Rachel Allan new BDTNRM Manager Community and Engagement
  8. 20 new officers to accelerate property management systems
  9. Level 2 Water Restrictions in Townsville and Thuringowa
  10. State Environment and Landcare Award for CHRRUP
  11. Funding for CRC Savannas ceases in 2008
  12. Farmers Info Drought Update
  13. Online guides for wetland management
  14. Environmental Management Systems - Biodiversity Resource Guide
  15. Stern report on Climate Change

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Spot Scene of the week

This week the focus is on the Eungella Reservoir (21°08'30"S 148°23'30"E) located appoximately 81km due west of Mackay and 87km south-west of Collinsville as the Crow flies. This scene was acquired 26th August 2006. An inset has been provided to show the Eungella Dam Wall. Eungella Dam has a capacity of 112,400ML and current storage as at 20 Nov 2006 was 18,500 (16%) – Sunwater.

28 November Value Beef Forum

10:30-5:00pm Jupiters Townsville Hotel and Casino.

Cost: Forum $20, BBQ $40.

RSVP by Friday 24 November to vic.okeefe@dpi.qld.gov.au

The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) and Meat and Livestock Australia will be hosting an open forum on exciting new concepts in new generation beef production through applied science in north Queensland. For more information go to: New project explores value in beef for North Queensland 

5-12 December Coastcare Week

www.landcareonline.com/page.asp?pID=78

18 December Broadband Connect Proposals due

Broadband Connect is an $878 million initiative of the Australian Government to support equitable access to high quality, sustainable broadband services across regional and rural Australia. Broadband Connect builds on the success of the previous Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS). On 30 October 2006 the Minister extended the deadline for submitting applications to Monday 18 December 2006.  For more information go to: http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_for_consumers/funding_programs__and__support/broadband_connect

18 December 2 January BDTNRM office closed

For Christmas and New Year, the best of the season to all of our readers!

22 December Applications close for National Leadership achievement award for women

The CLW Leadership Achievement Award has been established to recognise women in the community who use their own initiative to create and implement projects for the benefit of the community and in collaboration with the community. The Leadership Achievement Award is open to all Australian women 18 years and above. Individuals can nominate themselves for the Award or be nominated by someone else. For more information go to http://www.yarn.gov.au/cb_pages/news/womenleaders.php

Rachel Allan new BDTNRM Manager Community and Engagement

Dr Rachel Allan joined the BDTNRM team in November 2006. Seventy percent of Rachel’s role is BDTNRM’s Community and Engagement Manager and the remaining 30% is Strategic Regional Facilitator employed through the Department of Environment & Heritage (DEH). For some background information about Rachel and other BDTNRM staff go to http://www.burdekindrytropics.org.au/about/staff/index.html

20 new officers to accelerate property management systems

Twenty new officers will be appointed to accelerate the development of property management systems and related incentives on-farm, focusing on achieving practice change for profitability and sustainability outcomes. A Blueprint for the Bush project, The Property Management Systems Initiative, is led by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, in partnership with AgForce, the Queensland Farmers' Federation and the Regional Groups' Collective.

The development of the initiative contributes to the government's obligations under the Farm Management Systems Memorandum of Understanding with QFF and the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan. Expressions of interest are now open. The closing date for applications is Friday 24 November. Operating principles, guidelines and application forms are all available from the DPI&F web site or through the DPI&F call centre on 13 23 25.

Level 2 Water Restrictions in Townsville and Thuringowa

Reduced dam levels mean level 2 water restrictions are now in place. Sprinklers are not permitted between 9am and 4pm daily. Hand held hoses are permitted any time.

Remember you can only water on these days:

Odd house numbers: Wed, Fri, Sun

Even house numbers: Tues, Thurs, Sat

State Environment and Landcare Award for CHRRUP

Congratulations to CHRRUP (Central Highlands Regional Resources Use Planning Cooperative Ltd) who received the State Environment and Landcare Award as part of the Queensland Regional Achievement and Community Awards. In accepting the award on behalf of CHRRUP, Liz Alexander explained that voluntary work done by individuals and groups in the Central Highlands benefits not only the region but the Great Barrier Reef and coastal and urban communities downstream. For more information and to see their newsletter go to www.centralhighlands.com.au/chrrup

Funding for CRC Savannas ceases in 2008

Funding continues at its present levels until July 2007, after which the CRC will start to wind down its activities. The Board is meeting in November to discuss the decision, and there is a possibility of exploring other funding sources to continue some CRC activities. http://savanna.cdu.edu.au/

Farmers Info Drought Update

Farmers Info will be sending out this Drought Update weekly, during this tough time, to provide you with the latest drought information from a wide variety of sources. For more information go to http://www.farmersinfo.com.au/newsletter/droughtalerts/vol02/fx_nff.htm

Online guides for wetland management

A series of online guides are available to help landholders manage wetlands on their properties.

The Queensland Wetlands Programme Wetland Management Profiles contain advice on a wide range of management issues that affect wetlands, such as changes to land use and water quality. They also contain practical recommendations for pest, weed and fire management.

There are 15 profiles, all of which are available on the Queensland Wetlands Programme web site . The Programme is a joint initiative of the Queensland and Australian Governments.

For more information about the guides, contact Angela Pattie on 3006 4621.

Environmental Management Systems - Biodiversity Resource Guide

The Australian Government has developed a Biodiversity Resource Guide as part of the national Environmental Management Systems (EMS) training kit. To see the guide go to: http://www.daffa.gov.au/natural-resources/land-salinity/ems/biodiversity

Stern report on Climate Change

A report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern suggests that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%. Taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product, the 700-page study says. The full text of this article is available at  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6096084.stm

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