The Belyando - Suttor catchment region is characterised by
grazing and board acre cereal cropping. This project addresses
priority resource use, management, sustainability, and capacity
issues across the region. Natural resource issues identified on the
catchment include:
- excessive grazing pressure and loss of ground cover resulting
in soil and land degradation; declining water quality
- fragmentation of vegetation and loss of biodiversity and
habitat
- pest plant infestation
- Lack of community awareness and knowledge of cultural
heritage
- Insufficient community engagement and capacity
Stage 1 saw the employment of a project officer, organisation of
capacity building workshops for landholders in the Belyando Suttor
area, and the establishment of a soil health trial on a
representative property to develop benchmarks. Community engagement
was increased with the revitalisation of the Belyando Suttor
Implementation Group.
Stage 2 continued with one-on-one extension by the project
officer and the organisation of workshops/field days and
information on Property Management Planning/Farm Layout and mapping
GIS & GPS, grazing management programs, water quality
monitoring, understanding climate, soil health and cultural
heritage to provide capacity building within the catchment.
Priority areas for on-ground activities are:-
- Salinity prevention and remediation in the Logan Creek
catchment and some isolated properties;
- Weed control in areas such as Beaufort Creek, Alpha, Monteagle,
Fletcher’s Awl, Degulla and Albro;
- Water quality improvement in the headwaters of the Belyando
River, Logan Creek and Police Creek at Mt Coolon;
- Biodiversity linkage in a high conservation area from Splitter
Creek to Darkies Range and some isolated properties
On-ground activities include:-
- fencing of riparian areas, wetlands and high value vegetation
and to land type,
- biodiversity stewardships
- telemetric weather stations, soils testing
Current highlights: The project has recently
been reviewed and has now been extended to June 2008 (original end
date Sept 2007). Training and capacity building activities will
continue and a limited number of new ongound works opportunities
will be available.