Millions of hectares on the mend

Graziers across Cape York’s Joint Management Area (Palmer, Mitchell and Alice River Catchments) are busy delivering all sorts of exciting projects to improve native vegetation and soil health on their properties.

Since the program began in 2018, graziers have been partnering with Cape York NRM and Gulf Savannah NRM to plan and deliver projects across 16 grazing properties in the region, spanning more than 2.3 million hectares.

Each project is unique and tailor-made to the problems and solutions for that property. Out west at Rutland Plains, MDH are installing additional watering troughs in three paddocks to spread grazing pressure and reduce overgrazing around the existing troughs. Just down the road at Drumduff Station, Colin and Beth Hughes are improving wetland condition by controlling feral animals. Meanwhile at Pinnacle Station, Robert and Robyn Raymond have been remediating breakaways to restore grazing country and reduce soil loss.

So how do we know if these projects are making a difference? Before and after the work is done, Cape York NRM undertakes assessments of the vegetation and wetland condition using specialised surveys. This might mean driving to a paddock and looking at the ground cover—are there productive, perennial and palatable grasses? How dense is the coverage? Or it might mean taking a chopper ride to wetland areas, where the team can assess the water quality and the degree of damage done by feral animals.

We’re proud to support graziers in the region who are doing amazing work to care for their patch by improving their land and waterways.

This project is funded by the Queensland Government's Natural Resources Investment Program