Seeking signs of change

Harry and Nat from our Sustainable Agriculture and Water Quality team have been travelling out west this month completing follow-up monitoring for land management projects completed last year through the Natural Resources Investment Program.

They have visited 14 properties on Cape York to capture any early signs of change resulting from the projects.

Projects completed included weed control (rubber vine and parkinsonia), feral animal control, spreading of grazing pressure by installing new watering points, and fencing off wetlands. 

Many sites have already shown promising signs of improvement, while others will take several years before changes are fully appreciated. 

“We love engaging with landholders across the Cape and helping them deliver projects to safeguard and improve their natural assets,” Harry said. “These visits are a valuable way for us to collect follow-up data that shows funding providers the value of these projects and the real on-ground outcomes,” Harry said.

At Drumduff and Highbury stations, Colin and Beth Hughes have completed feral animal control to protect their wetlands from pig diggings. They said the extra support from the program had helped them significantly ramp up their control efforts, and already they were seeing a lot of improvement compared with five years ago — lillies are returning and wetlands are looking a lot healthier.

To survey these wetlands, Harry and Nat took a ride with Colin, in his R22 helicopter, who gave them a detailed view of each wetland and any damage resulting from feral animals. 

Harry and Nat are hoping to continue these types of projects in the future. Cape York NRM has applied for additional funding and if successful, projects will be rolled out over the next two years.