North Queensland Conservation Council

The bush. There’s nothing more Australian than that. It is a part of our heritage and our soul. But even the bush is not sacrosanct when it comes to human activity. The push for clearing for development, agriculture and resource extraction does nothing but increase in pressure as population and demands for yet more extravagant life-styles grow. Hard-fought-for laws, designed to protect our precious vegetation and the extraordinary biodiversity that it supports, are being whittled away.

NQCC is committed to working with others throughout Queensland and Australia to protect our vegetation. That said, during the last year or two most of our energy has gone into working on issues associated with coal mining and export, particularly the proposed Adani mine in the Galilee Basin and its associated Abbot Point port expansion.

Click on this link for all our posts relating to Vegetation Management and here to check our archive for older posts, or visit our links page for groups in our region whose primary focus is vegetation management.

This guest post is contributed by the Invasive Species Council. The Invasive Species Council campaigns for stronger laws, policies and programs to keep Australia’s native plants and animals safe from weeds, feral animals and other invaders. http://www.invasive.org.au

The battle to protect Queensland’s Wet Tropics World Heritage Area from yellow crazy ants has had new life breathed into it with the promise of $10.5 million over the next three years, enough to resuscitate an eradication program that was on the verge of collapse.

The Federal Government has committed $7.5 million and Queensland will kick in another $3 million. However, the Wet Tropics Management Authority says it needs $15 million to eradicate the invasive ant. 

Yellow crazy ants are considered among the world’s worst invasive species. Unchecked they form super colonies that can devastate native animal populations and turn rainforests into ghost towns.

This guest post is contributed by the Invasive Species Council. The Invasive Species Council campaigns for stronger laws, policies and programs to keep Australia’s native plants and animals safe from weeds, feral animals and other invaders. http://www.invasive.org.au

Koster’s curse. Photo: Forest & Kim Starr (Licence: CCBY 2.0)

Koster’s curse has been described as Australia’s new lantana. A slow-growing invasive weed, it smothers pastures and the native understorey of tropical rainforests.

It poses a threat to agriculture and the rainforests of our wet tropics. In Hawaii it has smothered everything in its path and forced landowners off their land – a bleak outlook for Australia’s beautiful wet tropics.

The Burdekin Dry Tropics Natural Resource Management (NRM) Plan was officially launched on 26th August. It is the only one of its kind in the region and forms the blueprint for how the community can work together to protect and sustainably manage our natural resources for the next 10 years. Read the Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM Plan here.

Here is a directory of different groups providing volunteer opportunities with on-ground conservation or environmental projects in the local region:

Conservation Volunteers Australia projects in Townsville region – check this website to confirm correct dates, meeting location and contact details. Projects include Creekwatch (water quality testing and surveys), Friends of Cape Pallarenda Quarantine Station and native revegetation nursey.

Last night, the Queensland government failed to pass vital land-clearing reform legislation.

This is a disaster of Queensland’s making. It’s a huge win for big agriculture and a terrible blow for our Reef, climate change and hundreds of Queensland’s vulnerable or endangered species.

The health of our Reef is directly linked to increased erosion that comes from the tree clearing. Queensland has now passed up the chance to take real steps to protect our Reef for Australians and visitors around the world who support a major tourism industry.

Welcome to this month’s Paperbark! It has been a busy month of planning events and making submissions about various conservation issues being reviewed. Just a reminder: if you were a member in 2015/2016, you have until 5 September until your membership officially lapses. Click here to renew your membership.

In this issue: Protecting our wildlife – Vegetation Management laws – Climate Change Policy – Upcoming Events – General Notices.

On the 11^th of August, NQCC staffers Maree Dibella and Jacob Miller attended Hon. Dr Steven Miles’ presentation on the challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef, as the Virginia Chadwick Memorial Lecture. Dr Miles unveiled the findings of a report by the Water Science Taskforce that details an $8.2 billion strategy to save the reef over the next decade.

The strategy is to reduce the amount of sediment that runs off into the reef by managing vegetation clearing and addressing gully erosion. Of particular concern is the Fitzroy catchment near Rockhampton, taking about three-quarters of the recommended funding, as well as the Burdekin catchment to the south of Townsville, which requires $1.39 billion for rehabilitation.

Welcome to the June edition of Paperbark. With an election approaching, there has been a flurry of activity at the NQCC office. In this issue: AMCS – membership – Election forums for Herbert and Dawson – Great Barrier Beer – Wendy’s launch party – Golf course watering – Letters to the Bulletin – Vegetation Management – Election scorecards – Cash for containers – National Parks win – Emu research

Welcome to the May edition of Paperbark!

With a new month comes a new acting coordinator. I, Maree, would like to thank Wendy Tubman for her enormous contributions to NQCC over the past years in the position of coordinator. Filling her role is a responsibility I’m not taking lightly and I am diving straight into continuing the good work of NQCC as the voice for the environment.

In this issue: Pollution Free Politics, Vegetation Management, two movie screenings, Eco-Fiesta, a solar farm for Townsville, Adani in court, government attacks environmental groups, Coastcare and more.