Rangelands Connecting Landscapes
Engaging landholders in the Riverland Biosphere and Burra to Pualco Ranges
Project Co-ordinators David Setchell – Mallee Eco ServicesRebecca O’Leary – O’Leary Consultants
Project area
Project aims
•Engaging landholders in the control of feral goats and rabbits at a landscape scale
•Reducing total grazing pressure
•Improving the condition & resilience of native vegetation for biodiversity and productivity outcomes
Project governance
Riverland Biosphere Steering Committee
Burra to Pualco Ranges Steering
Committee
Project Management Committee
Landholders & Stakeholders
Stakeholders & partners
•Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin & Northern and Yorke
•Rangelands & Riverland NRM Groups
•Landholders and pastoralists in the project area
•Australian Landscape Trust (Calperum and Taylorville Stations)
•Birdlife Australia (Gluepot Reserve)
•Bush Heritage Australia (Boolcoomatta Reserve)
•Australian Wildlife Conservancy (Scotia Sanctuary)
•NSW DECCW (Tarawi Nature Reserve)
•DEWNR Pastoral Unit
•Volunteer Organisations
•Western Local Land Services (NSW)
•Parks Victoria
•Aerial surveys
•Landholder & stakeholder engagement
•On-ground works
•Building landholder capacity
•Monitoring (vegetation, satellite tracking and conceptual model)
Project components
Aerial survey (2011-2015)
Landholder & stakeholder engagement
•Property visits
•Tailoring communication to suit landholders
•Steering Committee membership
•Landholder grant agreements
Challenges for engagement
•Wide variety of views regarding feral goats
•Economic value of feral goats
•Limited amount of labour & time available to landholders/pastoralists
•Geographical barriers
•Previous experiences & attitudes towards government projects
On-ground works
Dam rationalisations
Warren ripping
On-ground works
Before After
Warren imploding
On-ground works
Aerial operations
•Strategically targeted based on geography and aerial survey results
•Landholders can choose mustering/culling or culling
•In kind contribution of on-ground mustering support
•Targeting feral goat populations that are inaccessible
On-ground works
Mustering and trap yards
On-ground works
Building landholder capacity
•Providing technical advice
•Assisting with grant applications
•Permanent trap/muster yard construction
•Portable trap yards for loan
•Exclusion fencing
•In-kind contribution from landholder for all on-ground works
Portable trap yards
Building landholder capacity
Monitoring
Vegetation assessment sites
Satellite tracking
Monitoring
Conceptual model
Riverland Biosphere achievements
•22 pastoralists and land managers involved•Additional 9 stakeholders engaged•81,906 feral goats removed by mustering and trapping•16,771 feral goats removed by ground and aerial culling•1,058 rabbit warrens destroyed•23 dams closed•49 trap yards on pastoral properties•21 trap yards on the conservation reserves•43 vegetation monitoring sites established
Burra to Pualco Ranges achievements
•31 pastoralists and land managers involved •4,530 feral goats removed by mustered and trapping•3,526 feral goats removed by ground and aerial culling•4,261 rabbit warrens ripped•702 warrens imploded•20 trap yards on 10 pastoral and conservation properties •5 vegetation monitoring sites established
This program would not be possible without funding from the following programs and funding bodies:SAMDB NRM BoardAustralian Government Biodiversity Fund