Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
Key
site specific
region wide
Project bolsters bottom line for farmers and the environment
The disastrous impact of feral animals on pastoral land and the environment in South Australia is being remedied through a project involving landholder agreements across more than half the state.
Feral goats, rabbits and foxes have wrought havoc across an area of some 538,000 square kilometres in the northern arid and semi-arid region known as the Arid Lands.
But a project to remove these threats and rehabilitate the landscape is producing outstanding results across more than 100 farming properties.
Funding
Since 2001 the Rangelands Action Project, through the South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board, has received nearly $1.3 million from the Australian Government. The South Australian Government has also provided assistance.
Funding was given to landholders who agreed to carry out activities such as fencing, vermin and weed control and tree planting to restore health to their land. All successful applicants matched the funding with their own cash and in-kind contributions.
Activities
Program Manager for the SA Arid Lands NRM Board Sandy Gunter said the project had been particularly successful throughout the Flinders Ranges.
"About half the funding set aside for feral animal control is targeted at rabbits," he said. "They place enormous grazing pressure on the land and are to blame for a huge loss in native plant and animal biodiversity.
"There's really no difference between rabbits and bulldozers or chainsaws in terms of how efficiently they clear the land of vegetation."
Thousands of rabbit warrens have been destroyed across the central and southern Flinders Ranges, with landholders employing contractors to rip the burrows with a bulldozer. This complements previous ripping work in the northern Flinders and inside the Flinders Ranges National Park, leaving a large tract of the state nearly rabbit-free.
Landholders were provided with much-needed technical assistance and expertise. Workshops were also held to improve the community's ability to manage the area's natural resources.
While the project finished in September 2006, new projects in the region are building on its success.
Achievements
Sandy said that with the removal of rabbits, large areas of the state now stand a chance of recovering.
"Landholders have noticed how the bare patches that used to surround the burrows have gone, and the bush and grasses are regenerating," he said.
"They're tackling the erosion caused by pest animals through activities like replanting and seeing benefits such as lower farm-running costs and increases in crop yields and land values."
More information
- Sandy Gunter, Programs Manager, SA Arid Lands NRM Board: (08) 8648 5982 or sandy.gunter@saalnrm.sa.gov.au
- Arid Lands NRM
See also
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window