09/12/2005
- Local communities in drought-affected areas in Western
Australia are being helped to rebuild their land and their
lives with $1,153,747 from the Australian Government’s Envirofund.
Details of successful applications for the 2005 Drought
Recovery Envirofund were announced today by the Australian
Government Ministers for the Environment and Heritage, Senator
Ian Campbell, and Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation,
Senator Ian Macdonald.
"Much of Western Australia may now be greening up after
the rain but the corrosive effect of the drought remains,"
Senator Campbell said.
"This funding for 33 community-based projects in the
West will help people recover from the drought and manage
their land to reduce the impacts of future dry spells.
"We received an unprecedented demand for grants from
across the country and in response, doubled the funding
originally set aside from $10 million to $20 million. This
means we have been able to approve 1145 applications nationally."
Senator Campbell said funding would go to a number innovative
Western Australian projects.
"One example of this is a project on rangeland near
Kalgoorlie which aims to make water collection in the area
more effective," he said.
"It involves converting two old dams and replanting
them with native trees and shrubs while constructing a new
dam in a more environmentally suitable area.
"Other projects include fencing to exclude stock and
feral animals from springs so they can recover after the
drought, setting up grazing management yards to allow paddocks
to be spelled and controlling feral pests like goats."
Envirofund is the community-focused component of the Australian
Government’s $3 billion Natural Heritage Trust.
The next standard Envirofund round will open in February
2006. Round 7 Australian Government
Envirofund
Western Australia project examples
Fencing to Protect Wetland Ecosystems, Bulga Downs $7,545
This project will involve constructing 4km of fencing
to exclude stock and feral animals from two natural springs
at Bulga Downs near Murchison to help natural regeneration
in the area.
Water Harvesting Rationalisation for Sustainable Land
Management, $19,136
Two obsolete dams at Coolgardie near Kalgoorlie will be
decommissioned under this project and a new dam constructed
in an environmentally suited area. The former dam areas
will be planted with 3,000 native trees and shrubs and
three alternative stock watering points and 2km of fencing
will be constructed to exclude stock from the old dams
while these are growing.
Protection of Mt Narryer Heritage Area and Murchison River
Frontage $41,800
This project will involve constructing 36km of fencing
to exclude stock from the Mount Narryer heritage area
on Mount Narryer near Murchison and to manage grazing
in the surrounding area. Two Total Grazing Management
yards will be constructed to allow paddocks to be spelled.
This will also help control feral animals such as goats.
Sustainable Land Management Program in the Rangelands
$45,455
This project will enable paddock spelling by establishing
four Total Grazing Management yards on rangelands near
Carnarvon and constructing 19km of fencing. This will
also help with control of feral goats. An additional watering
point will be established that will decrease pressure
on an existing bore and a pipeline will improve water
quality at a saline bore site.
Erosion Control and Drought Recovery Measures for Gindalbie
Station $38,463
This project will enable paddock spelling by installing
seven Total Grazing Management yards at Gindalbie near
Murchison. This will also help with control of feral goats.
Two dams will be desilted and fencing erected to help
control erosion control by excluding stock.
Fencing Off Riparian Areas on the Gascoyne River $45,427
This project involves constructing 36km of fencing to
exclude stock from the Gascoyne River on the Brickhouse
property near Carnarvon. This will enable control of weeds
such as mesquite, castor oil trees and passionfruit vine,
and allow the riparian zone of the river to naturally
regenerate.
Goat Control, Provision of Alternative Drought Management
Options and Improvement of Water Supplies $27,376
This project will involve constructing 2.18km of fencing
on Hill View farm near Perenjori/Morawa in the wheat belt
region south east of Geraldton to protect an area of bluebush
from stock, allowing natural regeneration to occur. The
area will be available for controlled grazing during drought.
Stock access to a floodplain area will also be controlled
by constructing 9.32km of fencing. Natural regeneration
of the area will be augmented by seeding with 50kg of
grass seed and planting 15,250 trees. A dam will be decommissioned
and a new dam constructed. A trap yard will be built to
control feral goat populations. A feedlot will be built,
enabling paddock spelling.
Reducing Grazing Pressure through Water Restructure, Boonderoo
$45,454
This project will install 39km of polypipe and three alternative
stock watering points to move grazing pressure away from
existing bore-supplied watering points on Kanandah station
to more ecologically resilient sites on Boonderoo near
Kalgoorlie. |
