A partnership between major landholders and Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management is delivering better pastures for graziers as part of the Natural Resources Investment Program.

Working with 20 properties on almost 90,000 hectares of land, management plans were developed to improve their condition. 

Almost 200 monitoring sites were established on the properties to measure land condition change over the course of the project.

Southern Gulf NRM chief executive officer Geoff Penton said the results were encouraging.

“This was a mammoth effort given the great distances between the landholders and Southern Gulf NRM which has offices in Mount Isa and Hughenden,” he said.

“We would love to support all the region’s property managers to follow this great example and outcomes achieved in the years ahead.”

One property undertook planned burns to both reduce wildfire risk and stimulate new spinifex pasture growth.

“Several landholders took longer than expected to complete their projects due to delays in the supply of materials, tanks, troughs and difficulties in securing contractors,” Mr Penton said.

Some landholders fenced off a portion of a creek and river, including water frontage country, wetlands and gullies.

 Off-stream watering points were installed to water the stock throughout the year, without having stock directly in the creek and river.

Landholders were impacted by a variety of factors including dry conditions, unseasonal wet weather, the 2019 monsoon flood event and the global pandemic.

The Natural Resources Investment Program matched in-kind contributions from the landholders.

This article appeared in North West Weekly, 4 August 2022.