Land & environment

Hugh Schuitemaker. An ongoing reduction in permanent entitlements being held in a Riverland irrigation trust's district has forced changes to its water accounting. Central Irrigation Trust (CIT) customers were informed in June that all water accounts would now need to be balanced at the end of each month.

Land clearing was effectively banned back in 1983—but apparently no one told the Shire of Northam. Their newly released draft Tree Retention Policy (LPP27) reads as if state and federal restrictions don’t exist. It’s packed with all the right buzzwords—biodiversity, canopy cover, climate resilience—but beneath the green gloss is a bureaucratic trap.

Sarah Herrmann. Small businesses have expressed concerns about long-term financial assistance after eligibility criteria for the $10,000 algal bloom grants were revealed last week. Pubs are one of the businesses not eligible, but Dalrymple Hotel, Stansbury, publican Rob Rankine said, even if they were, there were other hurdles businesses had to jump to get compensation.

A Charles Sturt University researcher has helped develop a groundbreaking new method to test water for a dangerous parasite ... The new testing method is faster, cheaper and more accessible in remote or resource-scarce locations

The National Emergency Management Agency is working with CSIRO to identify flood mitigation options for the Richmond River catchment. This is part of the Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative. As part of this work, CSIRO has developed a hydrodynamic model for the Richmond River catchment.

The government has invested $11.7 million to acquire the retired stations, totalling 34,773 hectares ... These three acquisitions nearly double new additions for the 2024-25 financial year to a total of more than 73,000ha. The NSW national parks network now totals almost 7,774,000 ha.

Ian Hutton. From May 25th to June 1st the Friends of Lord Howe Island ran another successful weeding ecotour to assist the LHI Board with the Island weed eradication program. Eighteen people came along and enjoyed a week contributing to conservation, whilst enjoying the exploration of the Island.

NSW DPI. United Nations World Oceans Day is celebrated globally on 8 June each year to honour the ocean and how it supports us ... To celebrate, students from Lord Howe Island Central School (LHICS) took part in hands-on activities that encouraged them to get curious about the wonders of the LHIMP.

It’s time to return to a model where prevention isn’t a seasonal checkbox or an afterthought, and land management isn’t a sideshow. Fires like Yankees Gap should be front-page scandals, not just for the damage they cause, but also for what they reveal about how badly we’ve lost our way.

A joint emergency response by five local councils during one of the most severe weather events in Victorian history has redefined how regional organisations can work together to save property and lives, a new study has found.

An event that promotes community support and resilience, especially for those affected by loss and hardship since the 2019-20 bushfires, will be held later this month ... One of the main speakers for the 2025 event is James Greenshields who was born in Corryong and raised south of Seymour. He is a former Australian Army Officer with 17 years of service including leading more than 100 soldiers in Iraq and navigating the profound personal challenges that followed.

Witnesses at an inquiry have urged the NSW Government to take a stronger stand against water buybacks as part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which are not only having an immediate social and economic impact, but limiting drought and flood preparedness.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) has launched eight new purpose-built aquaculture ponds for endangered Macquarie Perch breeding at Narrandera Fisheries Centre, funded by Snowy Hydro under the Snowy 2.0 Threatened Fish Management Plan.

Warranmadhaa (Georges River Koala National Park), located between Long Point and Appin, covers 962 hectares. Work is already underway to grow the park with more land transfers planned into the National Park system which will protect up to 1,830 hectares of habitat.

The Spot and Capricorn beach north of Yanchep Lagoon have BEN signs but not shark monitoring network receivers so funding to support Surfing WA shark hazard mitigation initiatives will no doubt be welcomed ... Surfing WA chief executive officer Mark Lane said the funding was a major step forward for ocean safety in WA.

Earlier this year when reports about the disappearance of magpies started to surface it got me thinking about one of my own experiences with the Australian bird. In the 1990s a group of magpies made up of about a dozen or more birds of varying ages were frequent visitors to my Yanchep property.

Michelle Daw. Farmers on Yorke Peninsula are rejoicing after receiving some of the best rainfall for a year and a half with lighter falls forecast for today, Tuesday, July 29, and on Wednesday and Thursday. In the seven days to 9am Monday, falls ranged from 34 millimetres at Port Broughton, to 47mm at Snowtown, 64mm ...

Sarah Herrmann. Grants of up to $100,000 will be available to fisheries and aquaculture businesses significantly affected by the harmful algae bloom, Premier Peter Malinauskas announced during his visit to Yorke Peninsula yesterday, July 28.

Among the red gums lining the Murray River, the endangered Regent Parrot is fighting to hang on. With its bright yellow plumage and unmistakable flight, it’s one of Australia’s lesser-known but most threatened species ... Duxton Vineyards, one of Australia’s largest vineyard holders, is working with the NSW Government’s Saving our Species (SoS) program to restore critical habitat for the Regent Parrot.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has released the 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation assessing the achievements and lessons learned from the 13-years of implementing Australia’s most significant water reform. MDBA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said that while implementation is not complete, the Evaluation found evidence that the rivers, wetlands and lakes are in far better shape under the Basin Plan.