Land & environment

A team of CFS volunteers and staff are heading to the United States this morning, ready to assist with dozens of wildfires burning across the country’s west. The eight-member SA deployment will travel to Boise, Idaho, to help fight major fires in the Pacific Northwest, across the states of Oregon and Washington.

A special event is set to celebrate the Sunshine Coast’s magnificent ocean and coastline like never before. If you are a thalassophile – a lover of the ocean – then get ready to take part in the inaugural Sunshine Coast Marine Bioblitz...

Gannawarra Shire Council has welcomed the tabling of the Victorian Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee’s Final Report for the Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event in Victoria, and will advocate for various key recommendations to be actioned.

Australia must act now if it is to seize the opportunity to play a significant role in decarbonising domestic and global steel production and utilise the nation’s significant international comparative advantage to create a competitive Green Iron industry, Magnetite Mines has asserted in the company’s submission to the Australian Government’s Green Metals Consultation Paper.  

Joanna Tucker. Kadina CFS volunteer Justin Baxter is flying to the US this week to help fight some of the 85 wildfires burning across the country, following an SOS call put out by officials. The Moonta Bay resident ... is scheduled to reach the state of Idaho ... to start his mission, along with eight more South Australians and a host of other Australian firefighters ... Mr Baxter said he had undergone an intensive training program to be ready for the 40-day deployment.

Five ... firefighters from Loddon Mallee departed on Friday for a month on the fireline in British Columbia ... “Our ... firefighters are well-prepared to face the challenging and remote terrain of Canada, bringing specialist skills in tree-felling and dry firefighting techniques."

Landslips, roads, bridges and a new clubhouse have had tenders announced by Richmond Valley Council so work can begin. Most of the projects are funded under Transport for NSW’s Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, except the Tatham bridges, which are being funded through the Australian Government’s Emergency Response Fund Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program 2022-2023.

A dangerous incident at the Lakes Creek Road Waste Management Facility last week has reignited the importance of proper battery disposal. While loading household recyclables on a truck bound for the Material Recovery Facility (MRF), a lithium-ion battery ignited within the load.

Forestry Corporation firefighters on the North Coast are preparing for the bushfire season refreshing skills and planning for the fire season they will face in spring and summer ... North Coast and Far North Coast firefighters have attended preseason fire days near Grafton for training refreshers on equipment, fireground procedure, command, control, communications and safety.

Suzie Christensen. In the lead up to National Science Week ... we celebrate those who contribute to the world of scientific knowledge. A globally significant partnership with research scientists at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has seen LHIB work to protect and manage threats to the critically endangered Little Mountain Palm (Lepidorrhachis mooreana or LMP).

Ian Riley. A well-known feature of Maldon is its distinctive stone gutters, correct? But what does this have to do with the fire station? Well, everything, as I learnt after speaking with Darryl Walker, an amazing guy who has been a volunteer firefighter for over 60 years. That’s around the time the Beatles came to Australia.

Many residents on the south side of Maldon came home to find that their taps were not issuing water last Friday afternoon ... Troy Waterhouse, aptly named, exceptionally good-natured and covered in mud, spent at least an hour in the sludgy pit by the side of the road, scooping out water and fixing the main so that water delivery was restored to residents in reasonable time.

John O’Donnell identifies numerous instances of what he sees as poor and inadequate governance at local, state and federal level, many of them being cross sector issues, highlighting the importance of working more effectivly together to address them. John goes on to identify possible ways to influence better outcomes.  

As the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) continue to change the rules in their favour, irrigation communities are proposing a dramatic change that aims to benefit food producers and Australia’s largest irrigator, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.

Narrandera Landcare had a great turnout of people wanting to help on Sunday for its National Tree Day community planting. Thirty-five volunteers helped put around 800 seedlings into the ground to replace some of the vegetation lost in the last floods.

Koondrook has taken out bronze in the 2024 Victoria Tourism Industry Council Top Tourism Town Awards. Our idyllic Murray locality was one of nine towns recognised across three categories in the awards; Koondrook competing for the Top Tiny Town award against five finalists, with Timboon taking out the win.

It was a lucky escape for a truck driver in Frances, outside of Naracoorte. This after the truck he was driving, loaded with hay, caught fire on July 25. According to the Country Fire Service (CFS) 17 firefighters on four CFS trucks had to attend the tray-top truck fire.