Land & environment

A Yanchep man, who appeared in Joondalup Magistrates Court on January 17, will remain remanded in custody until his next court appearance on February 28 ... 16 unlicensed firearms, including a sawn-off shotgun ... unlicensed native wildlife, including a carpet python snake and 34 geckos ..

Fire ants have been discovered in Wardell, south of Ballina, New South Wales, after Labor was too slow to act on its red imported fire ant response program. Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the latest infestation, 85 kilometres south of the Queensland  border, is another sign that Labor has lost control of eradicating the pest.

Farmers are calling for a major effort to stamp out fire ants in NSW after the insidious pests were discovered near Ballina. According to the NSW Government, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) detected a Red Imported Fire Ant nest at Wardell, south of Ballina on Friday.

Fire ants have made it to Wardell. NSW Department of Primary Industries said there is an exclusion zone of 5km around Wardell in an attempt to halt the spread of fire ants after a resident contacted them.

David Thompson is a farmer but he’s also a cultivator of change. David runs a 3000 hectare property just outside Katanning in WA and like thousands of farmers he’s seeing the effects of man-made soil salinity first hand ... Several years ago David decided to diversify his business (from solely grain crops and sheep) and start to grow sustainable, saline-infused food products. His business, Moojepin Foods, now produces saline greens that have won numerous awards and accolades.

Invasive species are being trapped and removed in record numbers across the Sunshine Coast, in a united effort between Sunshine Coast Council and the community to protect our region’s biodiversity. In 2023, Council’s team removed 335 feral deer from registered properties in the region, almost triple the previous record set in 2021.

Fires and floods–Central Victoria has copped it all in the past couple of weeks. Fire Brigades and the SES have been busy ... a fire in Maldon that involved a 36 volt lithium ion battery that was sitting on its charger, but was not plugged in.

The increase in popularity of lithium-ion battery powered devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters and small home devices has some far reaching implications for managing fire risk in strata communities ... Owners Corporation Network is holding a webinar on 15 February ...

Farmers are backing calls for the Federal Government to review community engagement on renewable energy projects to ensure smarter, safer and more sustainable solutions to power the nation ... “To date, many farmers have had a very disappointing experience with the community consultation – or lack thereof – around the transmission lines set to run through their properties," Ms Bowman said.

Why do we have sacred topics? Ideas, theories or policies that appear to be off limits ... Three sacred topics of late have been Covid-19, climate and carbon. What happens when ‘misinformation’ actually is proven correct?

Roger Underwood. There was an unusual event in Dryandra Forest in Western Australia in November 2023: a commemoration of 100 years of forestry management. At a large gathering in the forest, beneath the shade of a 100-year-old brown mallet plantation, speeches were made, a plaque unveiled, and this book on the history of the forest was launched.

A fire broke out on Tuesday evening at approximately 5 o’clock ... it started on the Western Highway opposite the Nhill Racecourse and burned approximately 90 acres of wheat crop. CFA Captain Rob Schneider said, "The fire burnt up to the back of the houses in Leahy Street...

Summer 2023/4 has proven to be volatile for Queensland growers ... Growcom, the project delivery arm of the Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG), in conjunction with the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA), will host a webinar this coming Friday, 19 January to help primary producers recover from these events.

Michelle Daw. A southern Yorke Peninsula fisher is worried sharks are becoming more aggressive around boats — and believes shark tourism is partly to blame ... Mr Bishop fishes in Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf and said he’s seen more sharks come close to his boat recently than at any other time in his 21-year career.

John O'Donnell. The NSW Rural Fire Service 2022/2023 Annual Report shows that, areas of annual hazard reduction burning and mechanical reduction in NSW are both at very low rates and vary by year ... Considering the extent of chronic eucalypt decline and thick understories in many NSW forests, strategies and actions to address these major issues across NSW landscapes and reduce intense bushfire risks are opportune but overdue, using low intensity maintenance burning and mechanical treatment of forests.

Greater Shepparton City Council is warning the public to avoid direct contact with water in Kialla Lakes after detecting high levels of blue-green algae in the first lake ... They contain toxins that are harmful to humans and animals.

One simple idea and a whole lot of passion has created a legacy that’s removed more than  250,000 pieces of litter from Sunshine Coast beaches at a critical time during turtle nesting season ... The community is invited to come together to tidy up their local beach as part of the 10th anniversary of the annual Clean Up For The Hatchlings event...

Firefighters are battling three bushfires in the north-eastern outskirts of the metropolitan area – with residents needing to be aware warning areas have moved further into Yanchep and Yeal ... A map above accessible on Emergency WA website ... shows the warning areas associated with the three bushfires...

The Department of Communities has set up an evacuation centre at the Bendigo Centre Recreation Grounds on Weld St in Gingin for people affected by the Bindoon-Chittering bushfire, which has burnt 2600ha ... Register with Register.Find.Reunite to let your family and loved ones know you’re okay via https://redcross.org.au from any computer or mobile device, or at an evacuation centre.

The 2023 JS Collings Trophy for excellence in maintaining major water management infrastructure on the River Murray has been awarded to Mildura Weir by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) ... "Mildura Weir comprises 24 steel trestles, each weighing approximately 11 tonnes, that can be winched from the river to allow maintenance, or to allow the safe passage of flood waters": MDBA’s Executive Director River Management, Andrew Reynolds.

Wine and grape growers need to break with tradition in production methods as new studies identify yield and quality improvements can be achieved through changes which focus on soil health ... “It’s like a dead zone when you create that space of exposed bare earth between rows of vines,” says AgTech  specialist and Bactivate  CEO Mark Gabsch.