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ABC News
17-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Farmers in arid region re-introduce native seeds to remote outback rangelands
While many farmers are continuing to wait for rain during record-dry conditions, some in the far west of New South Wales are focused on being rain-ready. As part of the Perennial Pastures Resilient Rangelands project, a small group of farmers are working with Local Land Services NSW at a site on a remote station north of White Cliffs to see if they can re-introduce native seed. Ecologist Hugh Pringle worked with the group and said rangelands were severely degraded after a century of poor administration and management. "Rangelands are rangelands because the rainfall is low and unpredictable, and rainfall drives the whole system," Dr Pringle said. "So if you're wasting raindrops in an arid system, you've got no chance of running a primary production business." Local Land Services senior land services officer Paul Theakston said the pastoralists had come up with a plan to slow the water down when it rained and make it meander through the landscape, rather than just rush off and create gully heads. "This area that we're looking at was fairly degraded in terms of very low ground cover," he said. "The water would just sheet off and there was no real infiltration of that water." The demonstration site was created about two years ago on an 80 hectare site at Yalda Downs, 85 kilometres north of White Cliffs. Using a grader, a series of banks about 150 metres long was made to create water ponds. "They pond water to a depth of about 8 centimetres, and then they release that water into the next pond to an 8 centimetre depth, and it just continually does that," Mr Theakston said. About 13 kilograms of native seed was sourced and sowed across the area, which was a difficult and expensive exercise. Ten different species of perennial grasses and shrubs were chosen, including windmill grass Chloris truncata and native millet Panicum decompositum. While dry times have hit, Local Land Services hopes with ongoing monitoring it might see more results from the various regeneration treatments. Yalda Downs' Richard Wilson, who hosted the demonstration site on his property, said they were already pleased with the results. "The thing that we're trying to fine tune is the most effective small changes in building the ponds — ripping, the height of the ponds — and a whole range of different things including seeding, like we did, and excluding stock to see what partial management and grazing management can do," he said. The work the group has been doing will form part of a poster presentation at an upcoming international rangelands conference in Adelaide. "We are keen to publicise the outcomes of these trials because there has been very little done in the past in outback NSW," Mr Wilson said. Originally from Zimbabwe, Dr Pringle has been working in pastoral regeneration in Australia for the past 25 years. He said the energy of local pastoralists when it came to rangeland rehabilitation was "mind-blowing". He has been working with pastoralists in the region since 2016, using the ecosystem management understanding (EMU) tool he developed with colleague Ken Tinley. They first developed their EMU approach in the Gascoyne and Murchison regions in Western Australia, and estimated they had worked with more than 1,000 people across Australia. Their unique approach is that they see farmers as knowledge holders and then apply their own holistic ecological knowledge. He said the method had come as a result of their early work in Africa when they did not have many resources. "[We didn't have] all these nice tools we've got today. 'I'll just go sit down with the local tribal people and talk to them and learn from them and get the answers to all the questions I have,'" he said. Today Dr Pringle divides his time between White Cliffs and Namibia in Africa, where he supervises doctoral students while performing similar regenerative work. The Perennial Pastures Resilient Rangelands project is supported by Local Land Services through funding from the federal Future Drought Fund.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Incredible before and after shots show a major triumph in fight against $100 million problem
Feral pigs are one of Australia's worst introduced threats, unleashing an estimated $100 million economic burden on Australia's agricultural sector every year. Causing serious crop damage, feral pigs also kill livestock and compete with numerous native species. Their impact is felt by both farmers and conservationists, and the species also contributes to the spread of disease. In NSW, where it's estimated feral pigs occupy 60 percent of the state, the issue is particularly dire. While it's generally accepted that feral pigs will never be completely eradicated in Australia — from the mainland at least — pockets of the country have managed to drastically shrink their numbers. In Yetman, on the NSW Northern Tablelands, 1,243 were culled last year across two properties occupying 1,900 hectares, through a combination of aerial shooting, trapping and baiting programs. Incredible before and after pictures show a vast improvement in vegetation growth along a dam after the pigs' removal. A spokesperson for the Local Land Services (LLS), the Department of Primary Industries division that manages feral pigs, said the pictures show efforts are working. "These pictures highlight the results of ongoing, coordinated feral pig control and a reduction in the number of pigs in the area," they told Yahoo News Australia. "The pictures themselves are a before and after shot of a farm dam. The after shows a lot less damage from feral pigs and increased vegetation growth in the area." Primary producers Jack Pearlman and Rowan Wood joined forces with LLS from February to September last year to manage populations in the area, which included 98 trapping days. Jack said he'd never have suspected he had so many feral pigs on his property, until he consistently caught pigs in traps every day. "It's labour-intensive work but ... [it] showed me the impact you can achieve through longer control programs," he said. "What's scary is that they're still around, and if we didn't do these control programs or receive the support from LLS, we wouldn't have known how large the problem was until it was too late." Unexpected way pristine Aussie island wiped out invasive threat Shocking outback footage highlights $300 million Aussie problem Predators forced out with fence covering 2,000 hectares Last month an additional 2,431 pigs were culled as part of a large-scale aerial operation that targeted 78,711 hectares across 41 private properties in Yetman and Wallangra. A land of steep gorges and open croplands, the region has seen a rise in feral pig activity in recent years. Landholders had previously reported issues such as tracks, digging, wallows, and damage to fences, as well as harm to crops, hay and stored grain caused by the pigs. But Rowan observed fewer pigs and less visible damage this harvest compared to previous years. He said the damage they can do to crops "is massive" when they group. "They can wreck it in a week," he said. "If you turn your back for just six months, that's all it takes for their numbers to spiral out of control." Conservations say the impact of feral pigs in Australia can't be understated, but in certain areas extermination efforts are having real successes. In a huge win, authorities now believe they have effectively eliminated pigs from Kangaroo Island, where they previously ran amok in plague proportions. Once over 5,000 of the introduced pests roamed Kangaroo Island in South Australia, but there are now thought to be virtually none left. During the horror 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, which tore across more than half of the island, it's believed feral population pig numbers were also reduced by an astonishing 90 per cent — an unexpected but welcomed outcome. The president of the Australian Pig Doggers and Hunters Association (APDHA), Ned Makin told Yahoo last year how the country's hunters, farmers and regional landowners are desperately calling for a more nationalised approach. He believes pig population numbers have surged to as high as 40 or 50 million. Makin said that in 2024, hunters had eradicated over four million feral pigs. He said the figure alone debunks official government statistics which suggest there are 3.5 million of the pests nationally. Largely, the onus has fallen on locals and landowners in affected areas to eliminate the non-native species, which Makin likened to rodents, in that they are extremely prolific breeders, clever, adaptable, and eat virtually everything. He suggested the country could benefit from a subsidised hunter's scheme, which may in turn entice others to join the cause. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Tradie makes shock discovery in stagnant drain: 'They're bloody everywhere'
A tradie was looking down from a roof at a new construction site when he noticed something odd moving in the murky stormwater drain below. After downing his tools during smoko, Aaron Hickson ventured down to take a closer look and discovered signs the area had become overrun with invasive toads. 'They're bloody everywhere. Yesterday I saw around 15 juveniles within 20 metres,' he told Yahoo News on Friday. 'I'm back there now and I can see thousands of tadpoles.' Cane toads were imported from Hawaii and introduced into Queensland in the 1930s in a misguided attempt to combat insect attacks on sugar cane crops. Since then toads have continued to methodically spread south with the southern front now extending to the Clarence River in NSW. Related: Farmer solves decade-long cane toad 'murder mystery' 'Spot fire populations' are also common occurrences that need to be tracked. They are sparked when pairs jump ahead of the front by catching rides on caravans, buses, horse floats and trucks carrying garden supplies. As they take new territory, toads have demonstrated an ability to outcompete native frogs and kill marsupials and birds with their poisonous glands. Once they become established, their numbers need to be controlled, or sudden outbreaks can occur, as Gold Coast residents found out two years ago. Hickson's discovery was 90km south of Byron Bay in the town of Yamba. While the toads were rarely seen there in the 1980s, the video highlights how the species is now flourishing. Charles Sturt University environmental scientist Dr Matt Greenlees studies the species' encroachment through northern NSW and said the situation at the construction site demonstrates how toads can utilise disturbance caused by humans and become established. 'It's an unfortunate consequence of how they're able to exploit engineering associated with development,' he said. 'If it was in an area on the edge of their distribution, an environment like that would offer them an opportunity to become established. So, it's a good example of what to keep an eye out for.' Related: Grim prediction after 'Toadzilla' discovery in Aussie national park Despite efforts by authorities to contain toads to regions north of the Clarence River, satellite populations of toads are frequently found on the Central Coast, and a small population temporarily became established in Sydney's suburbs during the early 2000s. 'It demonstrates they're perfectly capable of existing that far south. Modelling that compares toad physiology to the environment shows they could definitely spread all the way down the coast of NSW further south than Sydney,' Greenlees said. New technologies are available to help residents rid toad tadpoles from their properties, with one device capitalising on the cannibalistic nature of toads to control them. And Local Land Services also have experts available for advice on toads. Macquarie University cane toad expert Professor Rick Shine told Yahoo the rate at which toads have spread around Australia is 'concerning'. How the extraordinary weather conditions created by climate change affect their advance remains unknown. 'It can either accelerate the invasion or slow it down. The obvious suggestion would be, if you get lots of rain it makes it easy for the toads to move across wet ground. 'But if you get a weird week or two of unusually cold weather at the front, we get reports from farmers of dead toads. If you get unusually dry conditions, there are fewer bugs and you get lots of starving toads. 'It really is swings and roundabouts. We don't know whether the net positives and the net negatives will balance out, or whether we'll see a more rapid or a slower expansion of the toad front.' 😟 Wallaby discovered inside car at Woolworths' car park 🔎 Aussie researchers document major change in 200 crocodiles 😳 19-metre roadside billboard targets PM over ancient site While skirmishes against the spread of cane toads continue, some fear the battle against them is already lost. Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox doesn't think Aussies should lose too much sleep over the spread of cane toads because it's 'inevitable', and that emerging threats need more attention. According to modelling by the CSIRO in 2021, invasive species are already costing the nation $25 billion a year, and Cox thinks more money needs to be spent on stopping their arrival in Australia. 'The mistakes were made long ago and we have very few tools to stop cane toads. But what we're seeing around Australia is a constant arrival of new invasive species, particularly in the north, and authorities are struggling to keep up,' he said. 'The magnitude of impacts from invasive grasses, insects and diseases are being seen already, but it's poorly appreciated by most Australians. We need to invest more heavily in solutions, particularly prevention, developing new technologies, and getting smarter about how we deal with this problem.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
