Vegetated farm drains – they’re the mini wetlands of our region with trials showing they can improve the quality of water flowing into creeks, rivers and the ocean.

15 per cent reduction in nitrate 

We visited a Tully farm recently where we’ve seen a 15% reduction in nitrate (dissolved inorganic nitrogen or DIN) as water moves along the farm’s 570m central drain during steady flows.

This drain was monitored by us for 18 months back in 2021-2023. It wasn’t specifically designed for water treatment and hasn’t had any modifications. A lot of the bank has trees along it, shading in-stream plants, but this drain also has a couple of very well-vegetated sections that are probably working to strip out nitrates through the denitrification process. It seems like the combination of some open water and vegetation patches is working well.

Other drains, on cane and horticulture farms a little further south, have been monitored by researchers from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. They’ve also shown that vegetated drains can effectively remove nitrate from farm runoff. (Results will be coming out soon.)

What factors make a farm drain suitable?

Not every drain is suitable – it depends on things like depth, water flows, organic carbon levels and the vegetation cover. But there is so much potential in a region with this many drains…

Thanks to the crew from Herbert Cane Productivity Limited and to Carla from DPI for organising the recent trip to Tully, to the Ingham cane farmers who came along, to Alicia from Terrain NRM for taking everyone through the Tully results and to Tully landholders for having us all on site.

This trip was part of the Herbert Integrated Project and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries’ Treatment Train Solutions Project. The Herbert Integrated Project is funded through the Queensland Government’s $330.5 million Queensland Reef Water Quality Program and delivered by Terrain NRM in partnership with Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Herbert Cane Productivity Services Ltd, Canegrowers Herbert River, JCU TropWater, QCAR, Agforce, and DPI.

Cane drain monitoring in Tully was part of the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project and our Local Scale Monitoring, funded by the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.

From planting trees along creeks to trapping feral pigs – neighbours are joining forces in the Wet Tropics so that new land conservation projects can deliver more ‘bang for the buck’.

A strong response from private landholders has meant 14 projects will start soon between the Daintree, Tablelands and Ingham on land in important areas between forests – where tree-planting and pest and weed control can make a big difference.

Seven of the projects cross property boundaries.

Connecting endangered Mabi forest

“Cane farmers along a creek near Atherton are planting trees in what could be the beginnings of a new green corridor connecting sections of endangered Mabi forest between the Curtain Fig National Park and Wongabel State Forest,’’ Terrain NRM’s Bronwyn Robertson said.

Removing pond apple

“Further south, pond apple is being removed across 50 hectares near Babinda thanks to an agreement with neighbouring landholders. This builds on previous work in the area to control pond apple and improve habitat condition.

Feral pig control

“At Topaz and in the Daintree, feral pig control programs will bring neighbouring landholders together over more than 200 hectares of high-value habitat.”

These new projects are part of ‘Green Connections’, funded by the Queensland Government’s Natural Resource Management Expansion Program. Community conservation groups and local councils will be working on many of them.

Tree planting to help mahogany gliders

Ms Robertson said the program was targeting areas where conservation investment could deliver the greatest benefits. It also includes tree-planting along a creek in the Ingham area to help endangered mahogany gliders, and the expansion of a Tableland couple’s forest restoration project at the base of Mt Bartle Frere, Queensland’s highest mountain.

Five years after losing nine metres of riverbank during a major flood, a Bamboo Creek site near Mossman remains stable despite several more significant flood events. The recovery shows how nature-based solutions can help protect farmland, infrastructure and waterways from erosion.

While flooding is a natural part of life in the Wet Tropics the increasing frequency and severity of severe flood events are having significant impacts on communities, agriculture, infrastructure and the natural environment.

Rivers where riparian vegetation has been removed are particularly vulnerable to flood damage. Clearing makes riverbanks more susceptible to erosion during high flows, leading to the loss of soil, increased sediment runoff and damage to downstream habitats, including the Great Barrier Reef.

There are several ways to manage flood-related riverbank erosion. Some require hard engineering but solutions that work with natural processes are better for longer-term outcomes. They can help slow water flow, stabilise banks and reduce erosion creep, which is better for waterway health and helps protect community infrastructure.

Living example – Bamboo Creek

In 2019, intense flooding caused significant bank collapse at Bamboo Creek near Mossman. Around nine metres of riverbank was lost resulting in a near-vertical bank up to 7.5 metres high and a substantial loss of sediment and riparian vegetation.

Without intervention, further erosion threatened productive farmland and would have continued sending sediment downstream into waterways connected to the Great Barrier Reef.

Designed by Neilly Group Engineering, the bank was stabilised with a combination of bank reshaping (battering) to create a more stable slope, rock armouring (rock beaching) and revegetation along the upper bank.

Five years on, this site (BC-1) has weathered several major flood events since and remained stable. The revegetation higher up on the bank is key to long-term stability but the design also ensured that even significant flood events resulted in only shallow and infrequent inundation.

What made this project successful? 

The Bamboo Creek project highlights several important lessons for riverbank rehabilitation:

• A strong understanding of how water moves through a system is critical to project success.
• Every site is unique, and remediation designs must be tailored to local conditions. For example, pile fields were not suitable at Bamboo Creek due to the steep bank height and site access limitations.
• Simple, well-designed solutions can be highly effective and durable over the long term. When matched to site conditions, basic approaches can outperform more complex interventions.
• Flood exposure is influenced not only by the magnitude of flooding, but also by how often and how deeply water reaches revegetation areas.

By combining a sound understanding of river processes with practical, on-ground works, nature-based solutions like this are helping to protect community infrastructure and farmland from future flood damage.

9 OCTOBER 2026

It’s baby bat season for endangered Spectacled Flying-foxes, and conservationists are trialling a new way to help reunite lost pups with their mums in Cairns.

A ‘bat bassinet’, or mother-pup reunion net, has been installed at John Egan Park in Cairns North. It’s a specially designed net to give abandoned pups a safe spot to be temporarily placed in the hope that mothers will find and retrieve their young as they call out to them from the net.

Spectacled Flying-foxes give birth to just one pup each year, making every new arrival important for the recovery of the species.

Kristy Jensen, Coordinator Wet Tropics Wildlife Rescue, said the species congregates in maternity roosts through spring and summer.

“The birthing and nursery season typically runs from September through to March, and numbers at maternity roosts can increase significantly during this time,” Ms Jensen said.

“There are more than 70 roost sites across the Cairns area. While having a maternity roost nearby can be challenging for residents, this is seasonal behaviour. By Easter, most roosts will have dispersed to other locations.”

Cheryl Hudson, wildlife carer and Bat Coordinator for FNQ Wildlife Rescue, said hundreds of flying-fox pups are orphaned or separated from their mothers every year.

“Last year, almost 400 orphaned pups were rescued in the Cairns region alone, including 241 from one of the region’s largest maternity roosts at John Egan Park off Grove Street,” Ms Hudson said.

“We want to give these babies the best possible chance of being reunited with their mothers.”

“Flying-fox mothers can recognise their pups through their calls and scent. Similar reunion nets have been used successfully elsewhere, and we’re hopeful this initiative will help more families to reunite.

“Flying-fox mothers carry their young constantly during the first few weeks of life, so this is a particularly vulnerable time.

“Mothers and pups can become separated when roosts are disturbed by loud noises, severe weather or other disturbances.”

Spectacled Flying-foxes are native to the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland and play an important role in maintaining healthy rainforests.

They pollinate flowering plants and disperse seeds over large distances, helping forests regenerate and maintain their biodiversity.

In 2018, a severe heatwave caused mass deaths of Spectacled Flying-foxes, contributing to the species being listed as endangered.

Hundreds of pond apple trees have been removed from the edge of the picturesque Russell River.

Indigenous rangers are targeting the pest species, which was originally introduced as grafting stock for commercial custard apples. It’s now out-competing native species along waterways and in world-heritage rainforests.

Jaragun Ecoservices’ team has treated more than 400 mature trees over a six-month period, along with pond apple seedlings. They reached the areas by boat, to inject trees with targeted dry herbicide capsules.

Pond apple removal work was part of a broader ‘Forest Resilience’ project to better protect six forest types across the Wet Tropics region through weed and pest control, tree-planting and conservation agreements.

Important area with unique microclimates

Terrain NRM’s Deb Bass said the Russell River is an important area.

“Along the lower Russell River, there is lowland rainforest, littoral rainforest and mangroves growing side by side, creating unique microclimates for rare and ancient plants,’’ she said.

“Both littoral and lowland rainforest are listed as Threatened Ecological Communities.”

Cyclones creating opportunities for pest plants

Pond apple got a foothold in the lower Russell River area after Cyclone Larry, when tree canopies were damaged, letting more light in. The project is focused on removing pond apple trees before they create thickets and take over rainforest areas.

“Left untreated, this invasive species will grow into dense thickets. It hasn’t taken over the rainforest yet, so it makes sense to remove the individual mature pond apple trees now.”

Ongoing monitoring for pond apple is needed

Pond apple seeds can remain viable for up to two years. Jaragun Ecoservices rangers will continue to monitor the river system.

Most people think of rainforest when they think of the Wet Tropics. Not grasslands. But grasslands were once widespread here, and maintained by Indigenous groups.

Today, treeless native grasslands are perhaps one of the most rare, threatened and overlooked ecosystems in our region. One example is at Mission Beach, where kangaroo grass grows at Clump Point but is overrun by guinea grass, an environmental weed. Others are Eubenangee Swamp National Park near Innisfail and Cattle Creek south of Ingham.

Threats to the few remaining Wet Tropics treeless grasslands include weeds, trees, introduced pasture grasses, the absence of fire and a low level of awareness about the predicament for these areas.

Some community groups and organisations are now working to raise awareness. Eubenangee Swamp National Park showcases the Wet Tropics region’s best remaining lowland grassland. And a new Clump Point Coastcare group is working with Djiru Traditional Owners, the Cassowary Coast Council and grassland restoration experts on restoring the Clump Point grassland.

“This grassland is important to us. It has always been here. We’ve had a connection since we were children,’’ Djiru’s Leonard Andy says.

How does urban stormwater affect our local waterways? Australian Wetlands Consulting is beginning an urban stormwater modelling project in the Cairns region and we will be helping them to develop stormwater runoff models and assess erosion risks in priority areas.

It’s part of a $30 million Reefwise Urban Program, funded through the Australian Government, to reduce water pollution from stormwater runoff and wastewater discharges and to better protect the Great Barrier Reef.

The project is the first phase of the program. It’s aimed at helping councils and Reef catchment managers to:
• better understand how urban stormwater affects local waterways
• identify priority urban catchments for stormwater improvement actions

Terrain NRM’s role will include working with Cairns Regional Council on foundational data activities to ensure investments are targeted, and undertaking site erosion assessments.

Monsoon-battered creekbanks will be repaired in the iconic Daintree River system thanks to a disaster recovery package.

We recently began a project to repair riverbanks damaged by Cyclone Jasper and causing ongoing erosion, affecting the land and sending fine sediment loads down our waterways and, ultimately, to the Great Barrier Reef. Our first timber pile field for this project is almost complete. It’s on Martins Creek, where we’ll be working at a series of erosion sites along about 1.2km of the creek.

Terrain NRM is working with landholders, Douglas Shire Council, Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation and Neilly Group to restore sections of Martins Creek, Cassowary Creek and Saltwater Creek.

A range of nature-based solutions will be used including timber pile fields, bank reprofiling and tree-planting.

Cyclone Jasper recovery work

The $2.7 million Daintree Riverine Recovery project is focusing on damage caused to creekbanks in the floods that followed Cyclone Jasper and is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). Tree-planting will be funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust Landscape Repair Program.

Federal Member for Leichhardt Matt Smith said the project is another example of how the Federal and State governments stand shoulder to shoulder, building resilience in the Far North under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

“Almost three years on from the devastating impacts of Cyclone Jasper, we are still finding ways to grow back better – protecting our communities and building a Far North better prepared to weather the storm,” Mr Smith said.

Work is scheduled to begin this month (September).

Martins, Saltwater and Cassowary creeks

Terrain NRM Project Manager Max Brownlow said Martins Creek was an important tributary for the Daintree River, which received heavy flows off the mountains.

“We’ll be working at a series of erosion sites along about 1.2 kilometres of the creek,’’ he said.

“At Saltwater Creek, we’ll be restoring and stabilising a creek area that has seen dramatic erosion and land loss since Cyclone Jasper, where floodwater has been coming over the top of the bank and cutting a channel behind it and where the banks are continuing to collapse and recede.

“Cassowary Creek is a smaller creek with very high flows in floods. One side of the creek has receded three metres since the start of this year alone, and almost 30 metres of creek bank has been lost since 2011.”

Two timber pile fields will be built at Martins Creek, along with bank battering, strategic rock placements and tree-planting while at Saltwater and Cassowary and creeks there will be bank battering and widespread tree-planting.

After hearing from more than 140 people through 11 consultation workshops, the updated Regional Water Quality Strategy for the Wet Tropics has been released.

The strategy captures current community priorities by each catchment and is designed to help guide future government investment. It includes knowledge gained after nearly 20 years of reef water quality programs, and the latest science. It also incorporates research and science from the Queensland Government on key issues and priorities for each catchment.

Project Leader Fiona Barron said one of the key messages emerging from the strategy is that good water quality can’t be taken for granted. “Even those catchments that are in better condition require active management and investment to maintain their current condition,” she said.

The strategy identifies priority actions to reduce pollutant loads, strengthen catchment resilience, support sustainable land management, and improve the effectiveness of water quality investment and reporting.

Ms Barron thanked all the partners and stakeholders who volunteered their time and knowledge to ensure that the strategy captured the best available knowledge and science. “A lot of work has been done over the past couple of decades and we are making progress. But there’s still a way to go to meet Australia’s reef water quality targets. This strategy builds on that work and provides a shared direction for the next phase of programs.”

This project is funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust program.

Would you climb a mountain to help save a critically endangered frog? A new project in the Wet Tropics will take a team of field officers to the top of not just one but five densely rainforested mountains to check on six threatened frog species in the wake of Cyclone Jasper.

Terrain NRM’s Dr Andrew Dennis says he’ll do it in a heartbeat. He discovered one of the species – the tiny mountain-top nursery-frog – on hikes up Mt Lewis with his cousin Michael Trenerry 40 years ago, and he’s been at the forefront of actions to save it from extinction.

Helping six critically endangered mountain frog species 

“Most nursery frogs are tiny – smaller than two centimetres,’’ he says. “These six species live at the top of our highest mountains and they’re a very special group of frogs that lay their eggs on land and hatch as fully formed frogs rather than tadpoles.

“They’re all listed a critically endangered because the areas they live in – up high where it’s coolest and most moist – are getting smaller in a warming climate. These frogs are no longer breeding in the lower parts of their range. And feral pigs are coming up higher, disturbing their habitat and adding to the pressure.”

Terrain NRM field officers will be working on Mt Lewis, Mt Bartle Frere, Mt Bellenden Ker, Thornton Peak and the Windsor Tablelands, and along creeks in the Kuranda area as part of the new project which will include feral pig surveys, trialling new feral pig baits and bait stations, audio monitoring of frogs, and exclosure fencing to protect breeding areas from pigs.

The project will also include revegetation work along Kuranda streambanks that were damaged by floods after Cyclone Jasper, to look after another threatened frog – the Kuranda Tree Frog.

It follows a recent project focused solely on the mountain-top nursery-frog, which showed how intervention can help these threatened frog species. A team from Terrain NRM, Western Yalanji, Gulf Savannah NRM, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and James Cook University monitored the mountain-top nursery-frog (Cophixalus monticola) at the top of Mt Lewis for a year.

Dr Dennis says results from exclosure fencing trials – to protect breeding sites from feral pigs – were encouraging. The new project will continue this work to see if it is beneficial to add exclosure fencing around a newly discovered breeding area.

“We’ve seen the recovery of walking stick palms (Linospadix apetiolatus) which are used by these frogs to call from when they’re mating,’’ Dr Dennis said. “Leaf litter – used to lay their eggs under – is thicker. Seedling diversity is changing and more frog calls have been recorded.”

Trialling innovative pig baits

A key part of the new project will be finding a bait that will attract feral pigs and also be viable in the wet, humid and densely forested habitat at the top of mountains. On Mt Lewis, field officers will be trialling several innovative baits and ‘hog hopper’ bait stations that can be monitored and operated remotely.