A new $3.2 million project will focus on the Herbert catchment – the largest river system in the Wet Tropics which begins on the Atherton Tablelands and flows to the ocean almost 300km away at Ingham.

Workshops with a wide range of representatives

Terrain NRM is working with a wide range of industries and groups to plan for the Herbert Integrated Project, which is funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. More than 40 people have been part of workshops in Ravenshoe and Ingham recently to help determine the best actions to further improve water quality, the land, its resilience, agricultural outcomes and co-benefits for the local community.

Whole-of-catchment approach

Project manager Fiona Barron said a whole-of-catchment outlook was important.

“We will be building on previous projects in this catchment. They include working with farmers on grazing and sugar cane management practice changes to improve everything from the land and production to the quality of water leaving properties. They also include fine-scale water quality monitoring, constructing fishways and repairing streambanks by engineering structures like rock chutes and pile fields.

Building on solid results from previous projects

“Programs delivered over the last 15 years have made good progress. But to meet the 2050 water quality targets, we need to build on past work. This new Herbert project will draw heavily on local knowledge, combined with all the data and science that’s come before, for a program that’s tailor-made to the upper and lower Herbert.