Tree-planting and weed control work at Mission Beach is protecting endangered coastal rainforest and strengthening Djiru people’s ties with traditional ceremonial land.

Mission Beach’s Clump Point

At Clump Point lookout, Djiru traditional owners have been working with the Cassowary Coast Regional Council and Girringun rangers to plant thousands of trees on the edge of littoral rainforest where the land has been overrun by guinea grass.

Djiru’s Rona Hart said getting back on Country was grounding.

“This is a special place – for thousands of years our ancestors met with other groups here, held ceremonies, fished, hunted and camped,’’ Mrs Hart said.

“It’s always good to come back. We came as kids and growing up, and now I come with my own kids and grandkids. This new project has been an opportunity for other Djiru people to get back on Country too, through short-term employment, to keep the connection and learn new skills.”

A partnership project

The Clump Point area is a council reserve under an indigenous land use agreement and Mrs Hart plans to continue land management work in collaboration with the Cassowary Coast Regional Council and other organisations.

“The young trees are looking beautiful,’’ she said. “But there is always more weed management to do.

“This kind of coordinated effort is really beneficial – it empowers Djiru people to become more involved in environmental issues and it also helps to bring traditional knowledge and cultural practices into shared land management.”

Protecting littoral rainforest

Littoral rainforest is listed as endangered, and Clump Point is the only place in the Wet Tropics where it is growing on volcanic soil.

Four new nature refuges, together covering more than 300 hectares of land, have been declared in the Wet Tropics region.

Landholders in the Kuranda, Innisfail and Tully regions have been granted nature refuge status for their properties by the Queensland Government, protecting habitat and securing wildlife corridors between national parks.

A “dream come true”

Kuranda landowner Di Daniels said it was a “dream come true” to know rainforest on her 38-hectare property would be protected for future generations.

“We’re really privileged to be living in this environment with beautiful rainforest, native animals and birds,’’ Ms Daniels said. “We wanted to make sure our rainforest was conserved long after we’re gone.’’

Another nature refuge is a 250-hectare property bordering the Basilisk National Park in the Innisfail region. Owner Peter Rowles said natural ecosystems needed to be connected across the Wet Tropics landscape for the survival of wildlife.

“Habitat on private land provides these essential connections which need to be protected,’’ he said. “We feel privileged to have been able to contribute to the long-term protection through a nature refuge.”

The two other nature refuges are 15 hectares of critical cassowary corridor at Smith’s Gap near Tully where land was bought and revegetated by Queensland Trust for Nature and local conservation group C4, and 27 hectares at Kuranda in the ‘Fairyland Link’ wildlife corridor.

What are nature refuges?

Nature refuges are voluntary conservation agreements between landholders and the Queensland Government which conserve the land’s significant cultural and natural resources in perpetuity, while allowing compatible and sustainable land uses. Nature refuge agreements are also binding on future landholders.

Terrain NRM’s Tony O’Malley said it was wonderful that the nature refuge option was available to landholders wanting to protect their habitat.

“A lot of important Wet Tropics habitat is on private land,’’ he said. “These new nature refuges are in really important wildlife corridors. Landholders are making a priceless contribution – they are helping to bridge gaps in world heritage areas and secure our wildlife’s future.”

Terrain NRM funded the nature refuge assessments for three of the new refuges through its Building Rainforest Resilience project, via a grant to Kuranda Conservation in the northern region and grants to private landholders in the south. The Building Rainforest Resilience project is supported by Terrain NRM through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Landholder-led conservation

Kuranda Conservation’s Jax Bergersen said the community’s long-term goal was nature refuges right along the existing world-heritage cassowary corridor.

“Linking world heritage rainforest areas with prime ecological blocks of land is a way forward, along with the revegetation work that’s been happening for decades in this region,” she said.

18 October 2021

A new $250,000 grants round is opening for threatened species recovery team members and landholders with priority areas of rainforest in the Wet Tropics region.

Terrain NRM is contacting landholders who have properties with large areas of cassowary habitat or coastal rainforest, or even small patches of critically-endangered Mabi forest.

Grants for tree-planting, weed removal, nature refuges

The grants are for tree-planting, weed removal and nature refuge projects. They are part of Terrain NRM’s Building Rainforest Resilience Project.

Project coordinator Tony O’Malley said landholders and recovery group members had achieved strong results in the first two rounds of grants – with buffer zones and corridors planted for world-heritage rainforest, weeds removed ranging from guinea grass to raspberry, and the creation of nature refuges in Kuranda and Mission Beach.

“Last year, the landholders and recovery groups involved in this grants program achieved weed management work on more than 50 hectares of priority habitat, revegetation projects on over 17 hectares and 150 hectares of voluntary habitat protection agreements,’’ Mr O’Malley said.

Landholders enthusiastic about improving habitat

“The enthusiasm of the people we’ve been working with has been inspiring. Landholders are telling us the funding enabled them to improve their habitat so it’s looking the best it has in years, and they’re proud of the importance of their place to threatened species.”

Far Northerners who want to better protect native vegetation on their properties can now access an information pack outlining all the options.

Terrain NRM’s Tony O’Malley said many people put a lot a lot of work into maintaining habitat on their properties.

“Some property owners might want their investment to be more secure in the long run,’’ he said.

“A series of new factsheets make it easier for people to find out about the range of options available, and to see which of them might suit their situation.”

The information pack was prepared by the Environmental Defenders Office, following a request from Terrain NRM.

“These factsheets cover voluntary programs including nature refuges, statutory covenants, conservation agreements and voluntary declarations,” the Environmental Defender’s Office’s Kirstiana Ward said.

“Landowners can volunteer to place environmental covenants or other protections over their land. These protections are negotiated between landholders and the Queensland, Commonwealth or local government. Protections can be for various periods of time, and can still apply when land changes owners.”

Mr O’Malley said four Kuranda landholders were currently working with Kuranda Conservation, Terrain NRM and Queensland Trust for Nature to create nature refuges on their land. There are more than 100 nature refuges already in place in the Wet Tropics region.

“We can provide resources, like covering the costs of a nature refuge assessment for landholders with important habitat, and potentially helping with revegetation or weed control as part of our Rebuilding Rainforest Resilience project,’’ he said.

“A lot of important Wet Tropics habitat is actually on private land. We are keen to help people with habitat or corridors for threatened species.

“We want to make it easier for people who are passionate about their patch to preserve it well into the future. The Environmental Defenders Office factsheets are a great new resource.”