A History of the Natural Resource Management Strategy for the Northern Agricultural Region

The Northern Agricultural Region (NAR) stretches from Two Rocks to Kalbarri, covering approximately 7.5 million hectares of farming and fishing grounds to the north and north east of Perth; the traditional land and coastal waters of the Yamaji People in the north and the Noongar People in the south.

The region is situated within the Southwest Australia global biodiversity hotspot and is home to two national biodiversity hotspots, over 200 conservation reserves, unique and diverse flora and fauna, and around 65,000 people. There are 15 Local Government Authorities within the region, including the City of Greater Geraldton, and the main land use is broadacre farming.

The NAR has had a regional natural resource management (NRM) strategy in place since 2005. The aim of this strategy is to guide environmental investment in the region, identifying priorities for conserving and enhancing natural assets and advancing sustainable development. It is focused on responding to climate change, conserving biodiversity, promoting sustainable production, and incorporating traditional ecological knowledge into NRM planning.

The 2005 strategy was produced in consultation with land users, technical experts, community groups, and government officials active in the NAR. Developing the strategy involved the NRM community writing management actions and aspirational resource condition targets for biodiversity conservation, land and water management, and community development. More than 1,000 actions were identified, targeting significant NRM opportunities and threats, protecting high value assets, delivering improvements over large areas, and building long-term NRM capacity in the NAR. The NRM community worked together to identify themes relevant to the whole region and set ~65 resource condition targets e.g. Maintain and increase native vegetation extent by 2025.

In 2012, the NRM community in the NAR again participated in a series of planning workshops, this time to identify significant environmental assets in the region. Through this process, using the Investment Framework for Environmental Resources (INFFER) methodology, the community identified 203 places, species, and ecological communities important for NRM in the region. Together, this asset register and the aspirational targets and management actions identified in 2005 form the basis of the current NRM strategy in the NAR.

The strategy was updated in 2013-2015 to include a deeper consideration of the impacts of climate change in the region. During another round of community consultation, the management actions and targets were separated into seven regional aspirations reflecting a landscape-scale approach. The updated strategy was converted into an interactive, GIS-enabled website known as the NARvis and was last comprehensively updated in 2017 with a stronger emphasis on Traditional Owner engagement in NRM compared to previous versions of the strategy.

NACC NRM is the Australian Government’s Regional Land Partnerships Program service provider for the NAR and the custodian of the regional NRM strategy. Regional NRM planning is one of the core functions of the 54 regional NRM organisations across Australia.

As a requirement of the current Regional Land Partnerships service provider agreement, NACC NRM is currently updating the strategy. This most recent update is focused on ensuring that the regional strategy continues to address emerging threats and opportunities for regional NRM as well as the changing needs and priorities of our diverse NRM community.

Updating NARvis will involve extensive consultation with regional stakeholders including community groups, business and industry, non-government organisations, and all levels of government. Keep an eye out for opportunities to participate in one of the planned in-person and online consultations. A first round of workshops took place in September 2020. Get in touch with NARvis Project Officer Amanda Bourne via email Amanda.Bourne@nacc.com.au or phone 9938 0122 for more information on how you can contribute to updating the strategy.

Amanda Bourne – NARvis Project Officer

Tagged NARvis, NRM, Regional NRM Strategy

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CEO’s Report

In 2020-21 I talked about ‘raising the bar’. In 2021-22 we worked on setting the bar on fire. Over the last 12 months, the team at NACC NRM has not stopped.

The Sustainable Agriculture team has extended the program’s reach through collaborations with grower groups in the regions. Specifically, the Beyond Reasonable Drought project and Grower Group Alliance – South West WA Drought Innovation Hub – Geraldton Node project. The Beyond Reasonable Drought partnership with grower groups supported farmers across the region to improve the environmental sustainability of their agricultural production and drought resilience. The outcomes of this project have been consolidated through our successful Expression of Interest to the South West WA Drought Innovation Hub, with support from grower groups across the region, to host the Geraldton Node of the Hub. The program continues to focus on working with agricultural networks to share technical expertise and provide opportunities that will improve land management practices in agriculture across the region.

The conservation outcomes of ranger teams have expanded through work on several land tenures. Maintaining Heritage sites such as Willi Gulli, Racecourse Paddock and Buller River has long been a priority. During 2021-22, the teams have increasingly focused on threatened species and ecosystems.

To this end, Western Mulga rangers have improved management across 19,000 ha for the conservation of Malleefowl through firebreak and access management. They completed the maintenance of water holes and supported the monitoring of over 90 Malleefowl mounds.

Similarly, the Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporate ranger team have contributed positively to Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo populations by installing artificial hollows and habitat restoration.

All ranger teams have collected native seed, propagated native plants for restoration, and planted native vegetation in key locations across the NAR. Seed collection provides valuable industry experience and has facilitated the planting of over 100,000 seedlings during the year.

In September 2021, the NACC NRM team delivered the WA Threatened Species Forum, held in tandem with the National Malleefowl Forum. Given the impact of COVID and the timing of this event, having more than 100 delegates from all over Australia was a significant achievement. The two Forums brought together 12 events over five days and featured 14 local artists, 25 businesses and 36 youth participants.

Following the successful relaunch of our updated NARvis, NACC NRM was invited to help lead a significant piece of strategic planning work for the region with Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. With funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the consortia delivered a Regional Drought Resilience Plan covering the shires of Northampton and Chapman Valley and the City of Greater Geraldton, along with significant technical analysis of drought vulnerability for the South West land division. The development of this plan also included extensive community consultation to ensure that local knowledge and technical advice guided the development of priorities for action.

This planning work links to existing NACC NRM on-ground projects, including Beyond Reasonable Drought and the Chapman Catchment Collaborative regeneration project.

It was a busy year for events with face-to-face events becoming commonplace again. During 2021-22 we hosted events in Gingin, Moora, Dalwallinu, Cervantes, Jurien Bay, Walkaway, Nabawa, Perenjori, Kalannie and Morawa. We supported events in Karakin, Thundellara, Perenjori, Paynes Find, Wubin, Cataby, Warradarge, Northampton, Yuna, Dalwallinu and Dandaragan.

We also supported on-ground works throughout the region, including at the following locations Yuna, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Merkanooka, Goodlands, Kalannie, Bunjil, Yardarino, Canna, Kondut, Latham, Kadathinni, Nabawa, Red Gully, Sandy Gully, Waddy Forrest, Devils Creek, Perenjori, Bowgada, Ellendale, Wandana, Namban, Hill River, Warradarge, Gillingarra, Regans Ford and Moonyanooka.

Our region is vast – slightly larger than Tasmania, which for comparison, is serviced by three separate NRM organisations. Covering the NAR region and its many environmental threats is challenging. We continue to focus on partnerships and collaboration to address this challenge. We know that by working with our community through passionate delivery of collaborative on-ground projects and education, the community will value and actively protect our region’s natural capital.

This year we have launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP Working Group consulted widely and developed an Innovate RAP which Reconciliation Australia approved in March 2022. The activities to fulfil these commitments are now in full swing.

Sadly, at the end of 2021, we farewelled former NACC NRM CEO Shelley Spriggs, who lost a long battle with cancer. Shelley was an inaugural inductee to the NRM Leadership Honour Roll. I will always be grateful for her guidance and no-nonsense approach, not to mention her passion for life.

While we have said farewell to some, we have welcomed many new faces across all programs, including our Administration team. We have also hosted a school-based trainee from Nagle Catholic College who has been working towards a Certificate II in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. This trial position has been very successful, and we look forward to making this opportunity available again in 2023.

During 2022 we have taken on new projects that align with our organisational and program objectives, and we have successfully completed some great initiatives that support continued conservation and sustainability outcomes. I want to thank the whole team who continue to go above and beyond for the organisation and each other proving their ongoing commitment to our purpose and our values.