NEWS / BLOG

Fitzroy Basin Association: Building a circular economy and changing Fitzroy's water future one weed at a time As central Queensland’s Natural Resource Management organisation, Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) is leading the way in building a sustainable and profitable future for the region. FBA’s innovative work on improving the health of the region’s waterways is a perfect example of this, with a new program set to remove 500 tonnes of an invasive, fast spreading weed from the Murray Lagoon near Rockhampton. The Hyacinth Recovery and Reuse Pilot project is part of the Rockhampton Regional Council’s “Making Water Work” Program and is managed by FBA. The project aims to remove 500 tonnes of hyacinth from the lagoon, turn it into mulch or compost, and trial it for improving soil nutrition and microbe activity at three properties in the region. FBA Adoption Manager Daniel Boshoff said the Hyacinth Recovery and Reuse Pilot program is about water stewardship through community collaboration and working towards a circular economy. “By turning a waste into a commercial product while reducing weed infestation and impacts on the river and wildlife,” [...]

Queensland Government: Fitzroy graziers reduce sediment run-off to the Reef thanks to GRASS A projected 9,280 tonnes of sediment is being prevented from reaching the Great Barrier Reef each year thanks to the efforts of Fitzroy graziers and the Queensland Government’s Grazing Resilience and Sustainable Solutions (GRASS) program. GRASS is funded through the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program and delivered by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Fitzroy Basin Association, Burnett Mary Regional Group, and NQ Dry Tropics. Phase one of GRASS which included an investment of $6.8 million worked with graziers across the Fitzroy, Burdekin and Burnett Mary regions to improve land condition. Tailor-made action plans for land management were developed to assist graziers to enhance production, provide business benefits, achieve environmental outcomes and to meet the Reef protection regulations. Over three years, 222 action plans for land management (APLM) were developed covering 878,001 hectares of grazing land in the Fitzroy region. Almost a third of the businesses that completed an APLM went on to receive incentive funding to carry out on-ground works identified in the plan. Sixty-seven incentive projects were [...]