Supporting Australia’s regions to manage established pest animals and weeds

Funding: $2,714,000

Building landholder capability in pest animal management

Target Species: Multiple pest animal species including wild dogs, feral pigs, rabbits and camels

Key Activities: This project delivered enhanced activities such as toolkits for landholders on management techniques, pest animal mapping, best practice online training videos and additional Vertebrate Pest Training modules.

Removing the barriers – facilitating best practice weed management

Target Species: Multiple weed species

Key Activities: This project developed landholder best practice toolkits and disseminate these across New South Wales through workshops, field days and field trips. The project updated mapping of weed distribution to contribute to regional planning and community based social marketing methods to gain greater participation in coordinated weed management in areas where agriculture is not the dominant industry.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in New South Wales.

Funding: $4,374,000

Improving the management of blackberry, gorse, serrated tussock and rabbits in Victoria

Target Species: Blackberry, gorse, serrated tussock and feral rabbits

Key Activities: This project supported four established community-led groups, through resources, information and technology to implement a systems strengthening approach for blackberry, gorse, serrated tussock and rabbits. It delivered activities to build the management skills and capacity of landholders, and encouraged greater landholder participation.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in Victoria.

Funding: $3,536,000

Training in best practice pest management

Target Species: Pest animal species including wild dogs, foxes, feral cats, feral pigs, rabbits and rodents

Key Activities: This project built landholder skills and knowledge in the safe handling, storage and transport of chemicals and toxins for pest animal management and increased understanding of the latest toxins, baits and bait deployment devices. Best practice training was delivered across eight industry sectors.

Building skills and capacity in tramp ant management

Target Species: Tramp ant species such as yellow crazy ant

Key Activities: This project built capability and capacity among key agricultural and non-agricultural organisations and land managers, as well as the community, to continue the on-ground management of invasive tramp ant species in north Queensland.

Extending giant rat's tail grass best practice management

Target Species: Giant rat's tail grass

Key Activities: This project promoted best practice for managing giant rat's tail grass through demonstration sites, field days, conducting specialist training days for industry agronomists, advisers, and delivery organisations to ensure that up to date advice is being provided to land managers on managing giant rat's tail grass and provision of best practice information to landholders.

Extending the success of parthenium biocontrol to southern Queensland

Target Species: Parthenium

Key Activities: This project extended the ongoing success in parthenium biological control through involving community engagement in the identification, collection and redistribution of established biological control agents and mass-rearing and release of priority agents not yet established for control of parthenium in south and southeast Queensland.

Optimising rabbit biocontrol

Target Species: Rabbits

Key Activities: This project educated landholders and drove behaviour change to increase the use of best practice techniques to locally eradicate rabbits in high production areas.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in Queensland

Funding: $4,375,000

Building stakeholder capacity to map and report Weeds of National Significance

Target Species: All Western Australian Weeds of National Significanceand weeds identified as high priority.

Key Activities: This project developed information products to assist landholders to accurately identify key weed species and delivered training for use of a mapping and reporting application for Weeds of National Significance in Western Australia.

Accelerating capacity for Western Weeds of National Significance control through collaboration and innovation

Target Species: Western Australian Weeds of National Significance

Key Activities: This project built landholder capacity through disseminating information and extension products that outline best practice for target Weeds of National Significance species, conducting field days and demonstration activities and training weed contractors.

Boosting state-wide community-led control of feral pigs

Target Species: Feral pigs

Key Activities: This project built the capacity of community groups to plan and undertake feral pig control work, including training for additional accredited feral pig trapping technicians, developing capability in video surveillance of pig activity and demonstrating use of techniques. A ‘WA Feral Pig Alliance’ was established across Western Australia, along with a state-wide feral pig strategy.

Increasing capacity for control of Large Feral Herbivores

Target Species: Feral donkeys, feral horses and camels

Key Activities: This project built capacity in managing Large Feral Herbivores, such as camels, feral donkeys and feral horses. This included training in ‘Judas animal’ control technologies and aerial platform control of Large Feral Herbivores, conducting demonstration projects in new locations and developing a state-wide Large Feral Herbivores strategy.

Boosting rabbit control in Western Australia

Target Species: Feral rabbits

Key Activities: This project supported best practice rabbit management by providing training in on-ground control techniques and monitoring and providing information to community groups to assist with planning for post-RHDV1-K5 release rabbit control activities.

Facilitating effective and efficient biosecurity management

Target Species: Western Australian Weeds of National Significance and multiple pest animal species such as wild dogs, large feral herbivores, feral pigs and rabbits.

Key Activities: This project fostered strong partnerships between government, community and industry groups based on a shared culture for managing Weeds of National Significance and priority pest animal species. Facilitators worked with community-based organisations involved in biosecurity action, local governments, regional NRM organisations and industry bodies to build capacity and awareness of pest animal and weed management as part of the biosecurity system.

Wild dog management capacity building and skills development

Target Species: Wild dogs

Key Activities: This project contributed to the capacity building and skills development activities identified in the WA Wild Dog Action Plan. These activities included (but were not limited to) biosecurity group support, communications, capacity building, adoption of practices for wild dog control and industry revitalization, research (including information management and a canine sterilisation initiative) and monitoring and evaluation.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in Western Australia.

Funding: $2,547,666

Improving landholders’ predator management skills

Target Species: Wild dogs, foxes and feral cats

Key Activities: This project improved and updated the knowledge base of landholders and pest animal controllers in current best practice wild dog, fox and feral cat management across South Australia, through the provision of training and awareness sessions and demonstration sites.

Building land holder capacity to target Opuntioid cacti, African boxthorn, Gorse and Blackberry

Target Species: Opuntioid cacti, African boxthorn, gorse and blackberry

Key Activities: This project demonstrated management techniques for opuntioid cacti, African boxthorn, gorse and blackberry. Information sessions covered identification, case studies from existing control programs, chemical application methods, biological control rearing and distribution (as applicable to each weed and region).

Stopping the spread of invasive perennial grasses

Target Species: Texas needle grass, Chilean needle grass, buffel grass and African lovegrass

Key Activities: This project limited the southern expansion of invasive grasses through the detection of outliers and providing landholders with the knowledge and skills to identify and manage these aggressive weeds. Simple strategies were taught to prevent the introduction of new weed species, including hygiene protocols to limit regional pathways of spread and on-farm biosecurity.

Back to the basics – training in the fundamentals of pest management for South Australian land holders

Target Species: Feralrabbits, foxes, deer, goats and pigs and declared weeds

Key Activities: This project developed and implemented a best practice pest management training package for both land managers and practitioners. This included a series of single topic modules that can be delivered individually, or combined and cover multiple pest animal and weed species.

Lucerne seed industry biosecurity code of practice

Target Species: Golden dodder

Key Activities: This project helped the lucerne seed industry to develop and implement a biosecurity code of practice for preventing golden dodder contamination. The code encouraged improved detection and management of golden dodder on-farm, and helped to protect national export markets.

A better approach to managing feral deer

Target Species: Feral deer

Key Activities: This project reviewed state and regional policies and procedures, as well as reviewed and disseminated extension material for feral deer management including clear definition of landholder responsibilities, monitoring techniques and fencing requirements.

Reinvigorating landscape scale integrated weed management

Target Species: Silverleaf nightshade, gorse, blackberry, African boxthorn, Opuntioid cacti, Texas and Chilean needle grass, buffel grass, African lovegrass and Coolatai grass.

Key Activities: This project engaged a state-wide integrated weed management coordinator to provide logistical and technical to support to stakeholder groups for established weeds such as Silverleaf nightshade, gorse, blackberry, African boxthorn, Opuntioid cacti, Texas and Chilean needle grass, buffel grass, African lovegrass and Coolatai grass.

Preventing today's recent establishments becoming tomorrow's widespread weeds

Target Species: serrated tussock, Chilean needle grass, Mexican feathergrass, dodders and parthenium

Key Activities: This project engaged a state-wide coordinator to provide logistical and technical support to stakeholder groups to manage newly established weeds and to foster early detection of alert weeds (e.g. serrated tussock, Chilean needle grass, Mexican feathergrass, dodders and parthenium).

Reinvigorating landscape scale rabbit control

Target Species: Rabbits

Key Activities: This project engaged a state-wide coordinator to provide logistical and technical support to stakeholder groups to manage the impacts of rabbits.

Landscape scale integrated management of wild dogs

Target Species: Wild dogs

Key Activities: This project engaged a state-wide coordinator to provide logistical and technical support to stakeholder groups to manage the impacts of wild dogs.

Landscape scale control of feral deer

Target Species: Feral deer

Key Activities: This project supported the implementation of South Australia's new policy on feral deer and engaged a state-wide coordinator to support NRM boards and staff to establish and maintain groups of landholders interested in reducing impacts of feral deer and landscape scale, develop and deliver education campaigns about feral deer and support cross-tenure programs where impacts of deer are greatest.

Risk assessments for priority non-indigenous (non-native) vertebrates

Target Species: Multiple pest species

Key Activities: This project will engage a coordinator to undertake risk assessments for priority non-indigenous vertebrates on the Australian List of Threat Categories of Non-indigenous Vertebrates. This work re-evaluated and updated the current risk assessment and associated process used to assess and categories the threats by non-indigenous vertebrate mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles held in Australia which is used as a reference for controlling the entry, movement and keeping of non-indigenous vertebrate species.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in South Australia.

Funding: $425,000

Building landholder skills and capacity in reducing the impacts of Nassella species, including serrated tussock and Chilean needle grass

Target Species: Nassella species includingserrated tussock and Chilean needle grass

Key Activities: This project delivered activities to build landholder skills and capacity in reducing the impacts of Nassella species. Activities included establishing landholder working groups, training in best practice management and assisting with property management planning.

Contemporary methods to manage and control wild rabbits to improve levels of productivity in agricultural landscapes

Target Species: Rabbits

Key Activities: This project built the capacity of landholders across multiple land tenures to manage wild rabbit populations and improve agricultural productivity by developing best practice control methods for rabbits, delivering a training and awareness program for landowners and pest control experts, assisting landowners in identifying strategic locations for rabbit control and implementing the most effective management and control options for rabbits.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in Tasmania.

Funding: $ 95 000

Coordinated pest control across tenures and capacity building to support best practice feral animal control

Target Species: Feral pigs, foxes, rabbits and deer

Key Activities: This project supported best practice feral animal control for rabbits, foxes, deer and pigs through spotlight monitoring counts, the provision of AQF3 Chemical Use Accreditation for rural landholders, weed identification and management training, community education activities including a best practice feral pig control field day, camera trap monitoring of feral pigs on rural lands, trials of aerial monitoring/counts of feral deer in an ACT rural catchments and a trial aimed at improving the efficiency of ground based deer control through the use of technologies not currently in use in the ACT such as thermal imaging and night vision technology.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in the Australian Capital Territory.

Funding: $1,166,000

Best practice management of wild dogs in the Northern Territory

Target Species: Wild dogs

Key Activities: This project delivered best practice guidelines for assessing and managing the impacts of wild dogs across the Northern Territory, including working with landholders to collect supporting evidence.

Improving stakeholder capacity in the management of prickly acacia

Target Species: Prickly acacia

Key Activities: This project delivered activities to build the capacity of landholders to manage prickly acacia, including training in identification, data collection, and control methods. It investigated the use of technologies including remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicles to detect prickly acacia.

Improving stakeholder capacity in the management of mimosa

Target Species: Mimosa

Key Activities: This project built the capacity of land managers in managing mimosa through extension activities, property and catchment weed management plans, training in the distribution and evaluation of biocontrol agents and investigating the use of remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicles to detect mimosa.

Find out more information on established pest animal and weed management in the Northern Territory.