STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1 : SOLUTIONS FOR LIVING LANDSCAPES
Reducing sediment runoff from grazing lands
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1 : SOLUTIONS FOR LIVING LANDSCAPES
This section highlights efforts to :
• protect the Great Barrier Reef by reducing farm runoff while improving soils , pastures and productivity ; and to
• protect coastal ecosystems and threatened ecological communities by removing weeds and feral animals , and improving habitat for native species .
PROTECTING THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Reducing sediment runoff from grazing lands
Keeping soil on the land reduces impacts to the reef while improving the bottom line for graziers . This year NQ Dry Tropics continued partnering with landholders to increase ground cover for better productivity , while improving water quality for corals and seagrasses by reducing soil erosion .
Landscape remediation
NQ Dry Tropics contracted Neilly Group Engineering to design and construct remediation works on seven active gullies covering 19ha at Belmore Downs , near Collinsville . The gullies were yielding an estimated 4617t of fine sediment each year and were expanding at an accelerated rate .
Prevented
49,382t
of fine sediment from reaching the Great Barrier Reef
Remediated 36 gullies and 2 streambanks
Remediation included a combination of gully reshaping , rock chutes and revegetation using a range of pasture and legume species to establish ground cover . Local contractors delivered all the on-ground works .
This work is part of the Landholders Driving Change project , funded by the partnership between the Australian Government ’ s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation .
6 NQ Dry Tropics