Acknowledging local ranger groups

In support of World Wetland Day, Territory Natural Resource Management (NRM) would like to acknowledge the important work of Indigenous ranger groups and Traditional Owners across West Arnhem Land and Kakadu to protect internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands. 

The Djurrubu Rangers are working to better understand feral animal and invasive weed threats to the Magela Creek floodplain in their operational area on Mirarr Country in Kakadu National Park. 

TNRM worked with the Djurrubu Rangers to explore strategies to collect baseline data for wetland health assessments, and engage with Traditional Owners regarding treatment and management activities. This included an aerial survey via helicopter over the Magela Creek floodplain to assess damage caused by feral pigs. During the survey, the Djurrubu Rangers recorded how many feral pigs were sighted, level of damage seen and opportunistic sightings of other invasive species.

The rangers recently presented their findings to the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation Board of Directors (Mirarr Country) to enable them to make an informed decision on best practice management into the future. 

TNRM will continue to work closely with land managers and other stakeholders to ensure the health of priority wetlands are maintained and protected from key threats. 

This project is supported by Territory NRM through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.