NRM Liaison officer

Project Leader: Jessica Marsh, Industry and Investment NSW

Aim: To provide specialist invasive animal advice to NRM agencies on pest species impact, improved capabilities for best-practice, regional management of invasive animal impacts, and monitoring natural resource responses to pest control.

Projects:  11.t.1

Project summary

This project delivers a more effective and coordinated process for interacting with Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups, enabling provision of access to expertise and strategies for managing invasive animals and their impacts.

There are a range of invasive animal pests which have a serious and ongoing affect on the natural resources of Australia. The NRM regions are at various stages of implementing their programs and several have sought technical assistance from the IA CRC and state agencies on how best to manage invasive animals. Much of this contact has been ad hoc. Many of these contacts indicate that there is a ‘knowledge vacuum’ with regards to invasive animals and their management, sometimes resulting in the development or proposal of inappropriate actions eg bounty schemes. This may in part be due to the available skill set and focus of NRMs as currently developed. As a consequence, where invasive pests are identified as a priority issue, most NRMs lack the expertise to develop and implement pest management plans according to current ‘best practice’ principles.

The NRM regions are currently at various stages of planning and/ or implementing approaches to deal with invasive animal pests. Several NRM regions have sought technical assistance from the IA CRC and state agencies on how to best manage invasive animals. The NRM Liaison officer is creating a more effective and coordinated approach to communicate with NRM groups and to provide information on the most relevant and up-to-date strategies for managing invasive animals and their impacts.

Key achievements

• Border Rivers- Gwydir CMA: A contract to develop an Invasive Species Management Plan for their region was secured in May 2009. A steering group to help drive the planning process was formed and initial meetings were held to help guide the approach. The contract directly involves the IA CRC, Industry and Investment NSW, and the Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA. There were four pest management and prioritisation workshops held and the outcomes from these workshops have since been used to formulate a draft regional invasive species plan for the Border Rivers- Gwydir catchment.
• RabbitScan: Assisted in the development of the RabbitScan program. The NRM Liaison Officer was a critical link between the RabbitScan mapping tool and encouraging the 562 Local government councils and the 56 NRM Boards to participate in the rabbit mapping project.
• National NRM Engagement: Ongoing contact has been made with all NRM regions including the distribution of a selection of current and diverse invasive animal publications and resources. This was followed up by the development and distribution of a newsletter, ‘NRM Notes’ which provides a channel for direct contact with NRMs on a regular basis across the country. The purpose of the NRM Notes newsletter is to provide stakeholders with up to date contact details, new and developing resources, and examples of other work being performed across the country.
• Desert Channels Queensland NRM: Attended the opportunity and information session held in Longreach to provide input on the future catchment plan for the next 5 year period. It is beneficial to have input at this planning stage to help structure catchment priorities for the future.
• Presentation to the ‘Young Farmers Forum’ 2009: The NRM Liaison Officer presented at the Young Farmers Forum “NRM, Your Future – Your Life” in Goondiwindi (October 2009).   The presentation covered past, current and future research on invasive animal species and their management. The forum was followed by group discussions that were then formulated into a series of recommendations for the Queensland Murray Darling NRM. 
• PestSmart Toolkit and End- User Workshops: The Lachlan, Desert Channels and Kangaroo Island NRMs were all visited in April/ May 2010 to hold a series of workshops with Dr Lisa Robins that were gathering information on how to address the needs of regional decision makers within NRM groups. The reporting and outcomes from these workshops will be presented in a report by the end of June 2010.
• NRM Knowledge Conference, Darwin: Attended conference and set up an information booth as part of the Knowledge Fair which allowed participants to approach the IA CRC, ask questions and take a large range of resources to help them better understand and manage their pest animal issues.
• Lachlan CMA Science Forum and PARG: The NRM Liaison Officer is a current member of the pest animal reference group (PARG) and shows continuous support for the regional pest animal management. The Science Forum allowed another information booth to be set up which gave greater access to IA CRC resources and products and has lead to further project work with certain officers within the Lachlan CMA
• In the last 12 months, individual contracts to assist NRM regions have been secured in addition to the more informal contact with a wide selection of NRM groups- which is hoped to expand as funding applications are accepted in the near future.

Key deliverables 2010-11

• Completion of invasive species management plan for the Border Rivers- Gwydir CMA
• Development and execution of an educational program initially focusing on NSW CMAs that promotes the use of primary and secondary education tools- Feral Focus and Pest Tales
• To assist NRM regions with any future grant applications regarding invasive animal management or education
• Development of a new pest animal specific project reporting database that can be utilised by individuals or groups whom are looking to develop a new project and would like to find out more information (including any failures or ‘negative’ results) about a past or current pest animal project that has already been executed.
• Participate in educational field days to promote specific invasive species information and educational resources with Queensland NRMs.

Project team

Jessica Marsh (Gibson), Chris Lane, Nathan Cutter, Bill Atkinson, Andrew Leys, Darren Pitt, LHPA, NRM and CMA staff.

Project partners

IA CRC, Bureau of Rural Sciences, Industry and Investment NSW, NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, NSW Livestock Health and Pest Authority, Namoi Catchment Management Authority, Lachlan Catchment Management Authority, Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority.

Further information

NRM Notes is a newsletter designed to keep all Australian NRM regions up to date with the latest developments and current projects associated with invasive animal research. To subscribe, email the NRM liaison officer.

• Issue 1 of NRM Notes (December 2009)
• Issue 2 of NRM Notes (April 2010)
• Issue 3 of NRM Notes (August 2010)
• Issue 4 of NRM Notes (December 2010)
• Issue 5 of NRM Notes (March 2011)
• Issue 6 of NRM Notes (June 2011)
• Issue 7 of NRM Notes (September 2011)
• Issue 8 of NRM Notes (December 2011)

For further information and to subscribe to NRM Notes, contact the NRM liaison officer (see link at the right of this page) or contact the Invasive Animals CRC.