1. Land and sea natural and cultural protection

Lockhart River Aboriginal Community is a remote community on the east coast of Cape York in far north Queensland. During the wet season floods close the major land transport routes. The area is bounded by rainforest, low mountain ranges and the mangrove-protected estuaries. Weed invasions and feral pests are contributing to the decline of the region's unique flora and fauna. Through its Working on Country contract, the Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council will employ Indigenous people to address problems associated with weeds and feral pests. Activities will include mapping weed infestations; implementing spraying programs; revegetating affected areas; and planning and implementing feral pest control programs.

1. Gidarjil Working on Country

The Granite Creek area near Bundaberg in Queensland is the ancestral home of the Gurang clan. Part of the area is listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands for Australia. The area also has a history of timber harvesting and cattle grazing and the Traditional Owners through Gidarjil Development Corporation are planning to shift away from agricultural and forestry activities in the area towards restoration and protection of natural habitats and cultural heritage. Through the Working on Country contract, the Corporation will employ Indigenous people to undertake environmental activities in the target area. These activities will include: eradicating weeds and pests and specifically targeting the wetland; testing and improving water quality; recovering an endangered eucalypt ecosystem; re-establishing and expanding a protection corridor between two national parks; and setting up a traditional knowledge database.

2a. Southern Gulf Fire and Weed project on Gangalidda country

Nationally significant weeds such as rubber vine and calotrope have been wreaking havoc on biodiversity in parts of the Gulf of Carpentaria including the Gangalidda coastline in the southern Gulf. There, weeds have become so thick that native trees and grasses cannot rejuvenate and Traditional Owners have been unable to walk through weed-choked coastal areas to perform traditional hunting and food gathering. Under a Working on Country contract, the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation will employ Indigenous people as rangers to implement a weed and pest management plan. Activities will include mosaic fire burning to help contain seed spread, chemical control to tackle specific plants without contaminating water wells, and collection of information for GIS mapping systems.

2b. Southern Gulf Fire and Weed project for Wellesley Islands

The environmental stability of the Wellesley Islands in the Southern Gulf of Carpentaria is at risk from nationally significant weeds including rubber vine and calotrope. These introduced species are strangling native trees and wiping out vast areas of vegetation which in turn affects the habitats of wallabies, Gouldian finches and the nesting sites of marine turtles. Through its Working on Country contract, the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation will employ Indigenous people to fight these weeds through traditional fire burning techniques and contemporary methods. Activities will also include collecting information for GIS mapping systems.

3. Supporting sustainable incomes and environment for Kowanyama Aboriginal lands

Kowanyama, on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula, is located on the Mitchell River. The area boasts Wetlands of National Significance, a number of threatened species and areas of cultural significance. However, the area also suffers from weeds of national significance and areas of threatened habitat and ecology. The Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council administers the area and will use funding from its Working on Country contract to employ Indigenous rangers and a coordinator to protect the ecological and cultural assets of the area and to tackle environmental problems. Activities will include weed and feral animal eradication, wetland and waterway monitoring and protection, monitoring of threatened species and re-establishment of habitat, mapping cultural sites, managing access trails in sensitive areas, and managing visitation.

4. Kaanju Ngaachi Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers Working on Country Project

The Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers on Cape York Peninsula are home or "Ngaachi" to the Kaanju people. The region features open savanna, upland tropical and sub-tropical rainforests, open bushland, sand ridge country and vast wetland areas and riparian forests that are nationally important. The region faces a number of challenges including land degradation and erosion, weed and feral animal infestation and damage to cultural areas from unregulated public access. The Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation which manages the area has developed a management plan to deal with these challenges. Using its Working on Country contract, the Corporation will employ Indigenous people to undertake activities that include: maintenance of designated camping areas; fencing off sensitive areas to protect them from feral pigs, horses and cattle; monitoring, mapping and reducing feral pig numbers; rehabilitating 15,000 hectares currently over-run by weeds; and conducting fire management and establishing fire breaks.

5. Implementing land and sea management initiatives on Mabuiag, Torres Strait

The granite Mabuiag Island in the Torres Strait is a remnant of the chain of islands forming part of the Great Dividing Range. Rich seagrass beds and offshore reefs surround Mabuiag and are a significant habitat for dugongs and green turtles, both of which are protected species. Many areas of Mabuiag are still in pristine condition with traditional sites relatively intact. With the benefits of a Working on Country contract, the Mabuiag Island Council will employ Indigenous people to provide a range of environmental services. Among their activities will be mapping weed and feral animal distribution, mapping and managing heritage sites, monitoring and removing "ghost" nets which have been lost at sea, and monitoring and managing turtles and dugongs and their habitats.

1. The Torres Strait Indigenous Ranger Program

The Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, lie in the Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea.

This Working on Country project encompasses eight Torres Strait Island communities: Badu, Boigu, Erub, Iama, Kaiwalagal, Mabuiag, Mer and St Paul with community based ranger groups providing environmental services.

The ranger groups will be responsible for identifying and implementing the sustainable management of dugong and turtle within their community based sea country plans. Dugong and turtle are important totems and have been a traditional food source for thousands of years.

Environmental work on both sea and land includes the rangers researching and surveying significant coastal and marine habitats, seed collection and plant propagation and managing sea country. For many saltwater communities like the Torres Strait, the land and sea are intrinsic to identity and the work of the rangers is in many ways about maintaining country, identity and culture.

2. Implementation of the Thuwathu/Bujimulla Sea Country Plan by the Wellesley Island Indigenous positions

Off the coast of North Queensland in the Gulf of Carpentaria lies the Thuwathu/Bujimulla sea country incorporating the Mornington, Wellesley and Bentnick Islands. Over the next five years, rangers will receive ongoing employment and training to provide environmental services.

The Wellesley Island rangers will harvest turtles and dugongs including monitoring and collection of data. On two of the islands they will undertake seagrass sampling and manage bird coloniesIn addition to these activities, they will undertake protection of cultural sites and will continue to record traditional knowledge for future generations.

1. Lama Lama Rangers - Improved Management of Running Creek Nature Reserve

This Working on Country project will focus on land management works in the Lama Lama Land Trust which includes Running Creek Nature Refuge and surrounding Aboriginal freehold land in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.

The Lama Lama Land Trust was established under Queensland's Aboriginal Land Act 1991 to hold in trust Running Creek on behalf of the traditional owners.

The Conservation Agreement between the Lama Lama Land Trust and the Queensland Government to establish the Running Creek Nature Refuge provides the framework for the Lama Lama rangers to manage the ecosystems and habitats. The rangers work also includes assessing and documenting the natural and cultural values; and threats to these values of their country and implementing key environmental activities to maintain these values, address threats, monitor, review and evaluate process. The project is supported by Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation in partnership with the Lama Lama Land Trust.

2. Improved Management on Mt Croll Refuge on Toolka Land Trust

This Working on Country project focuses on general land management actions on the Toolka Land Trust including the Mt Croll Nature Reserve and surrounding Aboriginal freehold land in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.

The rangers' environmental activities align with the Working on Country priorities of Keeping Country Healthy and Protecting Heritage on approximately 17,990 hectares of intact ecosystems of which 5.132 hectares is currently part of the National Reserve System as Nature Refuge under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.

The Conservation Agreement between the Toolka Land Trust and the Queensland Government to establish the Mt Croll Nature Refuge provides the framework for their land management plan which includes environmental works such as weed and feral animal control, fire and grazing management and some specific objectives to manage the ecosystems and habitats identified in the Conservative Agreement. The project is supported by Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation in partnership with the Kalan Aboriginal Corporation and the Toolka Land Trust.

3. Mapoon Land and Sea Centre

In 1989, a Deed of Grant of Land in Trust (DoGIT) covering 1839 square kilometres was handed back to the Mapoon people by Queensland Government. This land contains nationally listed important wetland and two significant rivers as well as 18 threatened species and 75 listed marine species.

The Mapoon Land and Sea Centre is responsible for the management of land and sea Mapoon on Cape York Peninsula. The community is situated on the traditional lands of Tjungundji people, with Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council acting in partnership with the traditional owners.

The Centre will employ six Indigenous rangers and a coordinator to undertake a range of environmental works including the development of a traditional knowledge and cultural heritage geographic information system (GIS) database, weed and feral animal control, the protection and conservation of wetlands, controlling visitor access, re-introduction of the traditional fire management, crocodile surveys and water quality monitoring.

The aim of the Mapoon people is that their land and sea centre becomes a secure place where future economic growth can be realised.

4. Nyungkal Ranger Service

Kuku Nyungkal country consists of World Heritage listed wet tropical waterways, mountains, forests, and seas in a part of North-East Queensland that is rich in nationally and internationally significant biological and cultural diversity. The Nyungkal Indigenous rangers will implement the Kuku Nyungkal country-based plan which set out the Kuku Nyungkal people's vision for the future and their Bubu (Country) is to relocate back to country and take up our birth rights and obligations to manage and care for land, sea and culture".

A significant number of Nyungkal traditional owners have completed or are currently undertaking Certificate IV in Conservation and Land Management training. The Nyungkal rangers will be employed to work on land and sea monitoring (including boating and fishing activities and pollution); traditional knowledge recording; protection of rare and endangered species; collection of environmental data and management of traditional hunting and gathering practices.

The project is managed by Balkanu Cape York Development in partnership with Bana Yarralji Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of the traditional owners.

5. Queensland Murray-Darling Basin Community Rangers program

This Working on Country project is reconciliation in action with the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC) working with eight Aboriginal traditional owner groups and up to 60 landowners across the QMDC region to implement the traditional owner's Caring for Country Plan.

The QMDC region crosses a wide geographical area and reaches from Goondiwindi to Mitchell to Tara in Queensland.

The QMDC will establish and coordinate three natural resource management Aboriginal rangers teams in Dirranbandi, St George and Inglewood. The rangers themselves will continue working with traditional owner groups as they implement a range of environmental projects on a variety of land tenures - some 10 million hectares. The rangers will focus on projects to keep country healthy, to protect heritage and to conserve, maintain, manage and repair the environment.

The Queensland Murray-Darling Committee and the traditional owner groups through their Working on Country project aim to provide the basis for long term employment and build small business opportunities for Aboriginal communities and individuals.