1. Ngaanyatjarra Working on Country project

Ngaanyatjarra lands cover an area of 98,000 square kilometres, including sections of the Gibson, Great Sandy and Great Victoria Deserts. The Ngaanyatjarra Council Aboriginal Corporation's Working on Country project will help implement the Ngaanyatjarra Indigenous Protected Area Plan of Management and move five Indigenous workers involved in land and culture management into real jobs. These Indigenous workers will provide a range of essential environmental services in the region including field trips to identify the status and implement management needs for threatened species such as rock wallaby, great desert skink and bilby populations; implementing fire management processes; cleaning and maintaining rock holes to provide clean, fresh water for a range of native fauna; managing the impact of feral pests such as foxes and camels; supporting traditional ecological knowledge and cultural activities; and continuing to develop tourist management strategies including interpretative works.

2. Kimberley Rangers Working on Country project

The Kimberley Land Council's Working on Country project will provide environmental services that cover almost 137,000 square kilometres of land, including more than 1,800 kilometres of coastline. The project will employ 20 Indigenous people on activities including: a weed eradication program to protect threatened ecological communities; land rehabilitation including seed collection and sowing native plants in degraded areas; fire management; monitoring and managing turtle and dugong numbers and habitats; monitoring seagrass beds; cleaning marine debris from beaches; monitoring river water quality; controlling feral pigs, cats, horses and cattle; monitoring threatened species; managing remnant rainforest; recording visitor data; protecting important cultural sites; and monitoring significant marine and reef sites.

1. Kimberley Ranger Initiative - Karajarri Indigenous positions Working on Country

The Karajarri lands lie 200 kms south of Broome and include 130kms of coastline. Stretching from Gordon Bay to Cape Missiessy this coastal strip also includes the northern 20kms of the Eighty Mile Beach, which is listed under the RAMSAR Convention because of the important habitat it provides for migratory shorebirds.

The rangers' environmental work will focus on coastal management issues to reduce the impacts on the region's natural and cultural values through the management of visitors.

By incorporating western survey techniques with traditional ecological knowledge, the rangers will undertake baseline biodiversity surveys with the assistance of specialists, and develop ongoing monitoring programs. This will allow rangers to gauge the results of their land management work to manage weeds, feral animals and wildfires.

Many Working on Country projects cover vast areas of land along with rivers, estuaries and coastlines. The integration of the Indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge of country is pivotal to the success of land management outcomes through Working on Country.

2. Martu Ranger program, Western Desert

In the Western Desert of Western Australia, the Martu Ranger group will deliver crucial environmental services across two million hectares.

In this region are seven known threatened animal species listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This Working on Country project aims to protect and conserve as many threatened species as possible.

Given the Canning Stock Route passes through the region enabling tourist access, the rangers' work includes tourism management.

In the Western Desert, feral animals such as camels, cats and rabbits have the capacity to wipe out a diversity of native flora and also have a devastating effect on native animals. The Martu rangers will collect data on feral animals to inform ongoing control programs.

With an ever-changing climate, they will reduce the fuel loads using traditional fire management to initiate early season burning.