Ngaanyatjarra Working on Country project

The Ngaanyatjarra Lands are increasingly being recognised for their strong cultural and natural values. Ngaanyatjarra people, Yarnangu, have cared for their country for thousands of years, and these social and cultural activities continue unbroken to the present day.

The high levels of biological diversity that exist on the Lands are a direct result of traditional land management practices. The declaration of the Ngaanyatjarra Lands Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) articulates this relationship between culture and land, and Ngaanyatjarra people's desire to strengthen and maintain Traditional Law and practice.

The Ngaanyatjarra Lands cover a total area of 250,000 square kilometres - of which 98,000 square kilometres forms the IPA. Close to the size of Tasmania, the IPA encompasses the entire West Australian section of the Central Ranges Bioregion, which until declaration was unprotected by any other reserve system.

The Ngaanyatjarra Council Aboriginal Corporation employs a team of Aboriginal rangers to help meet the region's environmental challenges. The rangers provide essential services in the remote 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. Other activities include 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 interpretive work.

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.

Wunggurr Rangers

The Wunggurr rangers manage parts of the Wanjina Wunggurr Wilinggin native title claim which covers 60,150 square kilometres of land in the northern-central area of the Kimberley. The world-renowned Gibb River road extends through Wanjina Wunggurr Wilinggin country and managing the impacts of tourists forms a large part of the workplan for the Wunggurr rangers. The rangers also protect cultural sites and waterways, conduct fire management and control feral animals across their land.

The Wanjina, Wunggurr and Wilinggin communities have a strong culture and are keeping it alive by working with both old and young people to look after their country for future generations.

Paruku Rangers

Lake Gregory (Paruku) is a Ramsar listed group of wetlands that are central to the cultural heritage of the peoples of the Tjurabalan Native Title Area in the Western Great Sandy Desert. An Indigenous Protected Area was declared over 430,000 hectares of this country in 2001, and has several groups of Traditional Owners, including Walmajarri, Jaru and Kukatja peoples.

The Paruku IPA Rangers work closely with their elders to ensure that knowledge is passed down to the younger generations, so they know their land and culture stories. The rangers primarily manage tourism impacts associated from visitors who use the Canning Stock Route. The management of feral horses, cattle and camels is also a major component of the work plan for the Paruku IPA rangers.

Bardi Jawi Rangers

The Bardi Jawi Native Title area covers 1,037 square kilometres of land and an area of sea country extending to three nautical miles within the Kimberley region of Western Australia. This area includes a culturally significant site that straddles the three nautical mile boundary in the north west of the Claim Area along with the Julinaburr / Bruce Reef which is 12 nautical miles to the north of the Dampier Peninsula.

Supported through Working on Country, the Bardi Jawi Rangers monitor threatened species including four species of marine turtle and Dugong via catch surveys, and have built a baseline data set for Seagrass meadows in the Bardi Jawi region by applying the 'Seagrass Watch' methodology.

The rangers also patrol the Kooljaman land and coast to help mitigate threats posed to cultural assets by visitors and tourists and undertake weed management and fire mitigation activities within highly significant remnant monsoonal vine thickets throughout the region.

Uunguu rangers

The Uunguu Rangers come from Wunambal Gaambera Country. The country has been the home of the Wunambal and Gaamgera people for many thousands of years and comes from the one Wanjina Wunggurr culture. Like their ancestors, they call their country “Uunguu” - our living home. From this came the Uunguu Rangers. Uunguu are based in Kalumburu, in the Far North Kimberley - arguably the most remote Aboriginal Community in Australia, the native area covers 25,909 square kilometers of land and sea country in the northwest Kimberley.

Through Working on Country, the rangers have a mammoth task monitoring and maintaining managing their vast land and sea country. Fire management activities to prevent destructive late-dry season wildfires, is an integral part of the Uunguu rangers scope of works. The rangers also assist with the management of important cultural sites in the extremely popular Mitchell Plateau National Park.

Nyul Nyul Land and Sea Rangers

The Nyul Nyul Native Title Lands cover approximately 1,196 square kilometres of land and sea in the Kimberley region and are located about 100 kilometres north of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula. This country contains profound cultural and environmental values including significant species such as the Bilby and Northern Quoll. The Nyul Nyul Land and Sea Rangers project plays a central role in implementing Traditional Owner, State and National management priorities to conserve and protect these lands.

A team of Aboriginal rangers have been employed to undertake resource management and deliver management priorities for this popular tourist area. Protecting delicate coastal habitats from tourism impacts, fire and weeds is an integral component of the ranger's work. The rangers are guided by Traditional Owners to promote knowledge transfer, and are often called upon to support community activities associated with land and sea management. They also interact with visitors to the region to increase public awareness of natural resource management priorities on their country.

Nyikina Mangala rangers

The Nykina Mangala native title claim area covers 27,000 square kilometres around the Fitzroy Valley. The Nyikina Mangala rangers are based at the community of Jarlmadangah and their work is focused around the Fitzroy River, which is central to the cultural heritage of the Nyikina Mangala people.

The Nyikina Mangala rangers work to manage feral animals, weeds and to prevent wildfires across their country. The rangers also have worked with partnering universities and resource management agencies to document fish species in the Fitzroy. The involvement of the rangers has facilitated valuable research on the movement and habitat of the threatened fresh water sawfish Pristis microdon through satellite tagging work.

Ngurrara rangers

The Ngurrara rangers are based at the community of Djugerari and they manage the Ngurrara native title area of some 77,814 square kilometres in the southern Kimberley region, which includes part of the Canning Stock Route. The rangers are instructed by Traditional Owners to protect heritage through knowledge transfer, and to physically protect culturally important sites by managing visitors, fire weeds and feral animals.

Through Working on Country, a number of rangers undertake training in conservation and land management, relevant occupational health and safety training, conduct biodiversity surveys and record species abundance across representative habitat types within Ngurrara country.

The Ngurrara rangers undertake cat, fox and camel management work, based on biodiversity survey monitoring results, traditional and local knowledge. They also undertake weed management surveys to inform control plans and management for Weeds of National Significance (WONS) along with other weeds in the region. The rangers monitor freshwater wetland sites to prioritise and implement management actions under the guidance of traditional owners. Following identification of fire management sites through community-based planning, the ranger team also conducts annual burns.

Karajarri rangers

We, the Karajarri Rangers are continuing on the work of our old people, using the traditional knowledge they have to learn about how to look after our country. Karajarri Country stretches all the way from the desert jilas and sand dunes to the ocean where our coastline is dotted with tidal creeks and freshwater springs. We have a responsibility to our people and our country. Looking after and protecting our native plants, animals and cultural sites from humans, fire, weeds, cattle and pests, is what we are here to do.
Kimberley Land Council website.

The Karajarri lands lie 200 kilometres south of Broome and include 130 kilometres of coastline stretching from Gordon Bay to Cape Missiessy. The rangers focus on coastal management issues to reduce the impacts on the region's natural and cultural values through visitor management. By incorporating western survey techniques with traditional ecological knowledge, they undertake baseline biodiversity surveys with the assistance of specialists, and develop ongoing monitoring programs. This allows rangers to gauge the results of their land management work to manage weeds, feral animals and wildfires.

Miriuwung Gajerrong Yirrgeb Noong Aboriginal Corporation (MG Corporation) Aboriginal Rangers

Aboriginal Rangers for Reserve 31165 is a unique project located in the East Kimberley Region of Western Australia. The reserve covers 125,000 hectares and is bordered on two sides by Lake Argyle; a man-made lake constructed as part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. The region contains eighteen nationally threatened and/or migratory species and a significant proportion of the Lake Argyle Ramsar listed wetland.

The project is jointly managed by the Miriuwung Gajerrong people and the Western Australian Department of Water as part of the Ord Final Agreement 2005, continuing the partnership already in place and building the capacity of local Indigenous people to manage their country.

A team of Aboriginal rangers are delivering environmental management activities and other forms of resource management, most notably, recording the traditional knowledge held by Traditional Owners and elders.