Condamine Alliance

CHANGE OF GUARD

Farewell, Dick Browne

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Phil McCullough and Dick Browne
CONDAMINE Alliance farewelled Dick Browne as chair at its July board meeting, and welcomed sitting board member Annie Pfeffer as acting chair. CEO Phil McCullough paid tribute to Mr Browne for his service as the independent chair of the organisation, especially his leadership and guidance during a testing transition period for the Alliance. Under Mr Browne's leadership, the regional body completed the Natural Resource Management Plan for the Condamine catchment and moved from planning to direct investment in on-ground works, focusing on land, water, community and nature conservation solutions.

FARMERS ON THE FRONT LINE

$28 million for landcare and sustainable farming projects
FARMS around Australia will be better protected and more resilient in the face of climate change, with a $28 million landcare funding package announced by the Rudd Government. The three-year package will fund 140 landcare projects. Landcare groups can also apply under another Caring for our Country program - the $25 million Open Grants 2008 fund, until Friday 1 August.

Natural resource management on Australian Farms report  -- The ABS recently published this report. Visit the ABS web site for the report (1.75MB).

AROUND THE CATCHMENT

Condition critical -- and hard to spot

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Black-breasted button-quail
BLACK-breasted button-quail (Turnix melanogaster) -- a long name for a tiny bird whose camoflauge renders it almost invisible in the wild. Camoflauge has not saved this quail from a listing among 42 "critical" or "high risk" species in the Condamine River catchment, identified by EPA with assistance from the Alliance and other stakeholders.


Chinese experts overwhelmed by river care 

CONSERVATION officials from China were “overwhelmed” by the relative good health of the Condamine River catchment during a tour last week.

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Suncorp's David Burton
Volunteers take a break from the office
VOLUNTEERS from the Suncorp Metway call centre in Toowoomba swapped their phones for a motorised digger and a Pottiputki – a hand-held device used to plant seedlings -- to help out with revegetation work at Passmore Reserve, near Clifton. Three volunteers from the call centre got their hands dirty and planted about 100 seedlings along the bank of the Condamine River.

Coal seam gas -- key stats 

Queensland Offsets Policy 

AT THE ALLIANCE

Catchment care survey winners collect 
CONGRATULATIONS to the four winners of our Complete Catchment Survey competition: Lucinda Paynter, Gowrie Junction; Sigrid Mcdowall. Clifton: Pete Lawrence and Troy Delaforce, Toowoomba.

Retiring George shy about his long-held passion 
FOR all his years as a pasture management guru for Condamine Alliance and the DPI&F, very few people have known of George Lambert’s passion for butterflies.

EVENTS

Surat Basin Energy Conference 2008, 21st-23rd August, Energy to Grow – Sustainability in the Surat Basin, Chinchilla Cultural Centre; Agriculture GPS/GNSS seminar, September 2, University of Southern Queensland. CHECK ALL EVENTS HERE 

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Working on Country, $6 million available; Q150 Community Funding Program; Gambling Community Benefit Fund; Grants Program to Assist Small Rural Communities.

READ MORE 

CONDAMINE RIVER CATCHMENT - 2.75m ha, 175,000 people

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River Rescue -- Shane Webcke
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Condamine River catchment

WEBCKE STANDS FOR RIVER RESCUE
RUGBY league legend and Leyburn local Shane Webcke supports the Alliance's Condamine River Rescue.
Catchment Map at full size
Steps for campers to protect our rivers 
Condamine River Rescue Program
Fish fingerlings whet the appetite
Healthy Basin Forum report
Dalby demonstrates its reach 
NRM General Fact Sheet  
Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 July 2008 )