We have been lucky enough to undertake the final monitoring on a very special project area north of Aramac. Conceived and funded by the Queensland Government under the Natural Resources Investment Program the aspirational aim was for DCQ to develop and undertake works to stimulate artesian springs, long dormant through pressure decline and for DCQ to work with landholders to manage these sites as they slowly recovered.
A big ask, and never previously attempted, but as we have reported in other posts, it has been a very successful project with over 23 springs now reflowing.
It’s been such a successful project that the work has been extended for a further two years under the Natural Resources Recovery Program and this is why. While 59 species were first identified in the initial surveys of the springs, that number has increased to 131 as the sites have begun to stabilise and mature. Of these, 4 are conservation listed species and 5 of the springs now support endangered plants providing a massive increase in habitat for these species.
Landholders have embraced the arrivals and are now carefully managing these sites. These sites are not in conservation estates, they are on working properties and demonstrate again, the ability of landholders to manage the co-existence of production and conservation for the mutual benefit of both.
The lack of science on this side of the range means that we don’t always know just what special things we have right at our door step. Fortunately, through projects like this and its extension the science is catching up, and at DCQ we are very fortunate to have passionate people engaged in natural resource management who love the land on which we live and work supported by equally passionate scientist…now that’s work celebrating.
