February 2017 KINGOONYA NRM GROUP NEWS Welcome Welcome to the first edition of the Kingoonya Natural For the Kingoonya NRM Group, overwhelmingly, our Resource Management (NRM) Group News. This newsletter is conversation always came back to “we are here to listen and intended to update the Kingoonya district on the activities of be the voice of our community, and to help our community your local NRM Group. tackle important issues”. You can expect to receive an update from us twice a year. We will be regularly calling out to our community, asking for your opinions and what you think our Group should address NRM Group members play a key role in achieving the in our district. sustainable management of South Australia’s natural resources. NRM Groups are an important channel for If you would like to raise an issue, you can call any of the community input to the SA Arid Lands NRM Board’s programs Kingoonya NRM Group members, and they can bring specific and the development and review of the Regional NRM Plan. queries to the next meeting. Alternatively, you are welcome to come to our meetings. The NRM Groups consist of up to seven members, appointed by the NRM Board who collectively have the knowledge, skills Enjoy the read. and experience necessary to enable the Group to carry out its functions. The NRM Groups meet a minimum of four times per Ashley Williams (Chair) year. The meetings are open to the public. Photo: Group Chair Ashley Williams and SA Arid Lands NRM Board member Murray Tyler at the state feral goat forum in December 2016. 1 Meet your Kingoonya NRM Group members 2016 saw significant change of land kept in its most natural state, Ian Matheson membership in the Kingoonya NRM while still being a productive resource. I joined the NRM group because I am Group. Coming from a range of interested in the community and backgrounds, each member brings a pastoral industry as a whole, not just unique set of skills and perspective to on a property scale. Trained as a the Group, covering pastoralism, plumber, I began working on stations conservation, mining and town aged 23 in WA and SA. In my fifth year management. as a station manager, I currently manage Wilgena Station. Ashley Williams (Chair) I have a pastoral upbringing and have experience working in the mining industry. I want to contribute to the community and help ensure that the land is cared for and managed in a sustainable way. My interests include I wanted to become an NRM member archaeology, land care, small native to be a voice for pastoralists in the mammals and fishing. I am the North West, to get their concerns and manager of Lake Everard Station. interests heard. Stephen Lyons Jasmine Richards I grew up in a farming environment in Tasmania. My family history goes back to Aboriginal people from Tasmania – David Hunter a connection with land and water I have a station and mining resonates with background. I grew up and worked on me. I have Anna Creek Station, becoming the worked mostly in youngest head stockman there at age public 18. I worked on stations before administration marrying and moving to Carrieton to jobs at both start a family. My wife and I ran the Commonwealth post office and telephone exchange. and state levels. I put my hand up I am interested in seeing the for the NRM I am an environmental scientist and environment looked after, conserving Group as I encounter various hydrologist, specialising in the mining the natural resources, whilst allowing environmental issues in my role as industry. I bring a broad knowledge to for production outcomes. Town Overseer in Andamooka and the NRM Group on environmental have a strong belief that we can management, and more specifically always do more and always do better. on groundwater management. Jessica Barry My interest in the NRM Group comes My husband and I manage from wanting to understand the Commonwealth Hill Station for broader issues within the arid lands Jumbuck Pastoral Pty Ltd with our two than just those we come across at the children. We have been working mine. I want to be a member to get to together in the North West Pastoral know the community that I work for 14 years now. With a general within, in a broader context than the interest in land management and with immediate neighbors to the mining my time spent on the ground I have operation. I am also keen to give back knowledge on pastoral station to the community where I can and management, water and land hope that the NRM Group will be a management. I would like to see the great way to do this. 2 Group proxies To be able to achieve this we all sat As a Group, we realise that some So as to keep the momentum and down and determined what we stand priorities are outside of our control productivity of the Group at its for, want we want to be able to but our main concern is to form highest capacity, many members have promise you the community, about partnerships with community groups, teamed up with partners or the way we will do business and how government departments, non- community members of similar skill we will include you. What we came up government organisations and sets. If you bump into any of the three with are our group core values: industry bodies to ensure information proxy members below, please also flow. communicate any issues or priorities Community – engage with the you would like to see on the Groups community to provide the group with For this financial year we have decided agenda. an understanding of issues relevant to to develop five projects: the district. Cactus mapping – understand the Teamwork and Accountability – be an distribution of cactuses in the inclusive and accountable team Kingoonya district. making decisions based on community priorities. Community calendar – create a calendar indicating the good and bad Education – be informed by and times for workshops and information provide information to the sessions within the community, in the community. hope to allow more participation options. Productive and Contributing – make a difference and contribute to a Kangaroo tag awareness – increase Leighton Randell, OZ Minerals (above) sustainable Kingoonya district with the awareness of the kangaroo productive outcomes. tagging program and its components. Edwina Bowie (Proxy to Ian Matheson) Wilgena Station. Water in the landscape workshop – Our annual incororate theory with site visits and James Barry (proxy to Jess Barry, presentations focussing on efficient Commownwealth Hill Station. work plan use of graders to minimise soil erosion and increase water retention The Kingoonya NRM Group’s Annual in the land. Our shared Work Plan identifies the Group’s: vision and Priorities for the coming year, Introduce the new NRM Plan – host a which are in line with the Board’s space were the community can review values key investment areas and in and comment on the new plan. response to current issues in our As a Group we have a shared vision. area. Buffel Grass educational display – Commitment to increase their develop and maintain an events “To support and contribute to a knowledge in all areas of NRM, display with up-to-date information sustainable vibrant Kingoonya and to share knowledge and skills on Buffel Grass (i.e. environmental community while looking after the with others in the community, impacts and control options) and the land, water and environment.” providing leadership at a local story of its eradication so far. level to get things happening. 3 weeds/feral animals, where, how many Out & about and what control methods are the most cost effective to use. Kingoonya NRM Group members represented the interests of the The word on this comes from Stephen Kingoonya community in 2016 in the Lyon also: below workshops. “Pastoral Profit in Glendambo was my SA Far North Region – Climate first NRM workshop. Got educated on Change Adaptation Plan (1 member the range of issues that affect pastoral present) profit, way beyond pure dollars. As a Run over two workshops, stakeholders bookkeeper my focus tends to be on To put the discussion simply, you explored the risks and opportunities dollars but clearly there is much, much could crudely place the views of climate change to the Far North more to the equation.” expressed over the afternoon Region and discussed how the (however it was much more community and industry will respond To learn more visit YouTube to watch convoluted and complicated than this) to climate change. They aimed to videos about: climate forecasting for into three categories: prioritise adaptation options relevant the rangelands, property biosecurity, to a range of sectors, including 1. Total Eradication by any means financial management and business agriculture, mining, tourism, health necessary literacy, and landscape literacy, services, emergency management, managing grazing for the long term. water, natural resource management 2. Mustering and processing goats, and biodiversity conservation. combined with humane destruction to https://www.youtube.com/user/environ continually control and maintain a Here’s what Stephen Lyons had to say: mentsagovau/videos?flow=grid&view= lower number of goats across the 0&sort=dd board “The Climate Change workshop was an 3. Totally legalise the farming of goats. absolute mind-blower. I’ve always Site Clearance Inspection accepted that climate change is real On Tuesday 14 February Sarah There was a healthy diversity of and happening, but I have always had Voumard and two Arabana people, people who attended the forum, from doubts about the degree of impact that Amy and Ken, visited Billa Kalina people on the land, people from a station to undertake a site inspection.