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The Mitchell River catchment in Tropical North Queensland, Australia, spans 72,000 square kilometres (the size of Tasmania) across the base of Cape York Peninsula. It incorporates five major river systems: the Mitchell, Alice, Palmer, Walsh and Lynd, and involves four local governments; namely Tablelands Regional (formerly Mareeba), Cook, Carpentaria and Kowanyama Communities Local Government Area.

The Mitchell River Watershed Management Group Inc (MRWMG) arose out of a conference on watershed management held at Kowanyama in 1990. The catalyst for this conference was the concern for the river’s health felt by the Traditional Owners when they first started flying to Cairns and saw the catchment from the air. The MRWMG, has grown into an independent, not-for-profit organisation working in partnership with local communities and stakeholders to:
  • create a balanced approach to the use of the catchments resources; and
  • achieve sustainable and integrated management of the Mitchell River catchment area.
Read more about us, our projects, news and issues, and about the catchment in the relevant pages of this web site. There are also pages dedicated to education and awareness activities for kids, a publications area containing a collection of internal and external reports and other documents, a calendar of events, and details of how you can become involved. The Mitchell River Group is also an endorsed tax deductible gift receipient and we greatly appreciate donations.

 

 

 

News

How You Can Help Stop The Spread of Tilapia in the Walsh and Mitchell River Catchments

Tilapia, a declared noxious fish originally from Africa, can wipe out native fish species and damage water quality if not detected and removed early enough.  Mitchell River Watershed Management Group is working with the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research to provide the public with information about the control of this pest fish species. The attached powerpoint presentation is all about the successful Tilapia eradication campaign in Eureka Creek in Oct. 2008 and the successful return of native species.

 

Tilapia

 

If you catch a fish that looks like Tilapia, take a photo of it, or put it in a plastic bag, contact the Fisheries Pest Fish Hotline on 13 25 23 or 1800 017 116 (A/H) and pass the photo or fish on to someone who can confirm the identification and take action.

Tilapia has spread through 3,000 kilometres of the Burdekin River over a 4 year period and will become the dominant species in this catchment. The only way to prevent more waterways becoming overwhelmed by Tilapia is for the public to actively report any sightings and enable an early and effective response wherever possible.

 

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Quoll Survey on Cape York

northern quoll

Have you seen a quoll on Cape York?

The Northern Quoll, once known as the native cat, used to be common on Cape York Peninsula.  It apparently disappeared from the Peninsula in the 1980s and early 1990s. It is likely that the Cane Toad’s arrival was responsible for this; quolls die when they try to eat the poisonous toads.

The huge drop in numbers does not necessarily mean they are extinct on Cape York Peninsula.  Around Lakeland Downs and Cooktown, Northern Quolls have learnt to live with toads; though just how is not known.

Zoologists, John Winter and Scot Burnett have a Caring for our Country grant to look for surviving populations of the quoll on the Peninsula. 

Scott will be training community groups, starting with the Land and Sea Rangers at Lockhart River, in the use of infrared cameras to look for quolls.  John is seeking the help of Cape York residents to report any sightings of quolls. 

A quoll is a marsupial, about the size of a small domestic cat, has a brown body covered with cream spots, a black, slightly bushy tail, pointed snout and sharp teeth.  Quolls are predators and unfortunately tend to get a bad name because they love to eat chooks.

If you see any or know of places where quolls have been seen recently, please contact John - phone 4097 0048, PO Box 151 Ravenshoe 4888, or by email jw.winter@bigpond.com


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Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) program

TRaCK logo

 

The Mitchell River forms part of the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge program (TRaCK), a significant $30 million research program that is aimed at providing science and knowledge to help with the sustainable management of Australia¹s tropical rivers and coasts...
find out more...

 

Wongoo - Djungan Youth Training & Culture Centre - water project:

Wongoo

 
The Australian Govt. Community Water Grants scheme has funded the construction of 4 rainwater tanks and catchment shelters at this youth training and culture centre near Dimbulah. The work was carried out by Indigenous students from the Engineering Certificate course at the Australian Agricultural College Mareeba Campus...
find out more...

 

Bar Barrum Community Water
Grants project


BarBarrum Tank Delivery
 
The Australian Govt. Community Water Grants scheme also funded the Bar Barrum Water Tanks project near Petford. 5 rainwater tanks with a total storage capacity of around 188,000 litres were installed at 3 sites. This is expected to reduce extraction from the near-by Emu creek by up to 375,000 litres per year and maintain fresh water sources for the Bar Barrum community.
find out more...
 

 

Donations welcomed
The Mitchell River Group is an endorsed tax deductible gift recipient and all donations over AU$2.00 are 100% tax deductible. We greatly appreciate donations to help continue and expand the projects and assistance we provide to stakeholders in the Mitchell River catchment.

If this is your first visit to our site, please take some time to view our Current Projects page to gain insight on some of the community and environmental projects we are involved in. The About Us and About The Catchment pages tell the Mitchell River Group story and outline the significant features of the Mitchell River system and catchment area.


To Make a Donation...
Click here to access our donation page. It offers a secure payment facility linked to the Westpac Bank that allows credit card transactions and provides a Tax Invoice receipt upon payment. All donations over AU$2.00 are tax deductible.


 

 

Catchment Poster
MRWMG brochure and poster
We have produced a brochure and a matching A1-size poster that talks about who the Mitchell River Group is and celebrates various projects conducted by the Group in partnership with the communities involved.

The brochure contains photos of people from throughout the catchment area to add a human face to all the hard work being done - and the poster contains even more photos than the brochure!

Contact us for copies of these, or download them from our Publications page.

Best Practice Irrigation Management
- Plant & Soil Moisture Monitoring
Two workshops, funded by Northern Gulf Resource Management Group and organised by the Mitchell River Watershed Management Group, were held at Dimbulah and Mareeba on 24 June 2008. Presentations were given by George Russell from Growcom on the why and how of moisture monitoring and then by Fabian Gallo of HydroTech Monitoring on the technology available for moisture monitoring and irrigation scheduling. Those who attended the Dimbulah workshop also heard from Berto Srhoj about the sophisticated computer controlled system he had installed in his citrus orchard. Berto then showed everyone the information about his crop he could access on his computer, from anywhere on the planet, before taking them for a look at the actual system installed in the orchard.

Bert Srhoj's citrus orchard, DimbulahExplaining soil moisture monitoring
Berto Srhoj explaining his irrigation management system in his citrus orchard, Dimbulah

 

Gamba Grass - Fire Safety Issues
Sue Lamb, a Fire Control Officer from the Northern Territory with extensive experience of fighting Gamba grass fires, addressed a forum in Mareeba on 30 April 2008 on the extra hazards associated with fighting these fires. Gamba grass can have a fuel load of 30 tonnes per hectare (see picture below), which is about 8 times that of native grasses and undergrowth. This produces a very intense fire that is not only a danger to firefighters and vehicles but can also destroy the tree canopy. To see Sue's presentation click here.

Gamba Grass -Fire hazard