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.
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News
Julatten-Mt Molloy Biodiversity Enhancement - Small Grants Scheme
Open Day & Plant Propagation Workshop, 9am to 4pm Saturday 10th January 2009, Highland Drive Julatten
The Mitchell River Watershed Management Group has been funded under Caring for Our Country, a joint program of both the Australian and Queensland governments, to create a small grants scheme. The grants will assist landowners in the Julatten-Mt Molloy corridor in the replanting of their land with Wet Tropics rainforest species and other works that improve biodiversity and facilitate movement of wildlife, both terrestrial and aquatic, through the project area.
Landowners are invited to apply for grants of up to $5,000 (but requests for larger amounts will be considered for projects having a significant outcome in key locations) for projects making a contribution to the biodiversity of the region through building habitat islands / stepping stones and removing barriers to movement of species between the protected areas of the Wet Tropics World Heritage area.
Grants can also be applied to the removal of barriers to fish movement and the restoration of wetlands and riparian vegetation to enhance biodiversity in the streams of the project area. Applicants will be expected to make significant in-kind contributions in time and resources, if not expenditure of additional funds.
The first round of grants ($40,000 total) has been awarded to seven landowners for projects that range from extending existing protected areas to replanting bare and degraded stream riparian zones to increase the habitat value of their properties and improve the connectivity between sections of the World Heritage Wet Tropics separated by past clearing in the project area.
The closing date for the second round of applications is Friday January 23rd of 2009 and another $40,000 in grants will be available.
Any interested persons are invited to an Open Day and Plant Propagation Workshop at Highland Drive, Julatten on Saturday 10th January 2009 to learn more about the habitat restoration grants, to look at a successful tree planting project and to learn the basics of propagation of local native plant species.
See the project description for additional information and/or download an application form.
A detailed map of the project area showing all lot boundaries can be downloaded and may be useful to applicants.
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Irrigation Management Workshops - Plant & Soil Moisture Monitoring - 24 June 2008 at Dimbulah & Mareeba. These workshops were funded by Northern Gulf Resource Management Group and organised by the Mitchell River Watershed Management Group. 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.
Berto Srhoj explaining his irrigation management system in his citrus orchard, Dimbulah
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Tilapia found in Walsh River Catchment
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During a DPI Fisheries periodic surveillance in January 2008, Tilapia were discovered in Eureka Creek a tributary of the Walsh River, in the Mitchell River Catchment. Seven juvenile Tilapia mariae were caught. Monitoring continues with electrofishing and netting in the creek and in the Walsh River both downstream and upstream of the discovery site. “This is a nightmare for Mitchell River Watershed Management Group,” states Chairperson Hilary Kuhn... more... |
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Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) program
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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... |
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Djungan Youth Training & Culture Centre - water project:
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Stage 4 of this Commonwealth Community Water Grants funded project is almost complete. So far, 3 sites at this youth training and culture centre have been installed with rainwater tanks and catchment shelters built by Indigenous students as part of their Engineering Certificate studies at the Australian Agricultural College Mareeba Campus...
find out more... |
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Bar Barrum Community Water
Grants project - completed:
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The Bar Barrum Community Water Grants project has now been completed. 5 rainwater tanks with a total storage capacity of around 188,000 litres (approx 41,000 gallons) have been installed at 3 sites. Combined, it is estimated that they will 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... |
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.
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