what next?

 

Date: 12 April 2010

Five thousand invitations have hit households across one-third of Queensland as Desert Channels Queensland gears up for its Natural Resource Management plan review.

 

All 14 500 residents of the region have been invited to attend meetings from mid April to mid May to provide DCQ with input into the priority areas that require investment and action over the next five years.

 

Mike Chuk, planner with DCQ said, “A review is well and truly due. DCQ’s current plan, Protecting our Assets was written in 2004 and updated at the end of 2006. Since then much has happened.”

 

Mr Chuk hopes the updated plan can match or exceed what has been achieved over the past five years under the guidance of the original, community-based plan.

 

“We’ve put together some pretty impressive numbers like the enhancement or protection of 752 804 hectares or non-riparian native vegetation with 125 demonstrations and Field Days attended by 1, 457 people,” Mr Chuk explained. “We hope to see as many landholders and interested people at our What next? forums, being held in 6 different locations across our region.”

 

“The Desert Channels region covers 50 million hectares, with only about 5000 men, women and children living outside of the towns.  While government investment to date has leveraged 2 to 3 times as much from landholders, it has only been enough to see about 20 cents per hectare per year spent on landscape-level, strategic sustainable land management,” states Mr Chuk. “There is so much more to be done.”

 

Have your say. Share your ideas on what are the important issues for our region. Join the team from DCQ at the following venues; Blackall (April 23), Aramac (April 30), Longreach (May 05), Windorah (May 12), Winton (May 18) or Boulia (May 20).

Each day runs from 9am to 2pm with smoko and lunch provided. Please RSVP on 4658 0600 or admin@dcq.org.au one week before the date shown.

 

For more information on the work of Desert Channels Queensland, visit www.dcq.org.au.

 

 

Media enquiries: Roelie Hartwig

Ph: (07) 4652 7812

Fax: (07) 4658 0122

Email: roelie.hartwig@dcq.org.au