New funding to help landholders better manage dams

Farm dams play a critical role in water management in the Hills and Fleurieu – irrigation, biodiversity, agriculture, firefighting, livestock and domestic applications all depend on their health and reliability.

Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu is the recipient of a $200,000 boost in the 2024-25 round of the Landscape Priorities Fund (LPF) to coordinate the ‘Building landscape resilience with high-performing dams’ project over the next 12 months.

Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu’s Manager Landscape Operations, Ben Della Torre explained more about the project and how it will help land managers approach best practice dam safety and maintenance.

“Dams are a critical and finite asset for those who have them, but they do degrade over time and require ongoing maintenance. This maintenance ensures they remain operational and prevents them causing damage to people, property, and the natural environment. When they are well managed and cared for, they can provide many benefits.

“A key function of Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu, and particularly our new Stewardship Program, is to build relationships with landholders to help them embrace their role in caring for land, water and nature. This project will help us build on those relationships to provide targeted education and advice in regard to farm dam safety and maintenance. While it is the landholder’s responsibility to maintain their dam, providing information and advice about inspections and maintenance can help prevent future dam failures,” he said.

Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu plans to offer interactive workshops, property visits, demonstration sites, electronic and printed information guides, and incentive funding to eligible landholders to help them manage their dams.

“The impacts associated with dam failure can be costly, wasteful and inconvenient, so prevention is always better than cure,” said Mr Della Torre.

Additional funding awarded to Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu for cross-regional projects from the Landscape Priorities Fund

Now or never – controlling feral deer and goats project - $692,015

Cross-regional partnership between: Northern and Yorke Landscape Boards, Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu and Green Adelaide.

The ‘Now or never- controlling feral deer and goats’ project aims to significantly reduce deer and goat numbers through targeted aerial and ground shooting, and community education activities. It builds on the existing feral deer and goat eradication programs. If we act now, there is a unique opportunity to reverse the projections of both these species by eradicating feral deer in all regions and pushing back on feral goats.

Empowering land managers to optimise soil health for productivity and environmental outcomes - $870,650

Cross-regional partnership between: Limestone Coast, Kangaroo Island, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Murraylands and Riverland, Northern and Yorke and SA Arid Lands landscape boards, and Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu.

This project will focus on supporting land managers to take responsibility for their soil health, resulting in improved productivity and environmental outcomes. It will equip land managers with skills and knowledge of the latest soil science to turn soil test results into on-farm actions that improve soil health. The project will employ seven soil extension officers working across eight landscape board regions of South Australia.

Background

The Landscape Priorities Fund provides annual grants for the state’s landscape boards, who work in partnership with other organisations, groups and individuals to invest in large-scale integrated landscape management projects.

The latest round of the LPF sees $4.9 million spent on 14 projects that aim to better manage land and improve biodiversity throughout South Australia.

For more information visit https://www.landscape.sa.gov.au