Landscape Priorities Fund zeroes in on 7 priority projects for 2022-23

News article | 20 June 2023

Seven priority projects have been announced in the 2022-23 round of the Landscape Priorities Fund (LPF).

The LPF is funded from landscape levies collected by Green Adelaide in the Adelaide metropolitan area and redistributed to South Australia’s regional landscape boards. It enables investment in large, landscape scale projects that address regional and cross-regional priorities.

Reversing the decline of Mt Lofty Ranges birds

Landscape Priorities Fund zeroes in on 7 priority projects for 2022-23 — Diamond firetail

· Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu

· $820,000

A suite of woodland bird species is declining across the Mount Lofty Ranges and are at immediate risk of extinction. This project will focus on landscape-scale restoration of habitats for these species, delivering on-ground revegetation on private properties in low-rainfall grassy woodland areas. The development of a regional action plan, landholder surveys and communications and engagement activities to encourage community involvement will also be key focus areas.

This will be achieved through an alliance of environmental organisations, university and government partners committed to working together. Read more about the Mount Lofty Ranges Bird Recovery project.

A multi-agency strategic response to managing buffel grass

· Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board

· $1,180,000

Buffel grass represents a particular threat to high value nature conservation in areas such as the Great Western Woodlands, the Alinytjara Wiluṟara landscape region, and the Great Victoria Desert bioregion.

The project will support a coordinated approach, influence practice change, support an increase in on-ground effort, implement strategic coordinated control blitzes and develop a common statewide voice that aims to shift the perception of, and response to, buffel grass at a national level.

A cross-regional partnership between four landscape boards: Alinytjara Wiluṟara, Eyre Peninsula, SA Arid Lands and Northern and Yorke, together with Australian Rail Track Corporation and the Department for Infrastructure & Transport, will drive action and co-investment across the state.

Delivering environmental and cultural flows

· Northern and Yorke Landscape Board

· $413,000

This project focuses on improving the environmental and First Nation cultural flows of three priority water catchment areas of Baroota, Beetaloo and Barossa in the Northern and Yorke landscape region. These catchments experience intermittent water flows, which are declining with increased resource use and climate change, leading to a deterioration of the health of water-dependent ecosystems and impacting culturally significant sites and values. The project builds on the current knowledge of the riparian ecosystems and collaborates with First Nations, universities, landholders and the community to fundamentally change water management, including scheduled water releases, to restore these ecosystems to a healthier state through increased flows.

Building resilience of Ngarrindjeri Yarluwar-Ruwe

· Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board

· $480,000

The Ngarrindjeri community will lead the identification, development and delivery of priority on-ground restoration works to improve the environmental and cultural resilience of their Yarluwar-Ruwe (waters and lands).

The project will undertake and support strategic actions aimed at increasing and re-establishing populations of threatened species at a landscape scale. This will include revegetation, the re-establishment of aquatic vegetation, maintenance of wetland flow paths, pest plant and animal control and erosion control.

The project is a partnership between four regional landscape boards, the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation, Raukkan Community Council, the SA Drought Hub, community and environmental organisations, industry groups and landholders.

Resilient rangelands – managing biosecurity

· South Australian Arid Lands Landscape Board

· $800,000

This project will address the threat posed by feral goats, feral pigs and wild dogs to the condition and resilience of rangelands ecosystems and agricultural enterprises. The project will deliver landscape scale outcomes with benefits to the remainder of SA (in particular Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, Alinytjara Wiluṟara, and Murraylands and Riverland landscape regions, who are key partners), by reducing the spread and minimising feral goat, pig and wild dog incursions across landscape boundaries. This is an integrated project, with broad partnership support intended to achieve significant landholder engagement to overcome these biosecurity threats. It is backed with appropriate methodologies and development of newer and innovative approaches across industry and government.

Tasmanian blue gum wildling removal

· Kangaroo Island Landscape Board

· $780,000

Tasmanian blue gums (TBGs) are a non-indigenous plantation timber covering approximate 5% of Kangaroo Island. TBGs respond incredibly well to fire and following the 2019-20 bushfires there was rapid proliferation of TBG seedlings (wildlings) within remnant native vegetation. These wildlings are characterised by extremely rapid growth rates, outcompete other recovering native flora and fundamentally change habitat structure and composition, subsequently threatening dependant fauna. TBG wildlings currently represent one of the greatest direct threats to biodiversity on Kangaroo Island (KI), with approximately 3500 ha of native vegetation infested. This project will engage contractors to permanently remove wildlings as well as support volunteer organisations to continue to play an active role in wildling removal.

Karst Springs Land Purchase and Restoration

· Limestone Coast Landscape Board

· $1,000,000

The staged purchase of a strategic piece of land will enable the Limestone Coast Landscape Board to work with South East First Nations and Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation to:

· restore a nationally threatened wetland community
· restore habitat and improve resilience for at least 13 nationally and state threatened species
· provide water security for primary producers in the surrounding area
· improve climate resilience for groundwater in the local area
· create new caring for country opportunities for First Nations.

Our partners

Key partners in the work of landscape boards include the South Australian Government, Australian Government, Department for Environment and Water, Department of Primary Industries and Regions, local councils across the state, environmental, landcare, agricultural and production groups, community groups, individual champions, volunteers and businesses.