Get onto our list of prequalified contractors

NQ Dry Tropics will update its register of pre-qualified contractors available to work on large-scale gully remediation projects in the BBB.

These Expression of Interest (EOI) documents will help contractors and suppliers to provide the information needed to be put onto that list. Links to the submission forms are included.

EOI documents available here

As work arises, contractors and suppliers on the list will have the opportunity to tender. Click here to open the explanatory leaflet and pre-qualification document.

Completed EOI documents must be received at ldc@nqdrytropics.com.au by close of business on Friday 15 July, 2022.

Contact NQ Dry Tropics Landscape Remediation Officer Dan Hazelman on email: daniel.hazelman@nqdrytropics.com.au or mobile: 0457 356 468.

OPEN EOI DOCUMENTS

LANDSCAPE REMEDIATION

Gully remediation at Strathmore Station… the image before work started was taken on 21 March, 2020 and the photograph of the result was snapped on 20 July, 2021.

Erosion repair in the BBB

The BBB produces almost half of the total fine sediment load that ends up in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

About 65 per cent of fine sediment comes from gully erosion, which makes gully management a high priority for investment and is why gully remediation is a key component of the the LDC project.

The Landscape Remediation activity area is trialling large and small-scale gully remediation approaches to improve water quality and to determine cost-effective solutions that can be transferred to other projects and catchments.

 

Browse the latest landscape remediation updates

Large-scale gullies

Since the Landholders Driving Change project began, NQ Dry Tropics, in collaboration with Griffith University has mapped gullies in the BBB to help prioritise gully projects.

The benefits of this approach are that LDC has been able to develop:

  • transferable procedures for remote mapping and characterisation of gullies including load estimates;
  • a Geographic Information System (GIS) dataset of more than 22,000 active BBB gullies; and
  • a framework for site selection.
Mt Wickham|Strathmore
Glen Bowen I|Glen Bowen II

Small-scale gullies

The Landholders Driving Change project helps graziers remediate small-scale gullies to reduce soil erosion.

BBB graziers can apply for grants to help them fix problem gullies.

Remediated gullies can help to reduce erosion as well as slow water movement, keeping it on the property where it can help improve soil and pasture health.

Mt Pleasant|
Scottville|

LANDSCAPE REMEDIATION

Gully remediation at Strathmore Station… the image before work started was taken on 21 March, 2020 and the photograph of the result was snapped on 20 July, 2021.

Erosion repair in the BBB

The BBB produces almost half of the total fine sediment load that ends up in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

About 65 per cent of fine sediment comes from gully erosion, which makes gully management a high priority for investment and is why gully remediation is a key component of the the LDC project.

The Landscape Remediation activity area is trialling large and small-scale gully remediation approaches to improve water quality and to determine cost-effective solutions that can be transferred to other projects and catchments.

 

Browse the latest landscape remediation updates

Large-scale gullies

Since the Landholders Driving Change project began, NQ Dry Tropics, in collaboration with Griffith University has mapped gullies in the BBB to help prioritise gully projects.

The benefits of this approach are that LDC has been able to develop:

  • transferable procedures for remote mapping and characterisation of gullies including load estimates;
  • a Geographic Information System (GIS) dataset of more than 22,000 active BBB gullies; and
  • a framework for site selection.
Mt Wickham|Strathmore
Glen Bowen I|Glen Bowen II

Small-scale gullies

The Landholders Driving Change project helps graziers remediate small-scale gullies to reduce soil erosion.

BBB graziers can apply for grants to help them fix problem gullies.

Remediated gullies can help to reduce erosion as well as slow water movement, keeping it on the property where it can help improve soil and pasture health.

Mt Pleasant|
Scottville|

Get onto our list of prequalified contractors

NQ Dry Tropics will update its register of pre-qualified contractors available to work on large-scale gully remediation projects in the BBB.

These Expression of Interest (EOI) documents will help contractors and suppliers to provide the information needed to be put onto that list. Links to the submission forms are included.

EOI documents available here

As work arises, contractors and suppliers on the list will have the opportunity to tender. Click here to open the explanatory leaflet and pre-qualification document.

Completed EOI documents must be received at ldc@nqdrytropics.com.au by close of business on Friday 15 July, 2022.

Contact NQ Dry Tropics Landscape Remediation Officer Dan Hazelman on email: daniel.hazelman@nqdrytropics.com.au or mobile: 0457 356 468.

OPEN EOI DOCUMENTS

 

Reef regulations - grazing, standard conditions

  1. For land in good or fair condition (more than 50 per cent ground cover at 30 September), continue using measures to maintain land condition.
  2. For land in poor condition (less than 50 per cent ground cover at 30 September), steps must be taken to improve land condition.
  3. For land in degraded condition (less than 20 per cent ground cover at 30 September), steps must be taken to improve land condition OR prevent areas from further degrading or expanding.
  4. Keep records of measures taken and also of agricultural chemicals, fertiliser and mill mud or mill ash applied to land.
KEQ #8

KEQ #7
KEQ #6

KEQ #5

KEQ #4

The LDC project monitors four gully sites (represented in this table) with gold standard equipment and analysis, carried out by CSIRO.

Results have been compiled in a preliminary report from Bartley et al (2020), with the final report expected to be released by the end of 2020. The preliminary report shows all four sites have indicators of improvements, notably the Strathbogie and Mt Wickham sites.

KEQ #3

*The Exploring New Incentives activity area has provided an opportunity for graziers to adopt improved land management practices through a range of activities. For some of these properties, it was the first time they signed contracts for on-ground works.

KEQ #1

Figure 1. Total fine sediment reduction by project type and erosion source. Inset shows the proportion of the total project area for each project type.

These estimates have been calculated using two methods: 

1) The pollutant reduction component of the Alluvium/Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) investment tool for hillslope and streambank erosion management projects; 

2) The Reef Trust Gully Toolbox method for gully erosion management projects. The LDC Water Quality Report 2020 (Waterhouse et al., 2020) highlights that a number of assumptions underlay these calculations, therefore these figures should be treated as the best available estimate of sediment reductions to date.

Preventing sediment from reaching the Great Barrier Reef

Each wet season sediment is washed into local waterways and out to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). 

Most sediment is very fine, and can stay suspended for a long time and can travel great distances. Valuable topsoil is lost from production, and increased concentrations on the reef can be harmful to seagrasses and corals. 

Landholders in the BBB have completed 69 on-ground water quality practice changes, and it is estimated that these have contributed a fine sediment reduction of 6,154 tonnes per year from reaching the GBR. 

Of this, approximately half of the sediment savings are attributable to grazing land management changes on hillslopes and streambanks, and the other half as a result of gully remediation treatments across a broad range of scales, as shown in the graphs above. 

The table below also highlights the relatively small area of intervention in the gully management projects compared to the large sediment savings that these can achieve - 60 per cent of the sediment savings over only 4 per cent of the project area.

Table 1. Estimated sediment reductions (tonnes) from projects completed in the LDC Project to date.

KEQ #2

*GLMWW = Grazing Land Management Wire and Water