Budadee rangers Anton Stream and Steven Stewart (Jnr) in the field removing Calotropis sp.
The Budadee Rangers delivered the first project through the Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund which saw them map and remove invasive weeds at Tharra, also known as the Woodstock Abydos Protected Reserve.
The reserve covers 154,000 ha and is about 150 km south of Port Hedland, between the Roebourne plains in the north and the Chichester Range in the south. It is one of the most archeologically and culturally significant places in Western Australia.
In 2020, we granted the Budadee Aboriginal Corporation $600,000 over three years to deliver a weed management program at Tharra, to respond to the recent increase in Calotropis procera along rivers at the reserve.
The Budadee Aboriginal Rangers have now completed the first year of the project, identified monitoring points, and developed a long-term weed control plan. The rangers will undertake five weed control trips throughout 2022, with the expectation that Calotropis procera will be managed across 1000 ha of Tharra.
We are engaging with rangers and Elders on Country in 2022 to co-design the next projects at Tharra to improve vegetation and habitat for species like northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), Pilbara leaf nosed bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia) and greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis).
Grey Mackay, Peter Jaffrey, Clare Meredith, Margaret Stewart, Mat Oliver, Steven Stewart (Jnr), Damien Ball at Tharra
You can read more about the Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund and other projects being delivered through the fund.
