Project overview
The Budadee Rangers delivered the first Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund (PEOF) project through the mapping and removal of invasive weeds at Tharra, also known as the Woodstock Abydos Protected Reserve.
The reserve, about 150km south of Port Hedland, covers 154,000ha 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.
Funding and program initiation
In 2021, PEOF granted the Budadee Aboriginal Corporation $600,000 over three years to deliver a weed management program at Tharra. Following a comprehensive vegetation assessment, the funds were awarded in response to the increase in highly invasive weed species Calotropis procera along rivers at the reserve.
Calotropis is a toxic, high-impact weed with high rates of seed production, germination and plant growth, high re-shooting potential post-treatment and high dispersibility of seed. The presence of Calotropis at Tharra country was reported by Palyku Traditional Owners in 2020 and quickly became a management priority for Budadee’s ranger team.
Weed management activities and achievements
The Budadee Rangers have now completed four years of the project, establishing a long-term weed control plan across Tharra. Rangers undertook five weed-control trips on Country each year between 2021 and 2024 to manage Calotropis procera across 1,000 hectares of at-risk vegetation. More than 5,200 instances of Calotropis procera have been controlled across 450km of riparian systems to date.
Project outcomes and next steps
Having completed this stage of the project, Budadee has begun the next stage. Find out more about the progress here.
Read more about the Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund and other projects being delivered through the fund.
Print this page
