Spring 2010

QRA members celebrated WRD across the state

A wrap up of this years conference at Kurrimine Beach

This year the QRA celebrated World Ranger Day through a series of fundraising breakfasts around the state. Breakfasts were held at Brisbane Forest Park, Daisy Hill, around Sunshine Coast / Burnett region, Atherton, Cairns and central office. QRA secretary Miki Bradley starts us off.

A World Ranger Day celebration was held in Atherton on the 29th of July. This was the first

event planned and other bases soon jumped on board.

Around 25 rangers, administrative support staff and a couple of colleagues from NRW attended. QRA Treasurer Matt Wallace gave an opening speech before observing a moment of silence to remember the rangers who lost their lives while protecting our natural areas.

The breakfast was a great opportunity for local rangers to get together with no formal agenda. It was good to see everyone together with smiles on their faces! Over $70 was raised for the thin green line foundation. Thank you everyone for your efforts and support on the day.

World Ranger Day was also celebrated in other ways across the state:

On the evening of Friday the 30th, QPWS band ‘Threatened Species’ played at a gold coin donation BBQ at ‘Frogs’ on the Water.

Continued on page 3

Continued on page 5

This years QRA conference was held south of Cairns at Kurrimine Beach. About 60 rangers from around the state attended and voted in a completely new QRA executive. QRA deputy chair Brett Stallbaum picks up the story.

After watering the seeds of thought with much beer a plan emerged from the great minds of Dan Fitzpatrick, Neil Parker and myself on our way back to Cairns from the 2009 Byfield Conference. I mean what else do you talk about for 12 hours in a car? After some deep thought (none of us were from the shallow end of the gene pool) we arrived at the King Reef Hotel at Kurrimine Beach for the venue, accommodation, meals and drinks . Sponsors were targeted and wrung dry, a field trip was planned, a suitable souvenir found.

So March 2010 came around way to quick and suddenly we were there on the Monday night busily putting the final touches on the conference before kick off Tuesday morning. Let the games begin!

After the Mamu traditional owners welcomed us to their country, we heard from Assistant Director-General Andrea Leverington and

Herbie set a strong example during World Ranger Day celebrations

World Ranger Day

2010 QRA conference

Inside this issue:World Ranger Day around the world 4Margie Thorsborne donation 6Conservation highlights 9In the news 102011 conference information 13AWU liaison Ranger 21Council of Australian Ranger Associations annual conference 22

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Ramblings from the chair...

From the editor...

Our newly elected QRA chairperson is currently travelling around for six months. This issues ramblings from the chair has been written by deputy chair (but current acting chair) Brett Stallbaum.

Welcome all QRA members who are reading your latest edition of the ‘Rambler’ and to you folks who are not members but have been interested enough to pick it up and have a read I have one message – GET INVOLVED!

Become a member of the QRA and join the rest of us like minded people in what can be described as the largest and most financial Ranger Association in the country. We are the envy of the other States and with the ideas we have for the future the QRA will only get bigger and better.

Get to Rainbow Beach in 2011 and be part of the audience making decisions, generating ideas and pushing YOUR association! As an old Hash House Harrier said to me on more than one occasion…ON ON!!

Thanks to Brett Hollindale for piecing together the ‘Rambler’.

Since the Kurrimine Beach conference, we have had 17 new members join the association. The World Ranger Day celebrations have played a large part in this.

Welcome aboard new members!

Hi and welcome to another issue of the Ranger Rambler. In the last edition you may have noticed the QRA was searching for a new editor and, earlier this year, I was elected to the post at the Kurrimine Beach conference.

But who am I? Well I’m Brett Hollindale, a Ranger in the Sunshine Coast / Burnett Region where I oversee and support the maintenance program for the Region. I also manage the QRA website.

This issue is the first without Mike Joyce at the helm and I’d like to thank Mike for his hard work putting together the last ten issues. Also a big thank you to Mike’s support team of Danielle Royle and Dave Mansfield for helping put the Rambler together behind the scenes.

We’ve got some ideas planned for future editions of the Rambler but if you have any suggestions or would like to help out, send an email to rambler@queenslandranger.org.

Brett Stallbaum and friend at this years annual QRA conference

World Ranger DayAt Sunshine Coast / Burnett, 52 staff attended five World Ranger Day breakfasts held throughout the region. In total, attendees raised $241 for the thin green line foundation. Regional Support Officer Nadia Braden was also the winner of the power of one pack given away by the QRA as encouragement to attend a breakfast.

In total, QRA breakfasts raised over $1100 in donations for the thin green line foundation. The QRA topped this up to $1500 for the cause. Thin green line foundation director Sean Willmore has asked the QRA to pass on his heartfelt thanks to all the rangers in QRA and to QPWS for your support.

Our donation will be used to help set up a farm in the Democratic Republic of Congo that will support fourteen widows and children of Kahuzi Biega National Park Rangers who have died in the line of duty.

Sean has also released a line of Ranger in danger children’s books based on his adventures as a park ranger. The books capture the thrills and chills of rangers in a decide your destiny format. Proceeds go to helping rangers in need and they are available to purchase at www.thingreenline.info/merchandise.

By Robbie Burns

I represented the QRA at World Ranger Day celebrations out the front of central office at 400 George Street. I, Along with QPWS Directors and staff, and accompanied by the big Herbie mascot, handed out fruit to passers-by wishing everyone a great World Ranger Day and highlighting the work rangers do in Queensland. In addition to this, I handed out QRA 2010 conference bags, QRA and ARF badges, Ranger Ramblers and (of course) membership forms.

The most surprising part of the morning was being approached by a Sri Lankan ranger and an ex-Ugandan ranger who recognised my Thin Green Line shirt. We spoke about the work of the TGL foundation and I encouraged them to check out the QRA website to see the work we do here in our state.

Overall, it was a successful morning and something I hope grows in the future.

Ed’s note: 400 George raised $443.50 for the thing green line foundation. Thank you to Stirling MacDonald and Terry Harper for arranging to pass the hat around after the mornings celebrations.

World Ranger Day at 400 George

Staff at the 400 George World Ranger Day handed out a healthy breakfast to passers by

From page 1

Queensland Ranger Association

Ranger Rambler Autumn 2010

Article contributors:Miki BradleyRobbie BurnsPeter CavendishMike HarrisAndrew KingstonStirling MacDonaldTom MumbrayBrett Stallbaum

Article deadlines for the next issue is March 26, 2011.

Send your story to rambler@queenslandranger.org. Please keep photographs at their highest resolution and attach each one as separate files.

Queensland Ranger Association executive group

Chair Andy DuttonDeputy chair Brett StallbaumTreasurer Matt WallaceSecretary Miki Bradley

Ranger Rambler editor Brett HollindaleWebmaster Brett Hollindale

www.queenslandranger.org

Update your QRA member details by sending an email to

secretary@queenslandranger.org

The Ranger Rambler is the publication of the Queensland Ranger Association, Incorporated.

Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Environment and Resource Management, nor the Minister or Queensland Government.

Printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks.

Herbie even gave away free hugs for the cause

Rapscallions Revenge: one of Seans new Ranger in danger books

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2010 QRA conferencethen Regional Manager Wolf Sievers who introduced the theme for the conference; ‘Recovery after adversity’.

After the official word we were thrilled to have Margie Thorsbourne recount her adventures with the Pied Imperial Pigeon (aka Torres Strait Pigeon). Margie is a living treasure in the region and a part of the history in protecting a quickly disappearing species at the time. Thanks to the work she and her friends did (too many to name) the pigeon went on to recover and prosper.

Margie was followed by the eminent Peter Stanton who spoke about forest recovery and then Gary Kane about the Pacific Adventurer oil spill, followed by our own (Northern) John Clarkson.

After lunch was Dave Green who provided the new kids on the block the history of the QRA and then Senior Director Annie Moody for a bit more official stuff. Andy Dutton closed the day with a review of the World Ranger Congress he attended in Bolivia. Later that night was the world famous and much travelled band ‘Threatened

Species’, who, I have on good authority, should have been at the ARIA’s. The night was an absolute cracker and a great way to finish a terrific first day.

The next day everyone sprang into action, happy and healthy and full of life! OK not quite the truth but we did board the coach for the field trip. After a look around Mission Beach we were off to the Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walkway (who did such a great job on that project? oh, that was me).

From there it was over to the Johnstone River Croc Farm, then Murdering Point Winery and back to the conference venue where a quiet night turned into a riotous auction with a lot of money changing hands – mostly from a maniac publican named Bruce (bad Bruce did the bidding). Overall, the auction raised stacks of further funds and was a real hoot.

The third and last day found us listening attentively to our major Gold sponsor Replas and backed up by Silver Sponsors ARUP and Hutchinson Builders then it was off to the trade show (thanks to all)

and finally the AGM, where for the first time I believe, votes had to be counted for office bearers! The new committee were welcomed in and the departing committee bathed in thanks for a terrific job over the past two years.

And folks they say the rest is history. I would personally like to thank the sponsors, speakers and the crew at the hotel and all those who worked long and hard to make the conference one to remember.

In closing I will say that if you thought Kurrimine was BIG then you better be at Rainbow Beach. Bart and the crew are working up a storm!!

Threatened Species

Some of this years conference attendees

World Ranger Day around the world• The Protected Area WorkersAssociation of New South Wales developed a series of ranger profiles ‘Rangers: holding the thin green line’ that document the stories of rangers around the world. View them at www.pawansw.org/rangerprofiles.html.

• At the Mere, England, 100people watched the Thin Green Line documentary; watched presentations from rangers, the Wildlife Trust, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; and took part in activities including dip-netting for invertebrates, bird box-making, and guided boat trips.

• In the United States, theGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument in Virginia had 333 visitors experience the facets of a ranger’s life from wildlife conservation, fire-fighting, law enforcement, giving guided tours and even 18th Century blacksmithing. The day was capped off with a ceremony for rangers who died in the line-of-duty where miniature flags representing fallen rangers were placed at the park’s entrance.

• In Brazil, World Ranger Daywas remembered in Piratuba Lake Biological Reserve (Rebio - Reserva Biologica), Amapá, with an informal

commemoration. Ranger Airton Ferreira posted a video on YouTube honouring the day at www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ETjLpeQFo.

• In Victoria, CEO of ParksVictoria and International Ranger Federation patron Mark Stone joined Thin Green Line Foundation Director Sean Willmore, Victorian Ranger Association members, and TGL foundation supporters at a fundraising dinner. Dinner guests were provided a small native shrub bearing the name of a deceased ranger to be planted in their honour.

Ranger associations around the world celebrated WRD in a variety of ways From page 1

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Margie Thorsborne donation

Torresian Imperial-pigeons and the Brook Islands

After speaking at the Kurrimine conference, Margie Thorsborne was moved to write to the QRA and make a donation to the association. In the future the QRA will be setting up a way of using this donation for members benefit. Margies delightful letter has been transcribed below.

Dear Secretary,I am concerned for the well being of staff and am pleased to be able to make a small donation to the work of Rangers helping Rangers in times of need.

I appreciate very much being invited to the Rangers conference at Kurrimine and enjoyed meeting so many good dedicated people.

With every good wish,Margaret Thorsborne

Margie and her late husband Arthur have a long history of conservation in Queensland.

They were foundation members of the Gold Coast branch of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. In 1965 they began monitoring Torresian Imperial pigeon numbers on the Brook Islands, north east of Hinchinbrook Island. With QPWS assistance, this monitoring continues today and is the longest continuous avian monitoring program in the world.

In 1980 they donated their property ‘Galmara’ to QNPWS to extend the Edmund Kennedy section of Girramay National Park north of Cardwell. Margie is the recipient of the 2006 Queensland Natural History Award and the 1998 Wildlife Preservation Society

of Australia Serventy Conservation Medal. The Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island is named in honour of Margie and Arthur.

The Torresian Imperial-pigeon (Ducula bicolor) is a large, mostly white pigeon up to 44cm in length. Found in coastal rainforests, mangroves and islands in northern Australia, the Queensland population migrates to Southern Papua New Guinea in autumn.

Birds return in early spring to breed, laying one large egg in a nest of mangrove shoots and sticks in a tree fork one to five meters off the ground.

The Brook Island group population is the southernmost breeding colony of the Torresian Imperial-pigeon. At night they roost on the islands and in the morning fly to Hinchinbrook Island and the mainland to feed on rainforest fruits.

In 1908 at nearby Dunk Island, Edmund Banfield wrote “fully 100,000 come and go evening and morning”, with flying colonies as wide as two miles. When Margie and Arthur started monitoring in 1965, illegal hunting of roosting pigeons had reduced pigeon numbers to 3,000. At last count there were 40,000 birds roosting on the islands.

The birds are now classed as least

concern under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and their population is slowly increasing because of Margaret and Arthur Thorsborne’s campaign to protect them.

Brook Islands is a group of four islands, about seven kilometres northeast of Hinchinbrook Island. Three islands were gazetted national park in 1994 and the fourth, South Island, is a Commonwealth Lighthouse Reserve and forms part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Low, rocky and covered in dense vine-forest, the Brook Islands are one of the few undisturbed island groups between the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns.

The islands have been designated restricted access areas to protect the pigeons and other nesting seabirds.

A Torresian Imperial-pigeon

Margie Thorsborne at the 2010 QRA conference

QUEENSLAND RANGER ASSOCIATION

MEMBERSHIP FORM

....................GOES HERE...............

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Vale Jono Walsh 1957 - 2010On 23rd September the QPWS lost one of its favourite sons. Long time ranger and colleague Jono Walsh passed away after an 11 month battle with cancer.

A celebration of Jono’s life was held by the lake at Brisbane Forest Park where over 350 friends and family paid their respects to a well loved and highly regarded man. Thirty uniformed rangers formed a Guard of Honour at the conclusion of the service.

There were many moving tributes on the day and one given by Buzz Symonds eloquently described Jono’s life and significant contributions within QPWS. It is published here in full:

Not all people find true fulfilment in their working life – that elusive combination of character, personality and career choice. Jono was clearly one of the select few in that regard. A near perfect fit of knowledge, attitude and experience, matched with boundless good humour and enthusiasm.

Jono was one of the first Gatton graduates – a product of Bob Beeton’s school to enhance the quality of the Queensland park management system. Armed with

new found knowledge and skills, Jono began his parks career in 1980 as a cadet ranger in Brisbane before moving onto Mackay and Rocky, undertaking various park and wildlife management roles.

In 1983 he and [wife] Bron moved to Cairns. Guy Thomas and I were told to expect a fiery young man! Whilst the beard was indeed red, the temperament was not and we quickly found a common bond across both our work and our personal lives.

These early days in Cairns very much determined the pattern of Jono’s working life. Rarely promoting himself, he set goals which were always focused on improving the well being, safety and capacity of his team. Whilst being a true believer in the philosophy of national parks and conservation, he never lost sight of the fact that it was the people in the field that gave effect to the dictates of government, the strategic plans, and the variable state of resourcing. He was persistent in ensuring that his staff were never isolated, unsafe or uninformed. This was of great comfort to many staff especially in remote areas like Cape York Peninsula where Jono developed a special affinity.

In 1991Jono carried his now significant skills back to Gatton where he took up the role as a tutor and lecturer in various park and natural resource management courses. His personal experience as a ranger allowed him to not only teach from a base of practical knowledge, but to better guide and mentor many a budding career. Seeing his students develop and progress was always a source of immense pride to him. He was a very good teacher.

It’s been said that Jono enjoyed a chat! He could discuss any subject, any time, anywhere and with anyone – ministers, directors, team members, or simply the bloke who just happened to be standing next to him. This ability to communicate, to engage so effectively, and to make other people feel comfortable and important, was certainly one of his enduring qualities. He was a story teller, always up for a yarn.

I have spoken to a number of people in the past days about Jono’s career and there is one overriding theme. That is his belief in the purpose of parks, and his commitment to the Service. This is not to say Jono did not question the system and the people that administered it. In fact, he could be resolute in exposing what he saw as weaknesses, wastage and lack of direction. He was not always subtle in this endeavour. However, he rarely wavered in his support for the QPWS program with all its inherent faults. He was totally committed to the job, and the people he worked with.

When he was out of the parks system on his various other career pursuits, Jono would often talk to me about how he missed the camaraderie he found in the parks organisation. No other workplace was able to replicate his “other family” and provide him with the intellectual stimulation, friendships and challenges he found there. It really was one of his life’s great passions. I know he was keen

Conservation highlightsConservation highlights is a new section of the Rambler aimed at broadcasting the good work being done to conserve our natural areas. This issues stories have been provided to us by Mike Harris, Director of Conservation Management Branch.

In future Ramblers we hope QRA members will send their achievements for inclusion in this section. If you are kicking goals for conservation send your story (and photographs) to rambler@queenslandranger.org.

Little waterfall frog monitoring in the Wet TropicsAlso known as the armoured mist frog, the little waterfall frog (Litoria lorica) is one of the rarest species on the planet.

Since the last confirmed record in 1994 this endearing frog was feared to have disappeared from its restricted range in the Carbine and Windsor Tablelands north of Cairns, due to the global spread of the exotic disease agent, chytrid fungus. However in 2008 a team of James Cook University researchers rediscovered a surviving population of this critically endangered amphibian.

In a very effective collaboration between

Wet Tropics Region, Threatened Species Branch and Conservation Management Branch staff, systematic surveys are being undertaken to locate all existing populations of the little waterfall frog.

This information will be used to establish if this ‘Lazarus’ species is successfully recolonising further sites from which it has previously been lost. It will also help determine whether current park management is adequate to ensure the frog’s mountain stream habitat is fully protected and that this beautiful species is not truly lost forever.

Tilapia extermination in Lake Barrine National ParkHow often do you get ‘a license to kill’ with a spear gun in freshwater and in a national park? During the height of the Tilapia breeding season of December 2009 eight spear-fishers from North Queensland Marine Region, Wet Tropics and Conservation Management Branch got that chance.

Previous Tilapia eradication attempts by DEEDI using electro-fishing and gill-netting in Lake Barrine had failed. In four hours 218 Tilapia were dispatched, far in excess of DEEDI’s prediction of 50. With the adult fish removed, the native fishes in the lake are free to eat the Tilapia eggs in their

now undefended nests.

This proved spear-fishing to be the most efficient method for reducing the adult population to date. All captured fish were measured and assessed for breeding condition. A follow-up cull and monitoring effort is planned in the near future.

Mungkan Kandju feral animal control programOfficers from Cape York / Savanna Region are embarking on a sustained, integrated control program aimed at reducing the impacts of feral animals on Mungkan Kandju National Park. The work targeting pigs, feral horses and cattle involves mustering, aerial shooting, baiting, fencing and the removal of artificial waters.

John Clarkson (Conservation Management Branch) has been working with Cape York staff to develop a monitoring program that can be used to document the anticipated improvements in land condition as the control program proceeds. Part of the methodology, which involves the use of fenced exclosures, closely parallels that being used in the Buckland Tableland section of Carnarvon National Park.

Some of the Tilapia caught by spear fishing. Photo Ray Albress

Little waterfall frog. Photo Andy BakerJono in 2007

Peter Cavendish commemorates a long-time QPWS employee

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In the newspoints included IMT’s conducting annual pre-fire season re-accreditation exercises, incident controllers documenting an ‘Incident Action Plan’ to articulate plans early in an incident, and DEC develop an aerial firefighting strategy.

Better planning to retain skilled staff and train up new staff was also recommended.

Despite the deaths, the review described DEC staff as having world class fire management skills and that DEC has a sound capability for managing fire in WA’s 25 million hectares of conservation lands.

The review can be found at www.dec.wa.gov.au.

Spending time in nature is good for you

Confirming what many of us already know, two separate studies have shown spending time in nature can be good for your health.

In one study, researchers found being outside in nature makes people feel more alive. “Nature is fuel for the soul,” says Richard Ryan, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, New York. “Often when we feel depleted we reach for a cup of coffee, but research suggests a better way to get energized is to connect with nature,” he says.

“Research has shown that people with a greater sense of vitality don’t just have more energy for things they want to do, they are also more resilient to physical illnesses. One of the pathways to health may be to spend more time in natural settings,” says Ryan.

Being outside in nature for just 20 minutes in a day was enough to significantly boost vitality levels. Interestingly, the study found the presence of nature had an independent energizing effect above that of being outdoors. In other words, being outdoors was vitalising in large part because of the presence of nature.

Another study in the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science & Technology journal found that just five minutes of exercise in a park, working in a backyard garden, on a nature trail, or other green space will benefit mental health.

Every green environment improved both self-esteem and mood; the presence of water generated greater effects.Other studies have shown that after stressful or concentration-demanding situations, people recover faster and better in

natural environments than in urban settings. Forests – and other natural settings – can reduce stress, improve moods, reduce anger and aggressiveness and increase happiness.

Attacks on US National Park and forest staff hit all-time high

United States National Parks and public forests are increasingly becoming dangerous places to work. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) used data obtained from the U.S. government to determine attacks and threats against U.S. National Park Service rangers and Forest Service employees reached an all-time record in 2009.

Attacks or threats against National Park Service workers more than tripled in 2009 as incidents leaped to 158, up from 36 in 2008. Last year’s total was almost fifty per cent higher than the previous record high of 111 set in 2004.

However these numbers are understated, as the agency only records assaults against its law enforcement staff and not those against other workers. The numbers also do not include assaults on the U.S. Park Police, an urban police force largely based in D.C.

U.S. NPS to share research profits under new park policy

The United States National Park Service (NPS) has finalised a policy that will allow parks to negotiate payments from researchers who use their results from studies on public lands for commercial products or services.

The NPS benefits-sharing process will apply to research projects involving specimens collected from the National Park System that subsequently result in useful discoveries or inventions with commercial application.

A benefits-sharing agreement will be negotiated on a case by case basis and will provide the terms and conditions for the further development and use of valuable discoveries, inventions, or other research results. All such researchers will be required to enter into a benefits-sharing agreement with the NPS before using their research results for any commercial purpose.

“Implementing these changes is not about commercialising the parks,” said NPS Director Jarvis. “This decision is about the public receiving some benefit from commercial projects that result from analysis of samples collected in national parks.”

In the newsEach issue we scour the internet to bring you the latest news relating to Rangers and protected areas around the world. If you have a story you think should go here, please email us at rambler@queenslandranger.org.

Queensland Ranger numbers up

In August this year Minister Kate Jones announced the number of rangers managing Queensland’s parks and forests has increased to 793 full-time equivalent Ranger employees. “That’s nearly 300 up on 2000 numbers,” Ms Jones said.

QPWS Rangers now manage more than 12.5 million hectares of parks and state forests as well as approximately 72,000 square kilometres of state marine parks and a further 345,000 square kilometres of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park jointly managed with the Commonwealth.

New Zealand government backs down on national park mining

The New Zealand government has scrapped controversial plans to mine some of the country’s most pristine land. The plans to open the land to mining were dropped after fierce opposition from the public and conservation groups.

15,000 marched in Auckland, nearly 50,000 people signed a Greens-organised petition and 37,552 made submissions on the governments discussion paper titled ‘Maximising Our Mineral Potential: Stocktake of Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act and beyond’.

“The vast majority of submissions were focused on the proposal to remove 0.2 per cent of land from Schedule 4 to allow for wider mineral prospecting on those sites,” Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said. “Most of those submissions said we should not remove any land from Schedule 4. We heard that message loud and clear.”

The government will amend the Crown Minerals Act 1991 so conservation areas such as national parks will be automatically included in Schedule 4, providing them with explicit protection from most mineral-related activity immediately on their classification.

New Zealand has 14 national parks and a wide number of other conservation lands with varying levels of protection. More than 80,000 km2 – or nearly 30 per cent of New Zealand – is administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Madagascan rainforest destruction continues despite ban on timber exports

Eyewitness reports indicate continued logging of Madagascar’s Masoala National Park for rosewood despite a government moratorium on logging and timber exports.

There have been reports of heavy night-time movement of trucks carrying illegally logged timber from the park. The wood is believed to be destined for Antalaha, a regional hub for the rosewood trade. Most rosewood ends up going to China, where it is in high demand for furniture.

“Logs are going out every night from the Masoala National Park,” said the source.

Illegal logging exploded last year after a military coup displaced president Marc Ravalomanana. National parks were ransacked by loggers employed by timber barons capitalising on political instability to traffic ill-gotten wood.

More information on the plight of Madagascar’s natural areas is at www.wildmadagascar.org.

Changes urged for WA DEC firefighters

An independent review into Western Australia’s Department of Environment and Conservations ability to manage major fires has recommended changes to improve fire management.

The review by South Australian Country Fire Service’s chief officer Euan Ferguson, was a key recommendation of the WA coroner after a December 2007 fire in Boorabbin National Park claimed the lives of three truck drivers.

The drivers were killed after fire management officers reopened the highway to traffic. An inquest into their deaths heard the incident controller did not pay proper attention to a weather report that predicted a strong wind change, pushing the fire onto the highway.

WA Environment Minister Donna Faragher has accepted the review’s observations and asked the department to implement the matters identified in the review. “What happened at Boorabbin should never have happened, and I as minister never want to see such a situation like that ever happen again,” she said.

The report identified 17 areas where further improvements can be made, including the chain of command. Other

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Vale Jono Walshto get back and again work with the people he admired and respected and pursue more challenges. Sadly it was not to be.

Jono would always search for the good in people. He was generous with his time and quick to encourage, he looked after the young guns coming through the system, adding the wisdom of experience to youthful enthusiasm to create potential and promise. All of us here today have been touched by Jono. He helped make QPWS what it was, what it is and what it will be. He is part of the DNA of the Service and in that way he will live on. These last months have characterised by Jono’s enduring spirit and boundless optimism. No complaints, no blame, no bitterness. He never withdrew and strove to keep in touch with everyone. It was always more about you than him. If only we all could maintain such dignity when faced with such enormous odds.

Jono, you can rest easy mate, your story will continue to be told.

In recognition of Jono’s dedication to the training and development of rangers, the ‘Jono Walsh Bursary Trust Fund’ has been jointly set up by the University of Queensland, the National Parks Association of Qld and QPWS. This fund will enable Rangers to undertake study within specific fields related to their work, or sponsor students to carry out Ranger-based work experience.

Those wishing to donate to the fund in Jono’s memory can do so by filling out the form at www.queenslandranger.org/library/downloads/JonoWalshBursaryTrustFund.pdf.

From page 8

The next QRA conference will be held in Great Sandy Region at Rainbow Beach.

While the agenda is yet to be finalised, the conference will follow the format of previous years with speakers on the first day, a tour of the local area on the second and the QRA annual general meeting on the third.

Speakers will discuss issues relating to the theme of ‘pressure on parks’ such as population growth, management of new forms of recreation, staffing levels, town planning and urban sprawl. The QRA has even managed to secure Sean Willmore to speak at the conference.

Sean is the Victorian Ranger who sold his car and remortgaged his house to make a documentary called The Thin

Green Line. This is the story of Park Rangers at the front line fighting to save what is precious and rare in this world.Sean then went on to create the thin green line foundation that aims to better equip rangers worldwide so that

they have a greater chance of protecting both themselves and our wild areas.

Book March 14 to 16 in your diary as you don’t want to miss this one!

2011 conference information

A quiet moment along Rainbow Beach

Jono at Mount Aspiring, New Zealand

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Hells Gates lookout redevelopmentA recent capital works project on the Sunshine Coast has shown what you don’t build is just as important as what you do.

Noosa National Park is the most heavily used national park in southeast Queensland and receives about 1.5 million visitors a year. Over 600 000 of these visit the Hells Gates area; a 2.7km walk along the shoreline around several headlands to a rocky outcrop with at 180° view of the coastline.

Unmanaged use had resulted in visitors wandering close to cliff edges which trampled vegetation and caused soil erosion in the process.

Management unit staff identified the need to define the site and minimise access to cliff edges.

This was to be achieved through low level boardwalks and a cantilevered lookout; a structure that would be costly to construct and cut a foreign silhouette on an otherwise natural cliff line. It would also be critical infrastructure.

The Sunshine Coast / Burnett Asset Reference Group (ARG) reviewed the project plan and encouraged local staff to find a less ‘built’ solution.

Their revised plan was significantly more low-key yet addressed safety and environmental issues, while retaining the sites landscape classification level.

Areas with good views yet still far enough from the edge to be safe were identified. These were formalised into defined nodes where large stone blocks have been used instead of steel and timber seats.

Angular rocks were placed outside the nodes and along informal tracks. They discourage visitors to walk in these areas and in time the native vegetation will grow through them.

Visitors move through the site on tracks that were gravelled using materials selected to match the soil colour at the site. Tracks have subsurface drainage to disperse water to planting areas.

Excluding excavations by machinery operators, the majority of construction was done by local staff.

This project in an example of a non-built solution solving a problem more effectively than built infrastructure. It was delivered for significantly less than the original proposal and will have minimal on-going maintenance costs.

What you don’t build is just as important as what you do

Hells Gates area before construction began

A lookout node showing angular rocks intended to keep visitors to a defined area

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In the newsUnder the policy, parks could negotiate for monetary or non-monetary benefits with researchers who wish to commercialise results of research originally conducted in the park. Any compensation received under an agreement will be dedicated to the conservation of resources protected and managed by the National Park Service.

The agreement can be found online at www.nature.nps.gov/benefitssharing/.

Canada’s national parks system is marking its 125th year in 2010

This year Canadians will light 125 candles to celebrate their national park system, which started in Banff, Alberta.

Banff National Park became Canada’s first official national park on June 23, 1885. Back then it consisted of 26 square kilometres and was called Banff Hot Springs Reserve. Today, Banff National Park encompasses 6,641 square kilometres.

Since 1885, the Canadian park system has grown to 42 national parks across the country which cover 300,000 square kilometres of land, or 2.8 per cent of Canada’s land and freshwater bodies.

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

The Ranger Rambler is your magazine. We need your help to fill it with information on what’s happening in your patch so we can share it across the state. Some examples of what we want to know about are:

• Has your unit achieved something you’re proud of?

• Bought a new piece of equipment that’s making work easier?

• Is a university studying something interesting in your patch?

• Are you working on a new policy that needs Ranger feedback?

• Do you have an upcoming event you want to advertise?

Budding reporters should send their articles with separate photographs to rambler@queenslandranger.org.

By Tom Mumbray

In the mid-1950s Edward Abbey spent two summers as a ranger at Arches National Park recording his experiences of the Arches and the people and places around it.

When he published Desert Solitaire in 1968, Abbey provided a snapshot of a ranger’s life on an isolated national park exposed to a fairly raw version of nature (just before it was connected to the nearest town by a straight strip of bitumen resulting in 750,000 visitors a year).

In many ways the book is an elegy to what the Arches once was and, in Abbey’s eyes, what national parks in general once were. The book is also a commemoration to a river, with Abbey devoting his longest chapter ‘Down the

River’ to his last expedition on a section of the Colorado before it was dammed.

The chapter ‘Industrial Tourism and National Parks’ gives Abbey’s philosophy on what national parks should be and what he feels they are becoming.

Abbey is probably now rolling around in his unknown grave in disgust over the ‘industrialisation’ of the Arches. As for the ‘unknown grave’, that’s another story.

Time has shown the book to be a mixture of fact, exaggeration and pure fiction and good nature writing too. Regardless of its veracity, the book is a forthright insight into the desert country of the south-west USA and the life of a ‘rogue ranger’ in the 1950s.

I like my job. The fringe benefits are priceless: clean air to breathe (after the spring sandstorms); stillness, solitude and space; an unobstructed view every day and every night of sun, sky, stars, clouds, mountains, moon, cliffrock and canyons; a sense of time enough to let thought and feeling range from here to the end of the world and back; the discovery of something intimate—though impossible to name—in the remote. Ed Abbey

From page 11

Informal tracks were filled with angular rocks to allow vegetation to recover

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We need your help to build a library of stock images relating to Rangers and our association. These will be used in the Rambler, our website and other QRA publications from time to time when required. Your images will help raise the standard of QRA communications.

Photos can be of anything from Rangers at work, photos from past conferences, landscapes to close ups of flowers. They must be your own, not taken in the course of your duties and you will need consent of each person who is recognisable in your photo.

Images that are accepted by the QRA will become property of the QRA and if required, may be manipulated within the bounds of the intent of the image. Images will not be distributed to any third party and all photographers will be credited appropriately.

The preferred format is jpeg but we can use raw files if there are any professionals out there. Resolution should be the highest possible available from your camera; preferably at least 3600 x 2400 pixels however lower resolution images may also be accepted.

Email your photos to photos@queenslandranger.org

Last Great Walk openedSunshine Coast / Burnett

Old school track builders during the Booloumba big hit

AWU liaison RangerMy, how things have changed. A few months ago I was wandering around the parks of the Cooper Catchment MU based in Longreach, soaking up the space and serenity. Now “I’m sitting in my dinghy little office, where a stingy ray of sunlight travels meekly between the houses tall”, as Banjo Patterson once wrote.

Maybe it’s not that bad, but my family and I are temporarily living in Brisbane while I am seconded to the position of Liaison Ranger.

It has been a bit of a culture shock to say the least. There are more people in the new DERM building than all of Longreach, and I am still learning some of the cities’ cultural sensitivities.

For example, there is an unwritten law that when in an elevator you are not allowed to look at or speak to anyone else in the elevator, or for that matter make any kind of noise or movement. I may have upset a few people initially as it took me quite awhile to learn that one. My favourite drink is now a soy, skinny, decaf, latte with artificial sweetener. I’ve also realised that when I’m driving, the gesture people in the other cars were using wasn’t asking me to look up, which explains why they were using their middle finger.

Anyway, back to the position. The Liaison Ranger position is a result of an agreement between QPWS and the two unions that represent ranger staff – the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) and the Australian Institute of Marine and

Power Engineers (AIMPE) during the enterprise bargaining negotiations for 2009.

The primary duties of the role are:• To amalgamate the CPWEAward and the Supplementary Arrangements 2003 to create a more manageable document

• Carry out the secretariat rolefor the Ranger Industrial Forum

• Develop project plans toimplement outstanding provisions

from previous EB negotiations, and provisions from the current round of EB negotiations

• Consult with rangers toestablish a ranger communication network for disseminating information and receiving feedback on all matters of operations and interest

• Conduct a review of supportfor rangers in remote areas including communication, recruitment and

retention, support for families of rangers in remote areas, and how work units provide support for rangers based on park

• Act as a contact formanagersand rangers to raise points or concerns regarding operations.

As the title suggests, the role of the position is to liaise between QPWS and AWU/AIMPE to deliver these projects and I will endeavour to consult as widely as possible during the next six months. If there are any occasions when rangers

will be gathering for training, meetings, etcetera, please give me a call and let me know. I am happy to take the opportunity to explain the position and gather feedback on the above projects so please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Another aspect of the position is to act as a contact for rangers to raise ideas or issues associated with working for QPWS, although please keep in mind this does not include industrial relations matters such as discipline or grievance issues. If you have feedback that

may improve the operating capabilities of rangers, a concern something is not working as well as it should, or simply an idea you think others may be interested in, please let me know about it.

The projects above are conditions that have been agreed to between the department and AWU and AIMPE. When the opportunity to provide input or feedback comes, please take the time to contribute as this initiative has been developed to benefit all QPWS rangers.

Longreach RIC Stirling MacDonald has found himself in the big city

Stirling at Lochern National Park, south-west of Longreach

In July this year, the tenth and final Great Walk was opened by acting Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk.

The Conondale Range Great Walk is a four-day, 56 kilometre walk through the upper Mary Valley, West of Kenilworth.

Local staff and contractors took two years and $1.8 million to complete the project.

Part of getting the track finished was the Booloumba big hit; a concerted effort to get the day one section of track open to the public by Christmas 2008.

Lasting eight weeks, tools and camping equipment were lifted in by helicopter to an area where machinery could not access. Track construction staff camped on the track for a week at a time.

Before the camp was set up, conservation officers surveyed the site to check there were no threatened species in the area.

Toilet sites and pathways to and from the camp were marked with flagging tape to prevent unnecessary trampling of vegetation.

All work was done by hand using old school track building techniques. In total about thirty staff from around the region built two and a half kilometres of track and over 100 steps during the Booloumba big hit.

All rubbish was removed from the site which has naturally regenerated and now no sign of the camp is left.

The walk features views to the coast, scenic waterfalls, fascinating geological formations, a mix of vegetation types, clear streams and rock pools and three walkers camps with hybrid toilets.

Remainders of the area’s logging history can be seen along the way, including the refurbished Mount Allan fire tower.

Calling all photographers

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Council of Australian Ranger Associations annual conference

QRA secretary Miki Bradley and Andrew Kingston; winner of our random member draw, recently attended the Council of Australian Ranger Associations annual conference. This year the CARA conference was hosted by the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Ranger Association. Miki and Andrew pick up the story;

The conference was held over two days at Bachelor, Northern Territory, on Saturday and Sunday the 11th and 12th of September. Myself (QRA secretary) and Andrew Kingston (winner of the lucky draw) were sponsored by the QRA to attend the CARA AGM.

What is CARA? To try to put it in simple terms, it is the organisation representing the state Ranger associations for the Australian Ranger Federation. The council meets under the title CARA which is for internal use between council members. The Australian Ranger Federation is the term used for external dealings and correspondence and is used when referring to all members of the council. Membership of CARA is made of representatives from the state Ranger associations.

During the meeting, the main discussion was about an MOU between parks forum and CARA. The members representing each state agreed that the MOU should be ratified. Three agendas were developed by CARA when agreeing to the MOU. These are

a domestic ranger exchange program, a national ranger conference and a national Ranger survey.

Another discussion topic was developing a united approach to World Ranger Day. Ideas included using the media to generate support and also trying to engage the general public. I informed the other states and territories about this years QRA sponsored events and our donation of $1500 to the Thin Green Line Foundation. Thank you

to everyone, especially members, who supported and attended these events.

The difficult negotiations continued on Sunday. After a rather slow start and a very large breakfast our NT hosts loaded us into troopies and gave us a tour NT style. We were given a talk by one of the local rangers on the famous Litchfield termite mounds. We then proceeded to do waterhole quality testing of some very spectacular waterholes. By the end

of the day we had sampled about six of them, each one with a waterfall or two feeding it. The water temperature was perfect and some recent rain meant the waterfalls were just right.

Afterwards we were shown a crocodile trap that is in place a few hundred metres south of Wangi Falls, one of Litchfield’s iconic waterholes. The idea is the trap gets the croc before the croc gets the swimmers!

Thanks again to the QRA executive and members for the opportunity to attend. If you would like some more information about AGM feel free to contact me.

Miki Bradley and Andrew Kingston

Chairpersons note:

Andrew was chosen to attend this conference by random selection of those who responded to a news flash asking for interested members.

Three members replied to this great chance to

represent the QRA and meet rangers from around the country.

Next years CARA conference will be held in New South Wales. Keep an eye out for future news flash’s so you don’t miss out on your opportunity to attend.

Miki, Andrew and interstate attendees at this years CARA conference

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