First Nations organisations across Queensland are being encouraged to apply to employ another 46 Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers across the state, building on the 154 Indigenous rangers already employed through 37 Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger teams across Queensland.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations, Councils and incorporated non-profit organisations working with Traditional Owners can apply today for funding to employ new rangers.
The Palaszczuk Government’s Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Program supports opportunities for First Nations people to care for Country, protect the environment and pass on important cultural knowledge.
The rangers’ activities include a wide range of conservation services including cultural burns, feral animal and pest plant control, soil conservation, cultural heritage site protection and biodiversity monitoring.
Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers are also providing guidance to young people through junior ranger programs and school-based education and training.
One such group in the Northern Gulf region is the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation’s (CLCAC) Normanton Land and Sea Ranger unit, which is comprised of six full-time Rangers from the three Tribal groups in the Lower Gulf of Carpentaria – Kukatj, Gkuthaarn and Kurtijar – and conducts conservation and land management work from the Staaten River in the North to the Leichardt River in the west.
The Ranger Coordinator for the Normanton Land and Sea Ranger unit, Hayden Tyrrell, has welcomed the funding announcement.
“The release of additional Land and Sea Ranger positions allows opportunities for Traditional Owner groups to provide more hands on deck to care for and protect land, sea and culture – providing life for the future, as the future is changing,” says Hayden.
Gulf Savannah NRM, a not-for-profit natural resource management organisation, has also welcomed the news of additional funding, and is urging eligible groups in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Far North Queensland to apply.
“This funding will support better outcomes for the environment and for Ranger groups across the region,” says Zoe Williams, CEO at Gulf Savannah NRM.
“We’re currently working with First Nations organisations in the Northern Gulf to provide support with applying for the funding – and we invite any groups who are interested to get in touch.”
Traditional Owners and groups interested in application support can contact Gulf Savannah NRM on (07) 4092 1088.
Applications for the 46 new positions close on 24 April 2023.
For more information, including the guidelines and application form, visit: https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/conservation/community/land-sea-rangers/about-rangers
Image credit: Normanton rangers monitor mangroves on the Leichardt River (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation)