The Land for Wildlife Programme

Pioneer Catchment and Landcare Group and Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association (SLCMA) are jointly delivering the Land for Wildlife (LfW) in the Mackay–Sarina region with funding from the Mackay Regional Council’s Environmental Levy.

LfW started in Victoria in the 1980s and has spread throughout the country. It is a voluntary agreement that recognises the effort put in by individual landholders to manage and conserve parcels of land for the benefits of wildlife.

Funded by Mackay Regional Council, Land for Wildlife assists landholders to manage their property for biodiversity. Newly accredited properties receive a management plan to assist in the work efforts, subscription to quarterly newsletters, workshops on conservation based topics, and a sign to display on their property. The Land for Wildlife program has been a great success in the Mackay-Sarina region. PCL has been promoting the program through newsletter articles and displays at local events which has generated the interest of a more local landholders.

In the 2015/16 period an additional 390 Ha of land was added to the Land for Wildlife  programme. This incorporated ten new properties. Thirteen revisits to existing registered  properties were conducted as part of the 15/16 project. At the end of 2016 there was approximately 100  properties registered in the Pioneer Catchment & Landcare area. There is considerable  diversity in the project with some participants categorised in the “working  towards” classification and others with full and partial registration.  The Land for Wildlife program also supplies funds for delivering a locally produced  quarterly newsletter to project participants.