Autumn 2013 Times are changing

Autumn 2013
Times are changing...
During this past spring and summer, we’ve
seen some pretty dramatic changes in weather
with mother nature lashing out on our environments with cyclones, hurricane’s, floods and
fire.
Whether we like it or not, change takes place.
We can choose whether to make the best of
these situations or not. Like nature, we simply
have to try and develop adpatations to cope
with these changes the best we can.
Likewise in our work environments.
At the QRA 2013 muster at Christmas Creek,
Lamington National Park with the theme
‘Changing Environments’ we will be looking
at some of these changes taking place in our
work environments. It was only fitting then
that this edition of the Ranger Rambler also
focussed on this subject.
The last 6 months have blown in dramatic
changes in our departments, regions and position descriptions. We’ve seen the focus of
QPWS evolve to increase access and use of
national parks through a variety of recreational
users and increased commercial investment.
And we’ve seen changes in our workforces
with some old friends leaving and new ones
arriving.
In this edition we also cover extensively the
life-changing experiences of the two QRA
members attending the World Rangers Congress in Africa. We also look at the effect
Cyclone Oswald had on life on the east coast,
and we acknowledge one of QPWS greatest
assets - Dick Clarkson.
We hope you enjoy...
Inside this issue:
Ramblings from the chair
International Rangers Congress QRA sponsors Kenyan ranger
Miki’s experience at the IRF
Cyclone Oswald
QRA Muster 2013 agenda
Dick Clarkson
In the News 2
4
9
10
14
16
18
21
Ramblings from the
Association
Ranger Rambler chair...
Queensland Ranger
Autumn 2013
Article and photo contributors:
Greg Keith, Miki Bradley, Jolene
McLellan, Brett Hollindale, James Plant,
Warren Venaglia, Shane O’Connor
Article deadline for next edition in
Spring 2013 is 1st September, 2013.
Please send your story to rambler@
queenslandranger.org. Please keep
photographs in their original format at
their highest resolution.
Queensland Ranger Association
Executive Group
Chair -Greg Keith
Deputy Chair - Brooke Turner-Mann
Treasurer - Delys Wilson
Secretary - Miki Bradley
March already……and nearly a
year since the QRA last met at Carnarvon Gorge.
Since we last met at Carnarvon the
QRA has achieved the following:
In November the QRA sponsored
two members to attend the 7th World
Rangers Congress in Tanzania.
Jolene McLellan, based at Girraween, received a full financial
sponsorship and Miki Bradley based
at Tinaroo and Secretary of the
QRA, received partial sponsorship.
A full report from the Congress is in
this edition of the Rambler.
The Annual General Meeting of the
National Ranger Association CARA
– (Council of Australian Ranger Associations) was also held and Miki
and Jolene represented the QRA.
The QRA also sponsored the cost of
the conference registration fees for a
Ranger Rambler editor - Jolene McLellan local Kenyan Ranger who normally
could not afford the registration
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The Ranger Rambler is the publication
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Incorporated.
Opinions expressed in this magazine are
those of the authors and are not necessarily
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By all reports the Ranger, Michael
Lenaimando, greatly enjoyed the
Congress and the chance to develop
networks with Jolene and Miki representating the Rangers in Queensland.
Miki and Jolene were also able to
take some donated items to Tanzania for Michael and other rangers to
assist with the crucial conservation
work they are doing there.
Given that the QPWS did not send
any delegates. The only representation of management of National
Parks in Queensland was by our
two QRA representatives. Without
the QRA there would have been no
Queensland presence at this important International conference.
The QRA also voted to sponsor
Sean Willmore, Founder of the Thin
Green Line Foundation, $500 to attend the Tanzania Conference. The
majority of the Australian Ranger
Associations, facilitated by CARA,
donated funds to enable Sean to
travel to Africa without using TGLF
funds.
Sean also nominated himself as
President of the International Ranger Foundation. The QRA endorsed
this nomination and Sean was successfully elected as President of the
IRF.
In news closer to home, the QRA
made formal representation to the
Director General of the Department
of Environment, Heritage and Protection (EHP) about the proposed
badging for Wildlife Rangers.
The proposed badge was a silhouette of the Glass House Mountains,
it was felt by many Wildlife Staff
that a wildlife symbol was more
the objectives of the Staff Welfare
Association.
A new welfare fund specific to
NPRSR has been formed with
funds from the old DERM Welfare
Funds. QRA members who wish to
continue to support such a welfare
fund should join the NPRSR Welfare fund.
appropriate. Given that historically
regulation of the wildlife under the
Nature Conservation Act has been
done by Rangers.
The QRA advocated that ‘Herbie’
remain the badge for wildlife staff
and that separate agency branding could be achieved by distinct
badges on the shoulder and chest
identifying the staff members as an
EHP Wildlife Staff.
A response from the DG was not
encouraging and it seems that EHP
will look for badging of wildlife
Rangers with a different logo. This
is significant because for the first
time since the foundation of the
National Park Service in Queensland the regulation and management of wildlife is not being undertaken by QPWS Rangers.
The public brand of Herbie is no
longer performing the frontline duties of wildlife management.
The QRA also made a case to
transfer a portion of funds from
the DERM Staff Welfare into our
Family Assistance Fund. The Family Assistance Fund, predated the
Welfare Fund and had very similar
objectives albeit the business rules
of the Family Assistance Fund only
allowed for the funds to be used for
members families.
A proportion of DERM Staff
Welfare Fund contributors were
also QRA members and that these
members were happy to see their
contributions redirected into the
QRA Family Assistance Fund.
Unfortunately the committee of the
DERM Staff Welfare Fund did not
approve a donation of funds to the
QRA Family Assistance Fund.
The reason is because constitution
of the Staff Welfare Association
requires that funds are distributed
to organisation with like objectives
and the QRA Family Assistance
Fund was not a separate entity of
the QRA and the objectives contained in the QRA constitution
were deemed not consistent with
Ongoing throughout 2012 was the
advocating with the new Executive
about the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding between
the QRA and QPWS. Especially
relevant in terms of the inkind support arrangement to assist in allowing members to attend musters and
other QRA events.
After many follow up phone calls I
was elated to be contacted by Ben
Klaassen , the Acting Deputy Director General who informed that
the QPWS had agreed to continue
the MOU.
This ensures that we can keep a
proactive constructive relationship
with the Executive management of
QPWS and be able to more effectively advocate for members on the
issues that impact Rangers in the
Field.
What a year it has been. Let alone
the fires and floods that we have all
faced.
Looking forward to catching up
with you all at Christmas Creek for
our 2013 muster. See you there!!
Greg Keith
International Rangers Congress
Waking the morning of Friday 2nd November, 2012
was full of somewhat panic (as I’m scared of flying),
but more so the anticipation and excitement of our trip
ahead. My partner and I were to meet Miki Bradley
at Brisbane airport, and take the 20 hour journey to
amazing AFRICA!!!
Six months earlier at the 2012 QRA conference in
Carnarvon Gorge, it was announced that Miki and I
were to represent the QRA at the 2012 International
Rangers Federation (IRF) World Rangers Congress
(WRC) in Tanzania. You can imagine what an honor
this was…
After a lengthy plane trip and two stopovers, (we did
have a lovely massage in Bangkok airport though), we
arrived in Tanzania – home to the ‘Big Five’ and the
even bigger Mt Kilimanjaro.
conference at the beautiful Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge,
just outside of Arusha in Tanzania. After getting over
the initial guilt of the luxury we were provided (not
to mention jetlag), we started to meet delegates of the
WRC.
Australia had a great representation of rangers from
every state (except the ACT) and rangers from other
countries including Canada & the US, Brazil, Romania, Scotland, Iceland, Sweden, Korea and many
more. Africa had a great attendance with around 60
delegates from more than 10 different countries, some
as far as Madagascar and Sierra Leone.
As we headed towards our accommodation for the
week, we started seeing our first glimpses of life in
Africa. As we left the airport there were armed guards
and police present everywhere we looked. While this
was a little daunting, we soon learnt that it was because the President of Tanzania was being escorted to
the airport!!
After that, we saw poverty stricken communities with
children as young as four years old lining the side of
the roads guarding their family’s cows or goats, bark
huts with dirt floors and no bathroom, and people
carting murky brown water from a main water supply in buckets or containers on top of their heads. You
couldn’t help but feel emotional.
The conference was a huge success with over 260 delegates from 40 different countries attending the 5 day
Held every 3 years, the WRC brings together rangers
from all over the world to meet and discuss important
conservation matters relating to rangers and their roles
and responsibilities, as well as providing a forum for
global networking.
While there were social events such as a very entertaining cultural night (will show some video footage at
the next QRA conference), nightly entertainment and
field trips, (an indisputable highlight was the group
who went to Ngorongoro Crater witnessing lions taking down a buffalo right in front of their eyes!), there
was a serious side to the week.
The program included a great variety of inspiring
keynote speakers, field-based presentations and workshops tackling the congress theme “Working Towards
Healthy Parks, Dealing With Hungry People” through
making it happen; marketing & networking; challenges facing protected areas; capacity building; and
ranger challenges & solutions.
There are many hungry (and greedy) people worldwide. An approach of “business as usual” is not going
to address the threats we are facing. If we want to
improve the situation, or in fact simply maintain the
position we are in today, we need to respond accordingly. It’s about aiming high, and giving it our best
shot.
We need to continue sharing our stories and methods,
providing the opportunity to learn from each other in a
tangible way and to draw the inspiration from others –
which then motivates us to keep up our own efforts.
From all that was shared through the congress (formally and informally), it seems apparent that around
the world protected areas and rangers are coming
under greater levels of threats than ever before. We are
seeing attacks on wildlife; attacks on rangers; threats
to the careers of rangers; and on protected areas by
competing land uses etc.
And why stop at the border? Let’s share our stories
at a national level through the Council of Australian
Rangers Association (CARA) and at an international
level through the International Rangers Federation
(IRF). By sharing our challenges and achievements,
we may inspire others to try new things.
On a personal note, I was absolutely honoured to be
standing in amongst the international mix of rangers
in my QPWS uniform. I’m sure Miki will also agree
it was a proud moment wearing our Herbie uniforms
under the Queensland flag for the congress photo.
Out of Africa...
After the business end of the Africa trip was complete,
it took a few local lagers too realise that we were now
on holiday, and could go and enjoy the delights of this
magic country that we have so longed to see.
While my partner and I went on a different safari to
Miki, we did meet up in the Serengeti later in the
week to share a magic moment hot air ballooning over
the Serengeti Plains.
An absolute highlight for me was witnessing 5 rhinos
together in the Nogorongoro Crater! Some people don’t
even get to see one!!
For the next five days we lived in an extremely tough
Landcruiser experiencing the natural wonders of Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Meru,
Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the ‘endless plains’ of
the Serengeti.
We saw it all… including leopards, lions, cheetahs,
hyenas, hippos, rhinos, buffalo, wildebeest, monkeys,
birdlife galore and of course, my favourite, elephants!
In the lead up to the trip, I took the opportunity to
raise money for some worthy causes helping African
rangers, children and wildlife. The Thin Green Line
Foundation received $2500 via the QRA, as did The
Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Cheques also went to
the Tanzania Children’s Home and The School of St
Jude’s founded by fellow Australian Gemma Sisia.
Before heading home, my partner and I had a two
day stopover in Nairobi. While Miki travelled to
Uganda to see the Gorilla’s, we took the opportunity
to visit the Sheldrick’s elephant orphanage where we
were to hand our last cheque over. I must admit, it
started out as one of our worst days of the trip because of miscommunications, traffic jams and getting
lost, but ended up being the best!
At the orphanage we were treated like royalty by
Dame Daphne Sheldrick herself (whom we gave the
cheque to) and met the orphan elephants that we were
helping. It truly was a beautiful moment, one which I
will never forget…
During the week of the conference Miki and I were
lucky enough to visit the School of St Jude’s secondary campus and meet some of the beautiful students.
It was thrilling to see what this amazing woman
has done, helping educate some of the poorest, but
brightest children in Africa.
QRA sponsors Kenyan Ranger...
Michael Lenaimando from Kenya is a Maasai man
who balances traditional nomadic pastoralism while
working in community conservation.
During the 2012 International Ranger Association
Congress, Jolene McLellan and I had the pleasure of
meeting Michael.
The Queensland Ranger Association sponsored Michael’s attendance at the congress. His attendance
allowed him to gain useful knowledge and experience
that he has since shared with his colleagues. He also
received some much needed equipment donated by
Rangers from all over the world.
Michael has worked in community conservation for
the past 10 years. He is currently a part of the South
Rift Association of Land Owners SORALO.
SORALO is a legitimate body representing the needs
of all land owners in the region. It includes the joint
management of the 15 group ranches which form the
bridge between the famous Amboseli and Maasai
Mara National Reserves.
SORALO works across the South Rift Valley of Kenya and spans 850,000ha. The landscape comprises of
mainly semi-arid and arid lands. The lands host one of
the richest large mammal assemblages on earth.
SORALO has a number of projects including:
Cattleman project: This project aims to improve livestock productivity using better breeding and husbandry techniques.
Game scouts program: This program trains community game scouts to better their knowledge and tracking
abilities. The aim of the program is to produce competent and efficient game scouts.
Rebuilding the pride project: This project aims to
increase lion and other carnivore populations.
Community research: a research program was set up
to monitor the success of wildlife sanctuaries.
Surveys were conducted on wildlife, livestock and
human activities. Results of the surveys so far have
shown a sharp increase in zebra, wildebeest and lion
populations.
For more information about these projects and to view
some ecotourism destination across Kenya, visit the
SORALO website: http://www.soralo.org
The website is fantastic and contains many photos
of Michael and his colleagues. There is also a link
where you can make a donation to help support the
SORALO projects.
Miki Bradley
Miki’s African experience...
We got to learn about the challenges facing our
African colleagues and share in parts of their culture.
There were also other speakers from across the world
sharing their knowledge and experiences.
Tanzania is a truly remarkable country with over
40% of the land set aside for conservation. Tanzania
is home to the Serengeti National Park which has the
largest concentration of wildlife on the planet. Other
protected areas include Ngorongoro Conservation
Area, Tanargire National Park, Lake Manyara
National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park and Arusha
National Park.
Tanzania has seven World Heritage areas and has
generated approximately 4,987.5 million USD in the
past four years. Over 880,000 tourists visit the country
annually and the numbers are growing rapidly.
2012 International Ranger Congress
Early in November 2012 Jolene McLellan and I were
fortunate to attend the 7th World Ranger Congress in
Arusha, Tanzania. The congress was an International
Ranger Federation event that was hosted by the PAMS
foundation and Escape Tanzania.
The theme for the congress was ‘Working towards
Healthy Parks, dealing with Hungry People’. Over five
days Jolene and I were treated to a variety of keynote
speakers, workshops, field trips and entertainment.
Chris Artimiew, ex Queensland Ranger, attended the
congress and gave a presentation. His presentation
was similar to the one he gave at Carnarvon Gorge
during the Queensland Ranger Association 2012
conference. He spoke about natural disasters and the
importance of developing disaster management plans
and training in incident management teams.
Below I have summarised my favourite presentation.
If you are interested I can forward you a copy of the
conference agenda congress agenda. At the end there
are abstracts for all of the congress presentations. All
of the Power Point presentations will also available,
as soon as I can work out how to upload them to the
QRA website.
John Piere Mirindi – The work of a Ranger and
Conservation Challenges: “Case of a rangers
working in a conflict region”.
John Piere is a Ranger from the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. He gave a simple presentation about the
attributes a Ranger requires in the Congo, how being
a Ranger is challenging and recommendations on how
to improve the situation of the Congo Rangers.
Ranger attributes:
• Dedication and incredible passion
• Knowledge of goals and objectives
• Ready to face any challenge
• Does not leave his team – ready for death
• Actions in fire fighting and anti-poaching
operations
• Educated. Knowledge of species and their role
in the environment, and
• Dedicated in ensuring the survival of
biodiversity.
•
Why is being a Congo Ranger challenging:
• Preventing people from killing wildlife
• Protecting nature day and night. Limited
leisure time
• Limited family time
• Less attention than other people/professions,
e.g. businessmen
• Facing poverty and dealing with hungry people
• Dealing with corruption
• Facing rebels and dealing with rebel leaders.
John Piere then showed us a lot of photos. He said he
has lost many colleagues to rebels and poachers. This
was quite an emotional part of the presentation. He
spoke of the United Nations role in assisting Rangers
in conflict zones. The U.N is also used to evacuate
shot and injured Rangers and transport them to
medical treatment via helicopter.
Recommendations:
• Development of sustainable resource sharing
• IRF to reinforce international lobbying
• IUCN to reinforce law on the exportation of
ivory etc (laws exist but illegal trade is still
occurring)
IRF implement training programs
Raise conservation awareness
Developing ecotourism
More Ranger training to reduce the number of
deaths
• Support for widows.
•
•
•
•
At the end of the presentation John Piere was asked
some questions by other Rangers.
Q. “What is a short way to deal with a rebel?”
A. “Look for a way to talk to the rebel chiefs (through
family). Ask them what they need in order for them
to live and keep working. Rangers will not allow
poaching by rebels. Rangers will shoot before they get
shot.”
Q. “You mentioned Rangers need more training. What
training do they need?”
A. “Anti-poaching training. Rangers are united and
they are proud of international unity”.
I enjoyed this presentation as it was spoken from the
heart. John Piere is a truly passionate and dedicated
Ranger that would give his life for conservation and
his fellow Rangers.
Miki’s African experience cont...
Kenyan Ranger – Sponsored by the QRA
As most of you are aware, the QRA sponsored
Michael, a Kenyan Ranger to attend the congress.
When I met Michael I was blown away by his passion
and his commitment to his job. He leads community
based programs and regularly participates in anti
poaching patrols.
Michael is a Massia family man that balances his
work with a traditional life. I filmed a short 7 minute
video of Michael explaining his role in the community
and as a Ranger. I hope that the QRA can continue a
relationship with Michael and his Rangers for many
years to come. I will add this to the website along with
the presentations.
During the congress I had the pleasure of presenting
a QRA summary at the Oceania meeting. I was also
involved in a workshop designed to help developing/
struggling associations find their feet.
Jolene also gave a short presentation when she was
thanked by Sean Wilmore and the Thin Green Line
Foundation for her fundraising efforts.
Safari time...
After the congress I set off on a
five day safari across Tanzania.
Jolene and her partner Matt went
on the same tour but we were on
separate itineraries. I visited the
Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and
Tarangire N.P.
David Sheldrick’s Elephant
Orphanage and make a donation. I
flew to Rwanda to visit Mountain
Gorillas.
I was lucky enough to see all of
the big five plus the fringes of the
great migration.
The highlight of the Tanzania
trip was watching two lionesses
with two cubs feeding on a wildebeast right beside the road. We
got within a couple of metres and
watched for over an hour.
After the Tanzania tour, Jolene and
Matt went to Kenya to visit The
This tour was 3 days with one
and a half days just in transit. My
original flight got cancelled and
the airline didn’t notify anyone.
There were six of us stranded and
the entire airline decided not to
show up so we couldn’t simply
transfer onto another flight.
We found another airline and
managed to get seats. We were at
an international airport that would
not accept Visa and didn’t have an
ATM.... we scaped enough cash
together and ran to the plane just
before takeoff.
We then arrived in Nairobi. We
had to get another flight. After 4
hours of waiting to be served we
were told to wait and at the last
minute were called to receive a
boarding pass. Just as our bags
were taken the man asked to see
our visa for Rwanda. I didn’t have
one.
I had cash to get one when I arrived but had not pre
arranged one. I was told I could not go. I begged the
man and he finally let me go. He said they would not
let me in but I was willing to give it a shot as I had
nowhere else to go and only one day to use my Gorilla
permit.
After an anxious flight we landed in Kigali, Rwanda.
I walked up to the immigration counter and they told
me I couldn’t come in. 3 of us were left standing there
for about half an hour before anyone would speak
to us. After another 15 minutes or so of begging and
being yelled at we were finally allowed to go through.
We checked into our hotel at 1.00am and got told the
car was leaving at 3.00am to make the journey up to
Volcanoes National Park. What a day!
When we arrived at Volcanoes N.P we were briefed
and assigned a guide. I was prepared for an all day
trek but the family we were given to visit was very
close. We only had to walk for about 45 minutes. We
visited a group of 27 Gorillas. This was the absolute
highlight of the trip!
We stayed for an hour but it seemed like just a few
minutes. They are so beautiful and the babies were
so playful. I have included some photos. If anyone is
going to Africa this is a must do!
I would like to thank the Queensland Ranger
Association and each of the members for this life
changing opportunity. Being an active member is
so rewarding and I encourage others to take on an
executive role. I have met so many amazing people.
Working as a Ranger and being a part of this
enormous international family has given me drive and
passion to continue my career and my commitment to
helping other Rangers.
I look forward to seeing you all at the next QRA
AGM. I will have a presentation and plenty of stories
ready to share.
This trip would not have been possible without the
financial support from the QRA. I would also like to
pass on a heart felt thankyou from Jolene who done
an amazing job with fundraising on the lead up to the
congress.
If anyone has any questions please send me an email
or give me a call. I will let you all know once I
have uploaded the videos and presentations onto the
website.
Miki Bradley
Ozzy, Ozzy, Oswald!!!
Mon Repos Conservation Park and the
extreme weather event associated with
ex cyclone Oswald.
Ex Cyclone Oswald only existed as a storm for 12
hours but lived on for more than a week, travelling
3,000 km and creating havoc down the east coast of
Australia.
The Burnett area and city of Bundaberg was one of the
worst areas affected with the extensive flooding of the
Burnett River. The low pressure system hovered over
the area for several days unloading 484 mm of rain,
most of it in 2 days. The flood waters peaked at 9.53
metres at 7pm on 30 January and 7,500 people were
left unable to return to their homes.
Associated with this event were 6 tornadoes that
crossed the coast line, leaving paths of destruction
behind them. Virtually everyone and everything in the
area was affected to some degree by these events.
Mon Repos supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland
and has the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting
population in the South Pacific Ocean region.
In 1981 the Queensland Government declared Mon
Repos a protected area and in 1985 the Queensland
Parks and Wildlife Service began to manage turtle
watching groups due to the increasing number of visitors.
The Visitor Information Centre was opened in 1994
to compliment the tours and serve as an education
facility. Mon Repos Conservation Park now attracts
up to 29,000 visitors during the turtle breeding season
which not only assists the local economy but promotes
marine and coastal conservation initiatives.
The Mon Repos Conservation Park was affected in
two ways by ex- cyclone Oswald. Initially with the
low came strong winds which coincided with high
The Woongarra coastal area is adjacent to Bundaberg. tides causing severe erosion of the coastal dunes. 91%
The section of coast known as Mon Repos (French for of the turtle clutches were still incubating in the sand
when the erosion occurred. This meant that 59% of
My Rest) derives its name from the residence built in
the total numbers of clutches laid were lost during this
this location by grazier Augustus Barton in 1884. Dr
Col Limpus pioneered the Queensland Turtle Research event.
Program here in 1968.
Prior to the worst of the erosion events teams of
QPWS and Turtle Research staff and volunteers were
busy relocating clutches as they were being exposed
to reduce the losses. This was the most severe loss of
eggs along the Woongarra Coast since the impact of
cyclone David in January 1976.
The second issue for the park was as a result of the
massive flow of water down the Burnett River carrying vast quantities of debris which eventually washed
up on the surrounding shorelines. This debris not
only included large logs and assorted rubbish but also
boats.
Quad bikes and trailers were invaluable but real
progress was only possible through the arrival of a
good size tractor with a bucket combined with trucks
to ferry the debris and wreckage away. It has taken
around 3 weeks to complete the clean up however it
will take many months before the dune system is back
to normal.
In regards to the endangered loggerheads, this is just
a little blip in an annual event that has been occurring
for around 6,000 years in this area. Hopefully with the
excellent work being done here and elsewhere it will
continue for much longer to come.
It was estimated that 100 boats of various sizes had
broken their moorings in the river, with many washing up on the coastline. Mon Repos beach was covered with debris and this not only prevented nesting
turtles from approaching the dunes to lay eggs but also
became obstacles for emerging hatchlings trying to get
to the ocean.
It was going to be a massive task to clear the beach at
Mon Repos to ensure the turtles were hindered as little
as possible and make the beach safe to recommence
the nightly turtle tours.
In addition to these issues Mon Repos is the primary
attraction for visitors to the Bundaberg region from all
over the world and it was considered important despite
the setback to get the operation up and running as
soon as possible to assist with the recovery of the local
economy.
Due to accessibility onto the beach progress was
hampered by tides and soft sand. Also due to the small
size of much of the debris and rubbish, a lot of the
work required was hands on. A large part of the labour
involved chainsawing branches and logs into manageable sizes.
Specials thanks to:
QPWS Information Centre volunteers
QPWS Rangers – Brian Tighe & Matt Palmer
QPWS Rangers – Bundy and Mon Repos crews
Queensland Turtle Conservation Project team
Queensland Sugar Limited work crew
Mon Repos local residents
Shane O’Connor
QRA 2013 Muster
Christmas Creek,
Lamington National Park
16 -18th April, 2013
Monday 15th April
3pm onwards
Arrive at Christmas Creek
Recreation Centre from 3.00pm
Tuesday 16th April
9am
Registration and Morning Tea
Greg Keith
Chair of QRA
RM or Area Manager and
Wil Buch RIC
10am
Welcome
10.15am
Regional and Local Management
Overview
10.45am
Update on new National Park
Directions
11.15am
Representative from the
Overview of ideas for new Ranger
QPWS Executive
Progression Scheme.
Lunch
12.00
13.00
14.00
14.40
15.15
15.30
16.15
17.00
18.30
Representative from the
QPWS Executive
International Rangers Congress
Tanzania
Jolene McLellan and Miki
Bradley
Platinum Sponsor Presentation
TBA
Summary of QRA World Ranger
Day Activities for 2012
Scott Bolden
Miki Bradley
Greg Keith
Warren Vengalia
Afternoon Tea
Best Job in the World Tourism
Promotion – Qld Ranger
Tourism and Visitor Update
Network and Socialise
Dinner
Anne Greentree
Simon Hughes
Our changing environment...
19.30
Wed 17th April
8.00 onwards
9.00
10.00
10.20
10.45
11.45
13.30
18.30
19.30
Thursday 18th
April
8.00 onwards
9.00
10.00
10.15
11.00
11.20
12.00
13.00
Evening Entertainment
Breakfast
QPWS Historical Perspective
Peter Ogilvy
Gold Sponsor Presentation
TBA
Morning Tea
QRA AGM – 1 hr
Lunch and Sponsor Trade Show
Depart for Field Trips
Dinner
Free Evening
Breakfast
Contract Feral Animal control on
Queensland National Parks
Morning Tea
Bell Miner Die Back in SE
Queensland
Damien Ferguson –
Sporting Shooters
Association
David Kingston
AWU Update
Muster Wrap Up
Lunch
Depart
Greg Keith QRA Chair
Dick Clarkson...
It has been estimated QPWS lost 1000 years of corporate knowledge from last year’s forced redundancies. One of the biggest contributors to this total is
Richard Clarkson.
In his forty-seven years of service, Richard made an
enormous contribution to Queensland’s protected
areas and was involved in just about everything to do
with managing them.
On November 1 last year, QPWS celebrated Richards career with an afternoon tea that was attended
by many from head office and local regional staff
as well as former employees such as Peter Ogilvie,
Alan Don, Wendy Drake, Ross Buchanan, Terry
Harper and several others who were recently retired
or dismissed in the mass redundancies.
The celebration was also attended by representatives
from the Queensland Beekeepers Association and
Bernie Trembath of Rural Fires. Well wishes were
sent in from Peter Stanton, Des Boyland, Peter Hazelgrove and Syd Curtis, among others.
Richard Clarkson (centre left) with Peter Ogilvie and
some of the attendees at his retirement celebration in
November. Image courtesy of Ross Buchanan.
For those who do not know Richard, below is a summary of his career:
Richard started as a forestry department cadet in 1965.
Afterwards he worked as second assistant to the District Forrester in the national parks branch of forestry
at Yarraman and was the only officer responsible for
national park administration in the district.
In 1971 Richard obtained a Bachelor of Science in
Forestry from the AustralianNationalUniversity and in
1972 he took a job in head office assisting Peter Stanton with new national park identification and acquisitions. At the time he was one of seven staff in head
office and had to do a bit of everything.
Since then Richard remained in head office and continued to do a bit of everything…
In 1975 he was one of about 90 staff who came over
to the then new QueenslandNational Parks and Wildlife Service. When he retired, Richard was the last
public servant from that time still working in head
office.
In the latter half of 1978, Richard was sponsored to
look at the park management systems used in the
United States and United Kingdom.
In 1980 he was awarded a Master’s Degree in Regional Planning for his thesis titled ‘Conservation and
recreation activities in the countryside – the development of a model to guide in the spatial allocation of
these activities predominantly within the rural sector
of our community’.
After about a decade of new area acquisitions (where
he developed a soft spot for the CentralQueenslandHighlands and many areas in North Queensland),
Richard progressed onto management planning.
He managed whole-of-QNPWS finances and capital
works program as Chief Management Officer, and
relieved a number of times as Regional Manager
throughout the state. About this time Richard defined
the concept of a management unit as part of making
better use of the resources in the service and within
the program management system being developed.
In the 1990’s he coordinated fire and pest management
across the service, including cross-government liaison.
Richard was involved in development of the Nature
Conservation Act and in particular the range of tenures
that aligned with the IUCN classification of protected
areas.
From the late 1990’s through to the early 2000’s Richard promoted the idea of electronic systems to support
the processes of park and forest management.
And in recent times he has worked on policy and
coordination of sustainable resource use on the estate.
He also supervised the spatial services crew across the
state.
While he had the opportunity to rise higher in the
ranks, Richard wasn’t interested as, in his own words,
‘at those levels there is too much admin and not
enough doing the job’. And after being offered a
redundancy, Richard was quoted as saying he can’t
leave yet because there is still so much to do.
In fact, when made ‘redundant’, Richard signed up
as a volunteer and has been working at 400 George
two to three days a week putting his knowledge of all
things protected area to use with the policy and legislation team. We even had to reschedule his ‘retirement’ celebration to fit in with the apiarist meeting he
had the day after he retired!
Brett Hollindale
In the news...
Council considers dam in
Bladensburg National Park
The Winton Shire Council wants
the State Government to consider
allocating a section of Bladensburg
National Park for a dam.
The council wants to revive a
ten year old proposal to build a
53,000megalitre water storage in an
area of the park that was formerly a
cattle property.
Winton Mayor Butch Lenton says
the dam was first proposed on the
site more than 10 years ago but is
no longer private property.
“That’s the first hurdle we’ve come
across and we’ll get right into it and
see if we can get that hurdle over
straight away.”
Hunting delayed in NSW parks
The New South Wales Government’s plan to allow amateur hunters into national parks has been put
on hold due to concerns about the
body that would run the program.
The Game Council’s acting head,
Greg McFarland, was suspended
after it was revealed he was being investigated for alleged animal
cruelty and illegal hunting over the
killing of a feral goat.
Questions have also been raised
about the Game Council; Premier
Barry O’Farrell said an internal
investigation has found possible
breaches of its policies and procedures, raising questions about the
way the council is run.
As a result the Premier has commissioned a review into the governance
of the Game Council.
Hunting was meant to start in NSW
parks on March first, however
this has been pushed back several
months until the review is com
pleted.
Meanwhile, a leaked risk assessment shows New South Wales park
rang
ers will have to wear high-visibility
clothing to ensure they do not accidentally get shot when hunting does
commence.
NSW opposition environment
spokesman Luke Foley says the
document shows a potentially dangerous situation for national park
staff.
“That’s not a responsible course of
action,” he said.
In a bid to protect ranger safety,
the Public Service Association is
telling its members to avoid areas
of national parks where hunting is
permitted.
US national parks brace for
funding cuts
‘Sequestration’ could mean shorter
seasons and fewer campgrounds and
other visitor facilities. The looming
sequester are automatic spending
cuts that will take effect if Congress
can’t agree on a plan to address the
national debt. If this happens, it
is estimated the US National Park
Service would be cut by more than
$110 million, affecting every park
in the system.
The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees has posted a detailed
list of how sequestration-related
cuts are expected to be implemented. The list includes reduced operating budgets, delayed reopening of
parks after winter snows, reduced
office hours in visitor centres, closing of campgrounds and reduced
hiring of seasonal rangers.
Businesses that rely on national
parks and their settings have voiced
concern overthe effects of budget
sequestration on their operations
and local area economies.
The National Parks Conservation
Association says the upcoming cut
to the Park Service budget will not
only be devastating to the parks
themselves, but to the many businesses and communities that rely on
them to
drive sales, and to families that rely
on national parks as affordable and
inspiring destinations.
“These indiscriminate cuts to
our 398 national parks will harm
tourism-dependent businesses and
communities. Millions of Americans
who visit parks rely on these businesses for lodging, tour guides and
meals. If national parks are closed
or inaccessible due to reduced
hours, it hurts businesses and visitors,” said NPCA President Tom
Kiernan.
The US Department of the Interior
has released a report that found in
2011 park visitors spent $12.95 billion in regions within 100km of a
park.Nationwide, US national parks
contribute more than $30 billion in
economic activity and support more
than a quarter million jobs.
The report can be found at http://
www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/
docs/NPSSystemEstimates2011.pdf.
Russian national park to bridge
US-Russia divide
Russia has declared a national park
in its remote Far Eastern Chukotka
region, paving the way for a joint
US-Russian nature reserve spanning the Bering Strait, an idea first
proposed by Mikhail Gorbachev.
The BeringiaNational Park will directly touch the US border, although
it does not include some of Rus
sia’s marine waters in the strait or
the small Ratmanovisland, which is
a base for a Russian border control
station.
On the US side, the Bering Land
Bridge national reserve in Alaska
has existed since the 1970s. The
bilateral project has taken this long
because Chukotka needed to upgrade
an existing nature reserve to national
park status.
Linking the two parks will facilitate
conservation, preserve ties between
indigenous peoples and allow tighter
cooperation on environmental monitoring, according to a US-Russia
agreement signed in September.
The 86-kilometre-wide strait separates Russia and Alaska but an earlier land bridge is believed to have
once served as one of the earliest
migration routes between the two
continents.
WWF turning to drones to
help rangers
The World Wildlife Fund is turning
to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
to give rangers an advantage against
armed poachers.
In a joint program with conservationdrones.org, the WWF has provided the government of Nepal with
two hand-launchable UAVs that will
be used by rangers to monitor wildlife and combat poaching.
The UAV’s will give rangers an eye
in the sky to provide a safe view of
illegal activities on the ground.
It is also hoped the presence of a
UAV will deter poachers and illegal
loggers since they now know that the
parks are being monitored both on
the ground and from above.
The UAV’s can fly a pre-programmed route of just under 30 kilometres at an elevation of 200 metres
for up to 50 minutes.
Each UAV films the ground with
a still or video camera and can be
recharged in half an hour.
The WWF intends to expand on
this UAV program by developing a
system that can simultaneously track
the locations of rangers, animals, and
poachers.
Data gathered from the new system
would be analysed at a control centre, allowing rangers to be deployed
to intercept poachers before they
reach their targets.
The WWF intends to deploy the new
system in four more countries and is
in talks with UAV and sensor manufacturers to help develop it.
Brett Hollindale