Media statements - Parks and Wildlife Service

Media statements (450)

One month left to apply for Round 2 of the Aboriginal Ranger Program

Details: Published: Friday, 15 February 2019 15:13

Aboriginal Ranger Program delivering jobs and training in regional and remote WA Expressions of interest close on March 15, 2019 The McGowan Government has issued a final call for expressions of interest for the second round of the $20 million Aboriginal Ranger Program. Under the program, Aboriginal organisations may apply for funding to employ and train rangers, and to carry out land and sea management and tourism activities across a range of tenures in remote and regional Western Australia. The first round of the program was extremely successful, with 13 Aboriginal organisations across WA receiving funding, resulting in the creation of 85 new jobs and 80 training positions for Aboriginal people, including 47 female ranger positions. $9 million is available in Round 2 for single…

Public comment sought on draft joint management plan for Ningaloo Coast

Details: Published: Thursday, 14 February 2019 17:44

Public comment is being sought on the draft joint management plan for the proposed conservation and recreation reserves along the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast.The Nyinggulu (Ningaloo) coastal reserves draft joint management plan 2019 covers 70,400 hectares of coast, including the terrestrial portion of Ningaloo Marine Park and adjacent unallocated Crown land from Red Bluff to Winderabandi. The creation of the proposed reserves will enable conservation of the significant natural and cultural values along the coast, and importantly provide ongoing access and recreational opportunities for all Western Australians and other visitors. The area will be jointly managed by the Gnulli native title claimants and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, with an Indigenous Land Use Agreement expected to be finalised this year. The draft management…

Rare rockhopper penguin visitors head home to the Sub-Antarctic

Details: Published: Wednesday, 06 February 2019 11:22

Four northern rockhopper penguins have been released in waters off Augusta, after surprising wildlife officers and beach goers with a visit to the South West. The threatened species usually live on islands close to Antarctica, more than three thousand kilometres south-west of Western Australia. While there are no resident populations on the mainland or inshore islands of Australia, Pia Courtis from the Parks and Wildlife Service said northern rockhopper penguins have been recorded visiting our beaches during the summer months. “They are usually looking for refuge during their three-week annual moult period, during which time they are unable to enter the water and usually do not feed,” Ms Courtis said. In the past year, 10 rockhopper penguins have been found on beaches between Jurien Bay…

10-year plan for Wheatbelt's parks and reserves released

Details: Published: Tuesday, 05 February 2019 14:14

Public comment is being sought on a new 10-year management plan proposed for more than a million hectares of parks and reserves in the Wheatbelt region. The proposed plan covers 728 existing reserves of natural vegetation and is bounded by Dalwallinu, Cranbrook, Ongerup, York, Wandering, Darkan, Yellowdine and Lake King. The reserves include valuable conservation areas such as Dryandra Woodland which is home to Western Australia’s mammal emblem, the numbat. Almost half of the reserves are less than 100 hectares. The two largest reserves, Karroun Hill and Jilbadji nature reserves within the Great Western Woodlands, together make up more than half a million hectares. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has prepared the proposed management plan on behalf of the Conservation and Parks Commission.…

Conservation efforts intensify for WA’s rarest bird

Details: Published: Wednesday, 30 January 2019 13:03

Efforts are continuing to protect the western ground parrot, following a bushfire that burnt through some of the critically endangered birds' habitat this month. Lightning strikes on January 13 caused a bushfire in Cape Arid National Park on the south coast, which burnt 6,300 hectares. Western ground parrots only exist in the wild in Cape Arid National Park and the adjacent Nuytsland Nature Reserve. In spring 2018, five parrots were caught in Cape Arid National Park - fitted with GPS collars - and returned to the wild so their movements could be studied as part of a recovery program led by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA). A ground search by DBCA last week located one of these five birds alive, and signals…