The State Government has announced key environmental commitments in the 2017-18 Budget including the establishment of a $20 million Aboriginal Ranger program focused on training, jobs and community development initiatives that deliver environmental outcomes. Aboriginal rangers will be trained and employed to undertake land and sea management, including tourism operations and protection of cultural and biodiversity values across a range of tenures in remote and regional Western Australia. To be delivered over five years, funding of $4 million is available in 2017-18. More information is available at www.dbca.wa.gov.au/aboriginalrangerprogram

The success of community partnerships in delivering environmental outcomes for the Swan and Canning rivers has been recognised with the Swan Alcoa Landcare Program (SALP) winning the Australian Government Partnership category at the WA Landcare awards last night. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) Director General Mark Webb said SALP was an excellent example of how industry, government and community were working together to improve local environments along Perth’s iconic river system. “For 19 years SALP has been providing urban community groups with a simple process to access funding for a wide range of landcare activities throughout the Swan and Canning catchments,” he said. “Projects it has supported range from invasive weed control, feral bee removal and dieback management to improving water quality in…