Kowari caught on camera

They may be nationally endangered and elusive, but Kowari have again been found on the gibber plains of the far northeast of the SA Arid Lands region.

As a species restricted to a small area of northeast SA and southwest Queensland, monitoring them is very difficult.

Motion-sensor cameras are used to collect data on this species as part of the board’s Wetland Wonders project and it is hoped that tracking this species will become easier as technology develops.

Find out how we adapt our methods to retrieve the cameras when they are located on country still cut off due to floodwaters >>

Have your say on the board's draft plan

The SA Arid Lands Landscape Board is seeking comments and feedback from the community on its revised five-year Regional Landscape Plan.

This is the second strategic plan for the board and while it is not proposing large scale changes to its original plan, the draft Regional Landscape Plan 2026-2031 (RLP) better reflects the board’s current and future aspirations and those of stakeholders and the community.

The board's draft RLP sets out the board's five strategic priorities, focus areas and key outcomes for the board over a five-year period. The plan provides a strategic direction for the delivery of the board’s projects, programs and partnerships in the region.

Read the draft plan, associated guide and complete the survey with all of the details >>

Cultural burn to protect Salt pipewort

Board staff joined Arabana Rangers, Arabana Elders, Cooper Basin Rangers, Many Rivers Organisation, Friends of Mound Springs (FOMS) and the Threatened Plant Action Group for a cultural burn at Great Artesian Basin Springs on Finniss Springs Station in November.

The burn trial was a follow-up to a Grassroots Grant project, awarded to the Friends of Mound Springs in 2024/25, for the Threatened Plant Action Group and FOMS volunteers to work with Arabana Rangers to protect the nationally-endangered Salt pipewort (Eriocaulon carsonii).

Salt pipewort is found only in a few springs in SA, although it is present in other springs in Queensland and in New South Wales. One of the largest SA populations of the plant is found on Finniss Springs.

Find out what pest plant is being targeted >>

Changes coming for the Biteback program

For the past 15 years, the board’s Biteback program has supported land managers through bi-annual bait injection services, extension and outreach and aerial control.

Historically, this program has been jointly funded by the Sheep Industry Fund (SIF) and the Landscape Levy, and has been delivered in collaboration with Primary Industries and Regions SA and industry partners.

As the program enters its second year without SIF co-investment, the board’s capacity to subsidise manufactured baits and provide free injection services has been significantly reduced.

Find out what this will mean for landholders >>

Feral pests targeted in new projects

The significant threat posed by feral herbivores to biodiversity and pastoral enterprises in the region is the focus of two new board projects.

The first will tackle feral animals through aerial control, to reduce grazing pressure and soil erosion while the second will support the ongoing work of the board to address the significant threat posed by feral herbivores including pigs, camels, donkeys and horses to biodiversity and pastoral enterprises.

Find out more, including the areas to be targeted >>

Birds counted in the Coongie Lakes

More than 80-species of waterbirds that flock to the Cooper Creek floodplain and the Coongie Lakes after rainfall events have been counted as part of one of the country’s longest running wildlife surveys.

The Eastern Australia Waterbird Survey has surveyed rivers and wetlands in the Murray Darling Basin for the past 43 years. It helps paint a picture of the health of the wetland and river systems Ramsar agreement.

Find out what was noted >>

Goats the focus of aerial control

Nearly 900 goats have been removed from the landscape through two aerial control programs in the Flinders Ranges in partnership with landowners and National Parks and Wildlife Service SA.

In late November, an aerial control program around Quorn and the Southern Flinders areas of the SAAL region removed 375 goats from areas of the ranges where conventional mustering is difficult.

It followed requests for help from landholders who adjoin government reserves where aerial control programs had already taken place, and further control was scheduled.

While this was taking place, a separate aerial mustering program occurred in areas of the northern Flinders Ranges, assisting the landholder-led removal of more than 500 goats.

Read more >>

Rangers join the Greenhood hunt

SAAL staff joined Nantawarrina Rangers and SA Seed Centre botanists for two days of on-Country workshops in October.

Together the group searched for endemic and threatened flora species on Adnyamathanha Country, supporting the Rangers on plant identification skills as board staff continue to search for the Desert Greenhood (Pterostylis xerophila) as part of the Discovery 4 Recovery project.

Find out what else was discussed during the workshops >>

Aerial control removes 1100 pests

More than 1100 feral animals have been removed from the far north east corner of SA in an aerial operation undertaken in November.

While feral pigs were the primary target, the operation also removed smaller numbers of four other pest species.
It followed increased reports of feral animal impacts following flooding in the area.

Find out what was controlled as part of the operation >>

Aboriginal Engagement Network provides plan feedback

The board’s draft Regional Landscape Plan 2026-2031 was discussed with the members of the Aboriginal Engagement Meeting at their latest meeting on December 1. Members provided feedback on the plan as part of the consultation which is open until 31 January 2025.

In it’s third year, the network had one of the highest attendances with the meeting offering an opportunity for sharing the successes of those involved in working on Country, and strengthening networks.

Members also heard how the board is partnering with First Nations groups across the region on ecology projects and in the sustainable agriculture space.

Partnership forged from International River Prize

Findings from the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) Alliance’s management and research programs and lessons learned from its Intergovernmental Agreement have been exchanged with learnings from Africa’s Cubango-Okavango Delta at an international workshop in Maun, Botswana recently.

A nine-person delegation representing the Alliance joined the workshop with prize money received by on winning the International River Prize in 2015.  It was awarded to develop further capacity and shared learning in the management of significant global rivers and their importance.

Read more >>

Celebrating Adelaide-based volunteers

The significant contribution Adelaide-based volunteers make to environmental outcomes in the SAAL region were celebrated in October.

A celebration was attended by representatives from the Friends of Mound Springs, Retire Active SA Bushwalkers, Four Wheel Drive SA, Toyota LandCruiser Club SA, Range Rover Discovery Club of SA, Mitsubishi 4WD Club, Friends of Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park, and the Overland 4WD Club.

Volunteers heard about the work of the board, the region’s natural resource management challenges and the many opportunities for ongoing involvement in the region.

Find out how volunteers contribute to our region >>

After flooding comes flowers

Floodwaters delivered a show of colour to the areas around Innamincka with dunes of yellow and white from Poached egg daisies (Polycalymma stuartii), to fields of purple Whalembergia sp. along the Cooper Creek.

As these floodwaters recede, the focus on land management activities in the Innamincka Regional Reserve and areas of the Strzelecki Track have been on the pest plants and animals that accompany this type of flooding event.

In October, the board attended a trip to the region with National Parks and Wildlife Service SA (NPWS), South Australian Herbarium and Indigenous Rangers from the Cooper Basin, where the area’s priority invasive weeds were detected and mapped.

Read about what they found >>

Fencing supports plant regeneration

Fencing to protect populations of Sugarwood/False Sandalwood (Myoporum playcarpum) and Bullock Bush (Electryon oleifolius) and exclude macropods was one of 21 projects funded in the 2024/25 Grassroots Grant program.

Braiden’s Reserve is a 13.3ha plot, measuring 400m by 400m.  It was established by Peter Maloney and his son Adrian more than 20 years ago on their property on the Willochra Plain, south-east of Quorn. At the time all rabbit warrens were ripped and three photo points were established.

While the fencing was designed to exclude grazing livestock, it was not sufficient to reduce or prevent kangaroo grazing, and the heavy grazing pressure by macropods had prevented regeneration of grasses and enabled heavy grazing of smaller Bullock Bushes.

Find out what changed to allow plants to regenerate >>

New mound spring vent discovered

The emergence of a new spring vent at McLachlan Springs was noted by Friends of Mound Springs (FOMS) during a recent trip to the area.

A rare phenomenon in mound spring country, the new spring has wetland vegetation including both reeds (Phragmites) and bulrush (Typha).

Located in the vicinity of Lake Eyre South on Stuart Creek Station, the springs were visited to gauge their recovery from damage caused by horses in 2021.

Read more >>

Celebrations mark centenary of Osborn Reserve

A weekend of celebrations marked the centenary of TGB Osborn Vegetation Reserve at Koonamore Station.

One of the longest-running ecological monitoring projects of its kind, the Koonamore Vegetation Reserve (KVR) provides valuable data on arid land ecosystems.

The weekend-long event in September brought together many sectors of the community to celebrate the achievements of volunteers, land managers and researchers committed to rangelands research and showcasing their work and findings. It also acknowledged and celebrated the region’s cultural heritage.

Read more >>

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