Nature, People and the Future of Remote Australia

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Projects: Protecting Australia's Nature
Nature, People and the Future of Remote Australia

Outback landscapes cover more than 70% of the Australian continental landmass. They also meet the ocean along large sections of the southern, western and northern coastline, as shown in the dramatic red cliffs at Barred Creek, Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley region, Western Australia. In addition to the coast’s unusual deep red cliffs, its sands support a distinctive Acacia-dominated (‘pindan’) low woodland.
Panoramic photographic Image of Barred Creek on the Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome. West Kimberley Region of Western Australia
Adam Monk Adam Monk
Laura Land and Sea Ranger Roderick Doughboy and Lyndal Scobell of Cape York Natural Resource Management Ltd, discuss land management issues at the Split Rock Escarpment overlooking the Kennedy Valley near Laura in Outback Queensland. Rangers work closely with other land management groups, local authorities, pastoralists and other organisations to improve environmental outcomes for their area and raise awareness of the importance of caring for country.
Kerry Trapnell Kerry Trapnell
The sun sets behind Pannawonica Hill and the Robe River in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Across much of the Outback, watercourses such as this ephemeral river, which is reduced to a series of permanent pools during the dry season, serve as important refugia for native animals and harbour distinctly different plant and animal communities.
Dan Proud Dan Proud
Bardi Jawi Rangers from One Arm Point on the Kimberley coast conduct burning early in the dry season, producing significant environmental benefits.
Bardi Jawi Rangers Bardi Jawi Rangers
Indigenous Ranger Benny Jabbalari conducts a controlled burn in spinifex country in the Northern Territory’s Tanami Desert. The Tanami comes under two Indigenous Protected Areas, with rangers working to manage threats such as wildfires, weeds and feral animals.
Image licenseed for one use only in PEW OUTBACK REPORT - No Syndication or Distribution - Indigenous Ranger Benny Jabbalari conducting a burnoff in Spinifex Country in the Tanami. Photo Glenn Campbell
Glenn Campbell Glenn Campbell
Lush Barnett River Gorge on Old Barnett Station is one of the many gorges along the Gibb River Road in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. The road runs through some of the most picturesque and remote country in Australia.
Panoramic photographic Image of Barnett River Gorge at dawn. Old Mt Barnett Station, off the Gibb River Road. Kimberley Region of Western Australia
Adam Monk Adam Monk
Many invasive pest animals cause significant damage to the nature of the Outback. Cane toads were introduced from central America in an attempt to control pests in sugar cane crops. However, they poison many native predators, such as quolls and goannas, which eat them.
Stephen Zozaya/Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre Stephen Zozaya/Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre
Pastoralism is the most extensive land use across the Outback, with states and territories issuing long-term leases over crown land. Beef cattle are the dominant livestock, with some areas also farming sheep and goats. These Brahman cattle are on the floodplain of the Thomson River in Outback Queensland.
Angus Emmott Angus Emmott
The male Red Kangaroo is the largest native animal in the Outback and the world’s largest marsupial, growing up to 1.4 metres tall. It is well adapted to hot dry conditions where rainfall is less than 500mm per year.
Lochern National Park
Angus Emmott Angus Emmott
Sandstone escarpments dominate the landscape of the Cockburn Range in the Kimberley region, far north-west Western Australia. Outback ranges feature gorges and waterholes that provide important refuge areas for plants and animals, particularly during the dry season or drought conditions.
Hugh Brown Hugh Brown
The Dingo is an important native predator, helping to control feral animals such as cats and goats in the Outback. This dingo was photographed in the Strzelecki Desert, central Australia.
Angus Emmott Angus Emmott
There are an estimated 300,000 feral camels in Australia, causing severe degradation of water sources and some vegetation types and damage to fences and other infrastructure. A recent collaborative program has substantially reduced their numbers across extensive areas.
Robert Sleep Robert Sleep
Fish River Rangers Desmond Daly, left, and Jeff Long help manage the 178,000-hectare Fish River Station in the Northern Territory for conservation and cultural heritage. The former cattle property was purchased through a ground-breaking partnership between the Indigenous Land Corporation, The Nature Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Australian Government.
Indigenous Land Corporation Indigenous Land Corporation
Picturesque Mitchell Falls is located on the remote Mitchell Plateau in the far north of Western Australia’s Kimberley region. The plateau, part of Mitchell River National Park, is cut off from road access during the wet season. It is home to the endemic Darngarna palm, which can grow to 18 metres tall and live for up to 280 years.
Mitchell Falls from the top looking down the falls, after a big wet season. Mitchell Plateau National Park, Kimberley Region of Western Australia
Adam Monk Adam Monk
A typical Pilbara landscape of mesas, escarpments, rolling hills and spinifex grasslands at Mount Frederick, Western Australia.
Hugh Brown Hugh Brown
A tourist takes in the breathtaking panorama of Jim Jim Falls and the Arnhem Land escarpment in the Northern Territory’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.
Jim Jim Falls - Kakadu NP
Peter Eve & Tourism NT Peter Eve & Tourism NT
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