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Hi
Welcome to the latest issue of
our quarterly e-newsletter. We hope it will keep you
up to date with our activities and projects.
News highlights include the
winners of the Cassowary Awards 2009 and Keep it
Cool Poster competition and, for the first time, the
Wet Tropics Region Activity Report from QPWS.
If you have any comments,
contact us on 07 4052 0531 or give us your feedback
here. |
Feel free to pass this newsletter on to your
friends.
Andrew Maclean,
Executive Director
Visit our web site
here. |

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WTMA |
Cassowary
Awards
2009
The 11th
annual
Cassowary
Awards
honoured
eleven
winners
this
year at
Tjapukai
Aboriginal
Cultural
Park on
Saturday
7
November.
Over 250
guests
attended
to
recognise
the
community's
achievements
in a
wide
range of
fields
such as
conservation,
nature-based
tourism,
arts,
science
and
Rainforest
Aboriginal
culture.
The
Awards
were
presented
by Mr
Steve Wettenhall,
Member
for
Barron
River,
and
Senator
Jan
McLucas.
There
were
also
four
schools
honoured
in the
Young
Cassowary
Awards. Winners
and
guests
also
enjoyed
boomerang
throwing
and
learning
about
Rainforest
Aboriginal
culture
at
Tjapukai.
The
Cassowary
Awards
were
sponsored
by
Cairns
Regional
Council
and
Events
NQ. The
Young
Cassowary
Awards
were
sponsored
by
Daintree
Discovery
Centre,
Skyrail,
Harleys
Crocodile
Adventures
and
Terrain
NRM. For
information
on the
Cassowary
Award
winners
visit
the
Wet
Tropics
website.
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Gordonvale State School winners of the Young Cassowary Award
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Keep it
Cool
Poster
Competition
The
Keep it
Cool
poster
competition
received
over 250
entries
this
year.
The
winners
were
announced
on
Friday
21
August
at the
Cairns
Regional
Gallery
where
the
winners’
artwork
was
displayed.
The
competition
was
organised
and
sponsored
by WTMA,
Great
Barrier
Reef
Marine
Park
Authority,
Skyrail
Rainforest
Cableway
and Big
Cat Reef
Cruises.
A 2010
calendar
featuring
the top
twelve
posters
in the
competition
has just
been
released.
If you
would
like a
Keep it
Cool
calendar
please
visit
the WTMA
office
in
Cairns. |
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Gordonvale State School
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Jordan Reid
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Verity Parker
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Cassowary Summit
WTMA held a community
Cassowary Summit
on 8 November at the
Tanks Art Centre to
celebrate Threatened
Species Week. The summit
was convened to
highlight the plight of
the cassowary and to
share information about
how to help conserve
this endangered bird.
Presentations were given
about cassowary
conservation from
community groups,
scientists, Traditional
Owners, zoos and land
managers. Participants
were also treated to a
play from Trinity
Anglican School called
Plight of the Cassowary. |
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The summit was organised
by the Wet Tropics
Management Authority and
the Cassowary Recovery
Team in partnership with
the Reef and Rainforest
Research Centre and
supported by
Cairns Regional Council. |
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Indigenous Tourism
Workshops
The Wet Tropics
Management Authority
facilitated two
Indigenous tourism
workshops, in October.
The first workshop was
held at Echo Creek in
Tully and the second at
Mossman Gorge. The
workshops were both well
attended. Prompted by
the workshops
participants are now
discussing the
establishment of an
Indigenous tourism
network to help place
North Queensland on the
map as a destination for
cultural tourism. |
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National Heritage List
The
National Heritage
List registers places
with outstanding
natural, Indigenous or
heritage values to the
nation. Following
support by the
Australian and
Queensland Governments
under the Wet Tropics
Regional Agreement,
Rainforest Aboriginal
people nominated the Wet
Tropics World Heritage
Area to be included on
the list for its
Aboriginal cultural
values. WTMA is
currently assisting the
Department of the
Environment, Water,
Heritage and the Arts to
consult with Traditional
Owners and the final
decision on the
recommendation is
expected by December
2010.
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Cairns Post NIE awards
WTMA was thanked by the
Cairns Post for being a
platinum sponsor for the
News In Education pages
at a ceremony on 10
November. The Authority
also contributes stories
to the newspaper and
sponsors scrapbooks for
schools to educate
children about the
values of the Area.
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QPWS |
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Mossman Gorge
elevated
boardwalk
The Queensland
Parks and
Wildlife Service
will be
replacing the
existing access
track at Mossman
Gorge with an
elevated
boardwalk. When
completed, the
boardwalk will
provide a
world-class
experience, with
wheelchair
access to the
World Heritage
listed Mossman
Gorge section of
Daintree
National Park.
Construction
will be in two
stages. The
first phase
began on Tuesday
10 November and
will take
approximately
three weeks. The
second phase
will commence
after the wet
season and is
expected to take
seven to nine
weeks. |
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The
project is being
funded under the
Australian
Government's
Jobs Fund. QPWS
will work
closely with
tourism
operators,
Cairns Regional
Council, and the
community to
maintain
levels of
access.
QPWS will
advertise
closure and
disruption
details prior to
works
commencing.
Should you have
any queries,
please contact
Senior Ranger
Tina Alderson on
4098 2188. |
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Rehabilitating
Mabi Forest
The Queensland
Parks and
Wildlife Service
commenced a
rehabilitation
project in June
2007 to restore
the ecologically
endangered Mabi
forest in the
Curtain Fig
National Park on
the Atherton
Tableland. The
extensive
disturbance to
the rainforest
canopy was as a
result of
Tropical Cyclone
Larry in March
2006. The
Curtain Fig
National Park is
the largest
remnant habitat
patch of Mabi
forest of
high integrity.
The project aims
to remove
non-native weeds
from the area to
allow the
rainforest to
regenerate
naturally. A
total of 400
staff hours have
been spent on
this project by QPWS staff, with
support from the
Tablelands
Regional
Council, Malanda
High School
students,
neighbouring
landholders and
volunteers. The
main areas have
now been
rehabilitated
and maintenance
of the area will
continue. |

October
2007 |

July
2009 |

June 2007 |
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Tourism |
TTNQ Tourism
Awards
The 2009
Tropical North
Queensland
Tourism Awards
were held on
Saturday 31
October. WTMA
congratulates
all the winners,
including
operators in the
Wet Tropics such
as Hartley's
Crocodile
Adventures,
Daintree
Discovery
Centre, Skyrail
Rainforest
Cableway, Spirit
of the
Rainforest Tour
and Jungle
Surfing Canopy
Tours. To see
the full list of
the 2009 Tourism
Award winners,
visit the
TTNQ website. |
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World
Travel
Awards
WTMA
was
excited
to
learn
that
Daintree
Eco
Lodge
was
announced
as
the
world's
leading
eco-lodge
at
the
World
Travel
Awards
in
London.
Owners
Terry
and
Cathy
Maloney
celebrated
their
win
against
competition
from
around
the
world,
voted
for
by
183,000
travel
agents. |

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Skal
International
Ecotourism Award
In another boost
for Wet Tropics
tourism, the
Daintree
Discovery Centre
received an
international
award for
ecotourism at
the 70th Skal
World Congress,
held in
Budapest,
Hungary, in
November. The
Centre's tourism
submission,
entitled
Sustainable
Ecotourism, was
declared the
winner of the
8th Annual
Skal
International
Ecotourism
Awards in the
category of
General
Countryside. The
Centre is also a
Wet Tropics
visitor centre
and has been a
valuable partner
for the
Authority.
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Wet Tropics
Community |
Community
Tree Planting
Conservation
Volunteers
Australia run
revegetation
projects in the
Wet Tropics
every Monday and
Wednesday. Join
the team of
volunteers to
help nurture the
Barron River, Cattana Wetlands
and Cairns
Central Swamp.
Activities
include tree
planting,
mulching and
weeding.
Transport is
provided, leaving
at 8.30am and
returning at
4pm. If you
would like to
participate, or
for further
information,
please contact
Joanne on (07)
4032 0844 or go
to the
Conservation
Volunteers
Australia
website.
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Clean up
Australia Day
WTMA staff
joined forces
with the
Wangetti
Recovery Group
to clean up the Wangetti Beach
Reserve as part
of Clean up
Australia Day
celebrations.
Volunteers
worked all
morning to
remove litter
but were
pleasantly
surprised by the
state of the
beach. Past
clean up efforts
are clearly now
being supported
by many beach
users.
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Cairns Festival
T-shirts
This year Cairns
Festival t-shirts,
developed in partnership
with WTMA, featured a
logo of a tree-kangaroo.
Funds raised from the
sale of the t-shirts
during the festival were
donated to The
Tree-Kangaroo and Mammal
Group, a community group
based on the Atherton
Tablelands.
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Run for a Safe
Climate
WTMA Executive Director,
Andrew Maclean, welcomed
a team from the national
Run for a Safe Climate
in Cairns on 3 November.
The team of runners and
staff all received gifts
from the Authority to
thank them for their
dedication in raising
awareness about the
impacts of climate
change and the threats
to the Wet Tropics World
Heritage Area. The run
commenced in Cooktown on
Monday 2 November and
continued south though
the Wet Tropics. A team
of 25 trained runners
from emergency services
commenced the relay over
six thousand kilometres
to link Australia's
unique, world-renowned
natural icons. |
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The relay will finish in
Melbourne on St Kilda
Beach. At each
major ecosystem, the
runners are joined by
scientists leading the
research on the impacts
of climate change. For
more information please
visit
Safe Climate Australia
and the
Run for a Safe Climate.
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Habitat restoration
in Julatten-Mt Molloy
The
Mitchell River
Watershed Management
Group has planted over
13,000 trees on 6.5
hectares of cleared land
over 12 different
properties. Individual
projects have replanted
rainforest on land
previously used for
grazing and sugarcane,
restored the vegetation
in riparian (stream
bank) areas and fenced
off wetland areas to
exclude feral pigs. The
aim was to make it
easier for wildlife to
move between protected
areas by improving the
connectivity between
sections of the Wet
Tropics World Heritage
Area. The group received
a grant last year under
the Caring for Our
Country program. Grants
worth a total of $80,000
were then awarded to
landowners for
revegetation. |
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Kuranda Visitor
Information Centre
WTMA’s network of Wet
Tropics Visitor Centres
have been busy raising
funds for native
wildlife charities in
the Wet Tropics. The
Kuranda Visitor
Information Centre has
raised over $650 in the
last year for BatReach,
a local wildlife rescue
and rehabilitation
centre in Kuranda.
The donation is going
towards renovating the
roofing on enclosures
and will help to
purchase medicine and
food for the animals in
care. |
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Publications |
Cassowary
Education
The
Australian
Rainforest
Foundation
has
produced
a
cassowary
education
kit as a
resource
for
school
teachers.
The kit
aims to
increase
awareness
about
this
endangered
bird and
will be
sent to
schools
around
Australia.
If you
would
like a
copy for
your
school,
please
contact
the
Australian
Rainforest
Foundation.
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Protecting
Quolls
The Wet
Tropics
World
Heritage
Area is
home to
both the
northern
quoll
and the
endangered
spotted-tailed
quoll,
whose
distribution
has
significantly
contracted
over
recent
years.
If you
would
like to
learn
more
about
protecting
quolls
in
Queensland
landscapes,
then
contact
the
Quoll
Seekers
Network
to
discover
more
about
their
new
quoll
information
kit. The
Quoll
Seekers
network
has
recently
been
named as
the
Queensland
Wildlife
Preservation
Society's
top
project
of the
year. |
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Living
in a
Dynamic
Tropical
Forest
Landscape
Prof
Nigel
Stork
and Prof
Steve
Turton
from
James
Cook
University
worked
together
to lead
the
Rainforest
CRC for
over ten
years.
They
recently
launched
their
new book
titled
'Living
in a
Dynamic
Tropical
Forest
Landscape'.
The book,
contains
a vast
collation
of the
diverse
research
that
occurred
under
the
Rainforest
CRC.
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Research |
Feral Deer in
the Wet Tropics
WTMA, in
partnership with
Terrain NRM, FNQ
Regional
Organisation of
Councils,
Queensland
Primary
Industries and
Fisheries and
Queensland Parks
and Wildlife
Service, has
funded the
development of
specially-designed deer
traps to exclude
other species.
All species of
feral deer are
now listed as a
pest species in
Queensland and
pose a
significant
threat to the
Wet Tropics
or
Primary
Industries and
Fisheries
website |
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Visitors |
University of Hanover
WTMA staff welcomed
visiting biology
students from the
University of Hanover in
Germany. The students
visited the Authority to
learn about the
vegetation ecology and
biogeography of the Wet
Tropics World Heritage
Area. The visit is part
of their final year to
complete an
undergraduate degree at
the Institute of
Geobotany.
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