Badno & Ngalwad (Rock country)

Old people once lived in the rock country and knew everything about it, but visiting and managing rock country is difficult for landowners and rangers.

The wet season blocks road access, and in the dry, much of the rock country is too rough for vehicles. We have to invest a lot of resources to know if this country is healthy. Are there still nabarlek in the rocks? Rock country grass wrens? Rock pigeons? Black wallaroos and kalkberd? Rock possums? If we find plenty of the right animals we will know country is healthy.

Fire is the best tool to keep this country healthy. Helicopters allow our rangers to deliver early burning to protect the plants and animals. Early burning for rock country plants that can’t survive repeated late hot fires is really important. Camera trapping and other survey work will give us much of the information we need to better manage the animals and plants in the rock country.

We also need to rediscover and look after our rock art and make sure the burials of old people are cared for and respected. Rangers, landowners and djungkayi work together to look after this area. Our rangers are working toward managing the information about country and rock art on Mimal’s information management system.

GOAL: By 2027 landowners and rangers will have greater access to rock country and there will be a successful and ongoing program of documenting and conserving rock art. The specific fire regime that the rock country ecological communities require will be delivered at finer spatial scales and weed incursion will be better controlled.