YAMATJI MARLPA ABORIGINAL CORPORATION ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Land and Sea Management Land and Sea Management (LSM) encompasses a wide range of functions and activities that can be described as ‘looking after Country’. YMAC currently provides operational and administrative support to deliver several Aboriginal LSM projects at different stages of development.
Nyangumarta The Nyangumarta ranger and IPA program has achieved a work plan implementation rate of more than 75 percent, despite the disruption caused by COVID-19 during this reporting period, and a turn-over of senior staff. During the pandemic lockdown phase, when access to Bidyadanga Community was highly restricted, the rangers remained active, assisting their Elders in various ways, and working alongside the Karajarri rangers in conducting municipal service tasks. A strong focus has been the continuous training of rangers in Certificate II and Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management, and their regular participation in events such as ranger forums and conferences coordinated by the Indigenous Desert Alliance and the Ten Deserts Project, of which Nyangumarta is an essential component. Since April, the rangers have been able to engage via virtual meeting platforms to receive training and mentoring with TAFE lecturers, as well as other peak organisations.
Marine Debris Survey 2019-2020
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KEY HIGHLIGHTS • Weed management plan completed • Nyangumarta seasonal calendar finalised and printed • New fee-for-service contract for ranger work with Rio Tinto secured • 34 Indigenous rangers and advisors (a total of 6 fulltime equivalent (FTE)) employed • Assisted at the 6th Annual On-Country Bush Meeting at Yule River
KEY ACTIVITIES • Fire management • Turtle and shore bird monitoring • Fencing work • Feral animal control • Biosecurity and marine debris surveys • Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) recorded • Two-hectare track plots • Camera trapping • Construction of bee and bird boxes
