The A$28 million project focuses on establishing a 7,500-square-kilometre dry corridor between the Indian Ocean and the Great Sandy Desert. Teams will modify or contain 685 cattle troughs, dams, and storage tanks across six pastoral stations to exploit the pests' biological requirement for frequent hydration. Construction is scheduled to span two to five years and will prevent the species from reaching the Pilbara over the next two decades. Indigenous ranger groups and heritage teams from the Nyangumarta and Karajarri peoples will guide construction to safeguard culturally significant water bodies.
Key points
Curtin University, Rio Tinto, and the Rhodes Ridge Joint Venture are funding the multi-ye…: Curtin University, Rio Tinto, and the Rhodes Ridge Joint Venture are funding the multi-year effort to protect 27 million hectares of habitat.
Eliminating man-made dry-season water supplies creates an impassable landscape for cane t…: Eliminating man-made dry-season water supplies creates an impassable landscape for cane toads without harming native wildlife.
Nyangumarta and Karajarri Traditional Owners are actively collaborating to protect Dreamt…: Nyangumarta and Karajarri Traditional Owners are actively collaborating to protect Dreamtime narratives and sacred water sites during construction.
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Australia’s attempt to solve one pest problem in 1935 created another that has spread across the country for nearly a century. Cane toads were introduced to control beetles in Queensland’s sugar cane fields, but they became one of the nation’s most damaging invasive species. Now, a A$28 million partnership involving Curtin University, Rio Tinto and the Rhodes Ridge Joint Venture is trying to prevent them from reaching Western Australia’s Pilbara, one of the country’s most ecologically significant regions. The project will create a 7,500-square-kilometre “waterless barrier” south of Broome, between the Indian Ocean and the Great Sandy Desert. Rather than trying to kill toads directly, researchers plan to remove the artificial water sources that allow them to survive the dry season. The Toad Containment Zone will modify or contain 685 pieces of pastoral infrastructure across six stations, creating a dry corridor that the animals cannot cross, as per ABC News and Rio Tinto.
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