Maintenance project wraps up

A three-year gully maintenance and monitoring project in the Bowen, Broken, Bogie (BBB) catchment has officially wrapped up with a celebratory dinner in Collinsville. 

The event provided an opportunity to review before-and-after photos of 25 gully sites treated under the Landholders Driving Change (LDC2) project — five large-scale and 20 small-scale — treating over 11,000 metres of eroding gullies and preventing an estimated 10,600 tonnes of fine sediment from reaching the reef each year.

Key to the project’s success has been the insights shared by landholders, who have observed how the remediation works have held up across seasons, especially after wet periods. Field days throughout the project allowed participants to share practical knowledge, learnings, and ideas for improving future efforts.

On the night, Hayden Patterson from Dartmoor reflected on how the works have influenced grazing management.

“It’s interesting to see what’s worked and what hasn’t. Our goal now is keeping good pasture cover all year round and grazing according to the land type and conditions. The diversion banks have been interesting to watch, and we’re now exploring pondage to hold rainwater, giving pastures a better chance to germinate and providing more feed when it’s needed,” Hayden said.

Paul Rowe from Riverview echoed the importance of water management and pasture diversity.

“Slowing water and spreading it across paddocks has helped rehydrate the landscape. Introducing a mix of species like wynn cassia, seca, and butterfly pea has strengthened the feed base, ensuring healthy pastures and livestock throughout the year.”

Barry Collett, a grazier and local contractor from Todsure, highlighted the benefits of trialling new technologies.

“Cement matting has shown it could be a long-term, cost-effective solution for small-scale erosion. It’s safe for stock and vehicles, flexes to fit the land, prevents soil loss, allows water to drain, and lets vegetation grow. You can use it on drains, roads, around troughs—basically anywhere you need a fix,” Barry said.

Garlone Moulin from Mt Pleasant, emphasised the balance between ecological restoration and profitable grazing.

“Restoring a site’s ecological value is important, but it must work alongside a productive business. At Mt Pleasant, we tested returning water to the floodplain while managing grazing differently to address root causes like pressure from livestock. The focus has been on restoring ecology without excluding grazing,” Garlone said.

Reflecting on the project, Garlone, a member of the LDC project panel, said landholders, project partners and NQ Dry Tropics staff had learnt a lot about gully remediation.

“It’s excellent to have this body of work to step back and look at the landscape. Gully remediation is complex, every site, farm, and farmer is different. There’s no one-size-fits-all, but we now have data, proven techniques, and a broader toolkit to manage land for both productivity and environmental health.”

Barry Collett also shared his perspective from grazing and contracting.

“When we bought our place, there was so much to do it was hard to know where to start. Working with NQ Dry Tropics made a huge difference. We started with one small gully and are now up to our sixth. I’ve seen the benefits firsthand and I’m 100 per cent on board. We never stop learning,” Barry said.

The three-year project has captured valuable knowledge and practical outcomes that will guide future gully remediation and landscape management efforts in the BBB catchment, helping landholders protect their land while supporting the health of the reef.

Repair work showing the gully before and after rain… an earth dam at The Hub, an education facility on Mt Pleasant Station, near Bowen.