Partnering with Traditional Owners
Location
- Ovens and King Rivers and tributaries
- Upper Murray – Mitta Mitta River and tributaries
Outputs
- Headwater willow and control by Jaithmathang TABOO
- Reduced willows across 1 hectare of riverbank on the Mitta Mitta River
Investment
Victorian and Australian Governments
Partners
Parks Victoria, DELWP, Agriculture Victoria, North East Water, Trust for Nature, ARI Murray Darling, Freshwater Research Centre, CSIRO, Goulburn-Murray Water, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek Alpine Resort Management Boards, Southern Hydro Pty Ltd, Omeo Angling Club, Mittagundi Outdoor Education Centre, Victorian Catchment Management Council, Friends of the Mitta Mitta, Traditional Owner /First Nations groups
Regional strategies
Mitta Mitta River Waterway Management Strategy, North East Regional Catchment Strategy, North East Regional River Health Strategy, North East CMA NRM Plan 2021
Working with Traditional Owners and First Nations Peoples to facilitate increased involvement in strategic planning and NRM project delivery is a key priority for North East CMA. The meeting on Jaithmathang TABOO bimble (tribal lands), including Falls Creek and the Bogong High Plains was an historic gathering between Jaithmathang TABOO and GLaWAC and the first time several members had visited their own Country. Traditional Owners, land managers and scientists focused on developing a collaborative vision for alpine land management.
North East CMA have partnered with Jaithmathang TABOO to deliver a range of activities including:
- The Mountain Pygmy-possum and Bogong Moth are totem species for the Jaithmathang TABOO people. Extensive engagement through the Regional Land Partnerships – Mountain Pygmy-possum Recovery program is imperative to support a Traditional Owners’ perspective to these species conservation.
- Regional Land Partnerships – Alpine Peatland Protection and Mountain Pygmy-possum Recovery program have contributed funding to support a grant to the Jaithmathang TABOO to develop a method for willow identification using remote sensing.
- Flagship Waterways – Upper Mitta Mitta (EC5) project has included engagement with Jaithmathang TABOO to utilise their technology to capture high resolution imagery of the lower Cobungra River catchment to assess woody weeds and inform planning.
- Integrated Water Management Project established with Jaithmathang TABOO to embed cultural perspectives into planning and projects in north east Victoria.
- Jaithmathang TABOO developed their Country Plan with support from North East CMA.
- Aboriginal Water Policy Officer has also worked with Jaithmathang TABOO to secure funding through DELWP to employ a Jaithmathang Water Officer and for a feasibility study exploring opportunities for Traditional Owner-led native plant business in the Victorian alpine region.
Elders’ knowledge.
