A Thomson River Coolabah Tree (Iningai Country, Central West Queensland)
The Desert Channels Region is a largely unmodified environment with robust pastoral, mining, and tourism industries. Home to 14, 500 people the region covers 510 000 square kilometres, (about one-third of the state of Queensland) and incorporates the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin. This region is valued for its unique and healthy inland river systems, landscapes, cultural heritage, sustainable communities and production.
The Thomson River forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin. The river was named by the explorer, Edmund Kennedy, in the 1840s. The northernmost headwaters of the river begin at Torrens Creek, inland from Charters Towers. The watercourse becomes the Thomson just north of the town of Muttaburra, where the channels of Landsborough Creek, Towerhill Creek, and Cornish Creek meet. The river continues in the southwesterly direction, passing the towns of Longreach, Stonehenge, and Jundah, before joining with the Barcoo River north of Windorah to form Cooper Creek. This is the only place in the world where the confluence of two rivers forms a creek. As with all the rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin, the waters from the Thomson never reach the sea, and instead either evaporate or, in exceptional flooding, empty into Lake Eyre. Floods are not uncommon along the river, and, due to the flat nature of the country traversed, the river can then become many kilometres wide. The area which the river flows is semi-arid blacksoil plains.
Declared pest plants and animals have an enormous impact on the Longreach Region. Competition between these invasive pest plants and native Flora has seen the destruction of habitat. The loss of feed and breeding areas has seen rapid declines in some animal species. Longreach Regional Council is committed to the eradication of pest plants and animal species and has formulated a comprehensive Pest Management Plan.
Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) is a community-based non-for-profit group and a government-endorsed regional body. Their board membership represents landholders, Indigenous groups, the Great Artesian Basin, conservation and local governments. DCQ works with all the sectors of the community to sustainably manage the natural resources in the region. Together with the land management community, they develop projects to address the issues identified in the community-endorsed natural resource management plan, Protecting Our Assets. Assets include land, water, biodiversity, and community. Major issues DCQ considers are weeds and feral animals, vegetation management, grazing pressure, water management, land degradation, and viability and economics. The DCQ's mission is a community group dedicated to improving the quality of the life of current and future generations through leadership, innovation, knowledge, and partnerships, in the responsible management of their unique natural recourses.
Source: Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ)
A Thomson River Coolabah Tree (Iningai Country, Central West Queensland)
The Desert Channels Region is a largely unmodified environment with robust pastoral, mining, and tourism industries. Home to 14, 500 people the region covers 510 000 square kilometres, (about one-third of the state of Queensland) and incorporates the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin. This region is valued for its unique and healthy inland river systems, landscapes, cultural heritage, sustainable communities and production.
The Thomson River forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin. The river was named by the explorer, Edmund Kennedy, in the 1840s. The northernmost headwaters of the river begin at Torrens Creek, inland from Charters Towers. The watercourse becomes the Thomson just north of the town of Muttaburra, where the channels of Landsborough Creek, Towerhill Creek, and Cornish Creek meet. The river continues in the southwesterly direction, passing the towns of Longreach, Stonehenge, and Jundah, before joining with the Barcoo River north of Windorah to form Cooper Creek. This is the only place in the world where the confluence of two rivers forms a creek. As with all the rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin, the waters from the Thomson never reach the sea, and instead either evaporate or, in exceptional flooding, empty into Lake Eyre. Floods are not uncommon along the river, and, due to the flat nature of the country traversed, the river can then become many kilometres wide. The area which the river flows is semi-arid blacksoil plains.
Declared pest plants and animals have an enormous impact on the Longreach Region. Competition between these invasive pest plants and native Flora has seen the destruction of habitat. The loss of feed and breeding areas has seen rapid declines in some animal species. Longreach Regional Council is committed to the eradication of pest plants and animal species and has formulated a comprehensive Pest Management Plan.
Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) is a community-based non-for-profit group and a government-endorsed regional body. Their board membership represents landholders, Indigenous groups, the Great Artesian Basin, conservation and local governments. DCQ works with all the sectors of the community to sustainably manage the natural resources in the region. Together with the land management community, they develop projects to address the issues identified in the community-endorsed natural resource management plan, Protecting Our Assets. Assets include land, water, biodiversity, and community. Major issues DCQ considers are weeds and feral animals, vegetation management, grazing pressure, water management, land degradation, and viability and economics. The DCQ's mission is a community group dedicated to improving the quality of the life of current and future generations through leadership, innovation, knowledge, and partnerships, in the responsible management of their unique natural recourses.
Source: Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ)