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Farmers reap rewards for harvesting heritage of the west

By Daniel Lewis, Regional Reporter
April 3, 2004

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Gorge-ous indeed. . . farmer Peter Bevan and Renee Shephard from the Natural Resources Department survey. "It's precious. It's our heritage."Photo: Rick Stevens

At Bijerkerno Gorge, where Eight Mile Creek breaks through the Barrier Ranges north of Broken Hill, Peter Beven is pioneering a new kind of conservation.

For the first time, some graziers in far western NSW are being paid to protect their environmentally significant land.

It is an alternative to the creation of national parks, which farmers have often criticised as not being managed properly.

On Mr Beven's vast and historic Sturts Meadows station, 5600 hectares have been fenced off to conserve the gorge and the remains of a tin-mining operation that dates back to the 1890s.

Like an Albert Namatjira painting, Bijerkerno is a stunning combination of sunbaked rock, blue sky and gnarled gums with white trunks.

At its entrance lie the ruins of the mining operation, where the remains of the cookhouse chimney and oven have been restored.

Mr Beven, 63, is passionate about the place and stopped grazing it long before the federal funding. "It's precious," he said. "It's our heritage."

Altogether, more than 65,000 hectares in the far west will be managed for conservation for the next five years, costing $900,000.

It is bargain-basement "enterprise-based conservation", with an average cost of less than $13 a hectare.

The 11 areas involved range from 320 to 23,000 hectares. The 10 owners tendered for the funding and must fence the conservation land, destock it or greatly reduce grazing pressure, and remove feral animals and weeds so native animals and plants can thrive and heritage sites can be preserved.

Renee Shepherd, of the NSW Department of Natural Resources, said the farmers were obliged to keep managing the land. In the program, she said, "conservation is recognised as an alternative land use, and landholders are paid to implement it on their property".

Landholders had more flexibility in how they managed their property. The program allowed them to drought-proof "by reducing their reliance on production" and undertaking "conservation activities without being financially penalised".

Sturts Meadows was founded in 1863 - 20 years before Broken Hill was established - and once was part of Sir Sidney Kidman's grazing empire. Its 75,000 hectares usually support about 12,000 merino sheep and 400 cattle.

Mr Beven could run another 1000 sheep on the Bijerkerno land, but even if the funding stops after five years he is adamant: "It will still be going as conservation land."








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