Author: tess.oloughlin

A Land Rights News article.

Combining Aboriginal ways of knowing with scientific monitoring of bilbies makes for better research.

Lajamanu traditional owners and rangers are helping a researcher find bilby tracks, identify their desert environments and threats and develop conservation strategies.

Dr Hayley Geyle relies on the lead ranger of the Central Land Council’s North Tanami Rangers, Helen Wilson, and her community to find the shy nocturnal creatures. Together, they learn more about the size of their families and develop strategies to protect bilbies from cats and foxes.

“My work would not have been possible without traditional owners and rangers. They’ve taught me so much about how to track animals across this landscape. They have deep knowledge of bilbies–where they live, how they behave and what’s putting them at risk,” she said.

Studying bilbies over the past four years with Yapa has helped the researcher from Territory Natural Resource Management and Charles Darwin University gain clearer and deeper knowledge.

“It’s given me a whole new understanding of how these animals might be interacting across the landscape,” Dr Geyle said.

“It’s been really great to learn from elders and rangers and to bring that knowledge into our science. It’s definitely led to much better outcomes.” For example when looking for bilby poo, also known as kuna or scats.

“A study we published together showed that we were able to find a lot more bilby scats when we based our surveys on local tracking knowledge, compared to standard scientific methods.”

Ms Wilson said the traditional owners are keen to be part of the research.

“The community come out with us when we do the surveys. They really like to learn. It creates excitement.”

She said Yapa liked working with Dr Geyle because she listens to them. “We make a good team.”

The two-way knowledge sharing gained national attention with Ms Wilson and Dr Geyle winning the 2024 Bush Heritage Australia ‘Right Way’ Science award at the Ecological Society Australia conference.

“I feel happy and pleased because I am doing my work for my people, the community and country,” said Ms Wilson.

Before colonisation, bilbies lived across most of Australia. Today, they’re found in less than a quarter of their former range, mainly because of feral predators and changes to how country is burned and looked after.

In July, North Tanami rangers Ms Wilson, Travis Penn and Kealyn Kelly and traditional owner Silas James took Dr Geyle to known bilby sites on the Northern Tanami Indigenous Protected Area to test a method for controlling foxes that doesn’t harm dingoes.

The team checked on spring-loaded baiting devices and the motion-sensor cameras they had deployed earlier to monitor how foxes, cats and other animals interacted with the devices. They also surveyed track plots and flew drones to look for signs of bilbies and other animals. The cameras confirmed what traditional owners already knew: foxes are very busy in the area.

The team tested the baiting devices with dried meat but without the poison capsule they can release when triggered by foxes.

It consulted elders throughout the process to ensure dingoes, which are sacred to the area, would not be harmed. The trap’s design included a special collar that stop dingoes from triggering the devices.

“Next, we’ll go through the footage with the rangers and traditional owners and have a yarn about whether this method is a good fit for the Northern Tanami,” said Dr Geyle.

The rangers showed how good they are at finding signs of bilbies from a moving car. Driving at 40 kilometres per hour they asked to pull over every time they spotted new burrows metres from the track. Ms Wilson collected bilby poo while Dr Geyle recorded the locations on her phone app.

The team expanded the search by scanning hard-to-reach areas with drones. Then the workers searched the ground where the drone footage showed signs of bilbies.

“There’s a few things I’ve learned, like recording the data on the iPad and the phone,” Mr Kelly said. “The cameras also, I’m trying to figure out how they work and everything, and trying to put them in spots where they can’t get destroyed by fire or some other animal.”

He said Yapa ways are front and centre of the work.

“Some parts where we do the surveys, some women or some men aren’t allowed to go on that site… so we just work as a team you know, try to divide the group and try to record as much data as we can.”

Dr Geyle said the work the team produced together was strong, both from a scientific point of view and from a cultural point of view. “It’s really helped us collect better data, by working with people who know the land the best and can guide us to areas where bilbies or foxes are likely to be,” she said.

“More than that, it reflects a whole different world view, one that is deeply connected to country and built on generations of lived experience. This perspective brings knowledge, values and ways of seeing that are just as important as the science. Without it, we’d be missing a big part of the picture.”

A Land Rights News article

Since Ltyentye Apurte ranger Anton McMillan learnt how to remove swallow nests from rock art from the Kaltukatjara Rangers four years ago he has seized every opportunity to use his skills.

“The paintings tell our story. I want to share our knowledge,” he said.

He and his fellow rangers practiced the delicate craft of cleaning hornet wasp nests covering rock art on the Trephina Gorge cliff face.

Located near the creek bed, about a hundred metres from the carpark of the popular tourist spot, the once obscured painting is now clear for visitors to enjoy.

Mr McMillan uses the same technique for all nests made of mud, no matter whether they were built by birds or insects.

First he sprays turpentine on the nests to soften up the dirt on and around the paintings.

He carefully uses a hammer to remove larger chunks of the nest and chips at bits of dirt with chopsticks before removing leftover dirt with fine pointed picks.

He then reapplies the spray and waits for it to dry. “When the chemicals dry off is when you get to see where you want to start brushing away,” he said.

Protecting the art is painstaking work. “You don’t want to damage the painting.” Mr McMillan said it’s best to “slowly take your time”.

Visiting the site for the first time Ltyentye Apurte traditional owner, Jeremy Williams, was glad the rangers were restoring it.

“It is very important. It’s been there for years and years.”

The buzz the restoration is generating around his community motivates Mr McMillan to keep going.

He hopes the rangers will continue to care for the paintings. “They’ve been here for a long time, so hopefully they stay that way, and we keep looking after it.”

A Land Rights News article

When Tennant Creek locals rescued a bilby from its dead mother’s pouch in late 2021 it was the beginning of an amazing genetic journey.

After being told about a baby bilby whose mother had been killed on a road near Bootu Creek Mine Muru-Warinyi Ankkul ranger, Gladys Brown, travelled with family to rescue the hairless tiny creature.

Ms Brown, her niece Dianne Stokes and Ms Stokes’ daughter Amber drove two hours to retrieve the bilby from Ms Stokes’ son, Sebastian Waistcoat, who worked at the mine.

“It was a real family event. We all hadn’t seen a bilby before, we wanted to go and see what it looked like. First time looking at a small bilby. It’s a bit different to baby kangaroos.  It had sharp nails,” she said.

“It was moving around probably missing its mother.  I was cuddling it and making sure it was alright.”

Ms Brown named the joey Lukkanu, meaning star in Warlmanpa.

“I felt sorry for him losing his mother so I took him to the vet,” Ms Brown said.

After caring for him they gave Lukkanu to Tennant Creek wildlife carer Carol Hepburn who sought advice from the Alice Springs Desert Park and Sea World. She mothered, fed and provided him with round-the-clock care for a couple of months.

“I care for pretty much anything that’s not venomous, like wallabies, kangaroos and other smaller animals, ’’ Ms Hepburn said.

Once Lukkanu grew fur and became strong he was relocated to the Alice Springs Desert Park where his breeding journey began. Thanks to Ms Hepburn’s care during Lukkanu’s most vulnerable stages, he went on to greater bilby things.

As a wild-born animal he provided valuable genetic diversity for the Desert Park’s bilby breeding program and fathered two female and four male joeys.

Lukkanu’s male joeys Kulbar, Mr NT and Tyson were transferred to other captive breeding programs across the country. Kulbar was moved to Kanyana Wildlife in Western Australia, Mr NT to Charleville Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland and Tyson stayed temporarily at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia and bred joeys Clive and Trish before moving to Currumbin in Queensland.

Early this year Ms Brown wanted to visit Lukkanu and found he had moved to Monarto Safari Park which hosts the Zoo and Aquarium Association’s national Bilby Species Management Program.  

Lukkanu had been renamed TC but after Ms Brown let the park’s Bilby Metapopulation Coordinator, Claire Ford, know his Warlmanpa name they changed it back to Lukkanu.

In July Lukkanu met Gigi and they bred a new joey.

Now at the age of four (31 in bilby years) and weighing two kilos Lukkanu provides rare and valuable genetics to the intensive breeding program.

Genetic diversity is important to grow bilby numbers, prevent inbreeding and for overall healthier bilbies.

Introducing wild bilbies to breeding programs also helps bilbies to thrive out bush for generations to come. When bilbies are released back into the bush this genetic boost makes sure they have the best possible chance of survival.

“We can’t thank you enough… Lukkanu is making such a wonderful contribution to the bilby breeding program,” Ms Ford said.

A Land Rights News article

The Country Liberal Party government’s decision to break its $12 million Aboriginal ranger grant election promise is putting jobs, cultural knowledge and land management at risk across the Territory.

“The CLP is making a habit of betraying the trust of Aboriginal people,” CLC chair Warren Williams said.

“This is a slap in the face of the rangers who are out there managing country on the smell of an oily rag, protecting sacred sites and fighting fires, weeds and feral pests in some of the most remote areas of the Territory,” he said.

Former opposition spokesperson for Parks and Rangers Bill Yan, now the NT’s treasurer, said just before last year’s NT election that the CLP would continue Labor’s ranger grants.

He promised to deliver $3 million annually over four years to support Aboriginal rangers with critical training, equipment and infrastructure upgrades and job security – exactly as the previous Labor government had done for eight years.

Paddy O’Leary, the chief executive of Country Needs People, counted on him to keep his word.

“We were actually shocked that a government would so clearly promise, very directly, to fund a specific program unambiguously and without conditions, and then turn around in their first budget and break that promise,” Mr O’Leary said.

He said the backflip means rangers across the Territory won’t be able to afford the repairs, spray packs and protective equipment they need to do the job.

The CLC employs more than 90 rangers across 14 groups.

Mr Williams said their work “benefits all Territorians – from tackling feral pests to reducing carbon emissions – and the government’s broken promise puts this work and these jobs in jeopardy”.

Top End rangers are “outraged at this broken promise”, Northern Land Council chair Matthew Ryan said, adding that they were already significantly under-resourced to properly manage land and sea country.

“This government has revealed its plans to leave Aboriginal rangers behind,” he said.

Much of the Aboriginal ranger programs are funded by the federal government, but the ranger grants of the NT government have made the difference between groups limping along and thriving.

“Rangers will definitely scale back some of their activities, such as fighting weeds and tackling buffel grass, protection of sacred sites, which will mean fewer jobs on the ground,” said the CLC’s ranger program manager, Boyd Elston.

“Fewer opportunities for communities that really don’t have many other opportunities.”

“We were really shocked that the government would cut that kind of investment with so many positive outcomes. Kids want to be rangers and have the opportunities to move into those positions.”

NT environment minister Joshua Burgoyne said funding had been exhausted.

“Our government’s number one priority is law and order, including spending on frontline priorities such as police, courts and corrections.”

He said the CLP would “continue to work with Aboriginal ranger groups across the Territory to ensure we can support them in their important work moving forward”.

Mr Williams wants nothing less than a full reinstatement of the ranger grants.

“Your fine words before the election about supporting the bush ring hollow when you turn your backs on one of the proven success stories in remote community development as soon as the election is over,” he said.

“Our rangers and the country they care for deserve better. They will remember your backflip, as will voters.”

This is an article from Land Rights News July 2025. Read the full paper here.

A Land Rights News article

The Central Western Desert Indigenous Protected Area was a long time coming, calling for two days of celebrations.

During one of the hottest March weeks in living memory, hundreds of traditional owners and their supporters gathered at Ilpili, a significant water site in the middle of Australia’s newest IPA.

As their people had for tens of thousands of years, they came from all over the four million hectare area and beyond to perform ceremonies and introduce a new generation to their country.

They also signed an agreement with the Australian government to look after it for all Australians.

The two permanent springs seeping from Ilpili’s limestone make it an important gathering place.

The site lies between Walungurru (Kintore) and Watiyawanu (Mount Liebig), and is Papunya elder Karyn McDonald’s grandmother’s country.

“This is an important sacred place,” she said.

“Last night I was crying because I was remembering how my ancestors used to stay around this area. And it was really difficult, winter season and hot season, to look around for food. When I came here I felt my ancestors whispering to me. I felt my tears,” she said.

“We’re really proud to look after the country, the rock holes, water holes and all the animals, for the kids’ future. For them to learn from us so they can pass it on to the future generations,” Ms McDonald said.

She said feral camels pose the main threat to Ilpili’s springs.

“They just come, drink, have a bath. That’s how they are spoiling our water holes. The rock holes as well. We need to keep our country safe.”

Ms McDonald wants the Anangu Luritjiku and Walungurru ranger groups to “listen to the traditional owners” as they look after country between them, following an IPA management plan.

For the IPA management committee, getting rid of buffel grass and camels is of the utmost importance.

It’s the “main thing” for IPA committee member Patrick Collins, and why he signed up for the Australian Government funds that will flow with the IPA agreement.

“Water first, before we can come and look after country. Camels always smashing all the water. We need someone to help us. That’s why we’re trying to get someone to give us a little bit of money and work with us to look after the water and push all the camels to somewhere else.”

The celebration was the reward for all the work traditional owners and the Central Land Council started in 2017.

“We’re happy today,” Mr Collins, a CLC delegate from Watiyawanu, said after he signed the agreement.

“We’re trying to look after country. We travel around and see all the kids and get all the rangers to work with us to fix my country.”

School kids from his community spent the first morning of the gathering in the sand dunes north of Ilpili, learning how to track animals from kuyu pungu (master trackers) from Kiwirrkurra, Nyirrpi and Yuendumu.

“We want to learn the kids to carry on what we’re doing, so we’re passing story on to the kids and they can pass on the story when they grow up,” Mr Collins said.

“We’ve been learning with our grandmother and father how to catch kangaroo and goanna. We want to learn the kids to track animals, which way the animals are going, which way they are turning, see fresh tracks and old tracks. ‘Oh, we might follow fresh tracks’. So we are following the right track. ‘It must be here, where the fresh track is’.”

After a couple of hours of tracking in more than 40 degrees heat everyone retreated to whatever shade they could find.

Luritja interpreters helped the kids to relax with kuyu pungu Christine Michaels Ellis, her mum Alice Henwood and Enid Gallagher, who talked to them in Warlpiri.

“I was really happy with these kids,” Ms Michaels Ellis said.

“We asked them to recount. That’s what we always do with our rangers. They recounted back to us what they had seen today – snakes, camel tracks, fox tracks, sand goanna, scorpion burrows and centipedes, and old cat tracks as well. And they were really happy. It was really great.

“I told them tracking is really important so they can pass on the knowledge from the old people. Without the elders there will be no more tracking, so they have to pass knowledge to the young people.”

Students from across the IPA prepared for the big day by practising purlapa (ceremony) with the elders, and some carved and painted their own small digging sticks.

The rangers of tomorrow visited rock holes to learn from elders and scientists how to test the water quality and keep them clean.

“If they become a ranger they can learn their kids,” Ms Ellis Michaels said.

“If they haven’t got songlines they have to record it. That’s what Warlpiri people do at Yuendumu. They get records from the old people, and take it to PAW [Pintupi Warlpiri Anmatyerr Media], and they save it.”

With precious cultural knowledge and nine threatened animal species to protect on the IPA, the rangers have their work cut out.

Those who have to make it all happen feel up to the task.

“We’ve got the princess parrot, the (central) rock rats, and we’ve got the great desert skink in these areas, but there’s so many other more projects that we have planned,” the coordinator of the Papunya-based Anangu Luritjiku Rangers, Lynda Lechleitner, told the ABC.

“This IPA gives us our own voice and brings all the communities together in managing our land,” she beamed.

“It’s also going to make it faster to deliver our work on the ground because we are all working towards the same plan.”

The IPA program is an Australian government initiative that has helped Aboriginal people look after the unique natural and cultural values of their land since 1997.

Under the Central Western Desert IPA agreement the CLC will receive approximately $1.7 million for four years to help traditional owners and rangers to protect country and culture.

This is an article from Land Rights News July 2025. Read the full paper here.