WAF Furneaux Islands Project

Weeds are one of the greatest threats to Tasmania’s natural environments and productive landscapes, impacting biodiversity, agricultural productivity and land values. Effective weed management requires long-term commitment, coordination and collaboration across land tenures.

Since 2020, NRM North has successfully delivered Stage 2 of the Weeds Action Fund (WAF) on behalf of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas). The program involved extensive engagement with land managers across Tasmania, with NRM North facilitating more than $4 million in co-investment towards the shared responsibility of weed management, boosting over $6 million in funding between 2019-2025 from the Tasmanian Government.

As part of Stage 2 of the WAF, NRM North worked closely with Flinders Council, landholders, land managers, community groups and the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania to support investment in planning, weed eradication and containment measures. A key outcome was the development of the Flinders Council Furneaux Regional Weed Management Plan 2022-2037.

Stage 3 of the Weeds Action Fund will continue previous efforts and contribute an additional $1.19 million to deliver six projects between 2025 – 2027. The WAF Furneaux Island Project is a $200,000 project delivered by NRM North, and targets priority weeds on the islands by providing education and training to local landholders to increase their capacity to self-manage weed infestations.

The project builds on strong local partnerships, empowering the Furneaux Islands community to lead weed management initiatives and contribute to long-term biosecurity outcomes through:

• increasing landholder awareness of regional priority weeds and best-practice management
• facilitating landholder workshops to support coordinated weed management and planning
• providing access to accredited ChemCERT training to support safe and effective herbicide use
• developing digital communication tools to extend project reach and encourage ongoing engagement
• supporting coordinated weed action planning across land tenures

These activities will continue to build on the collaborative foundations established in previous stages of the Weeds Action Fund, ensuring consistent progress towards protecting the region’s agricultural and environmental values.

Information gained from pre-determined sites will:

• Empower stakeholders to better understand the importance of soil
• Enable evidence-based decision making to improve soil health
• Boost the sustainability and resilience of agricultural land
• Increase confidence in the data used for national and international reporting
• Provide insight to land managers of long-term impacts of soil management practices and inform future actions to improve sustainability.