Wheatbelt NRM was recently engaged by the National Trust of Western Australia to undertake the 2026 spring stewardship visits for landholders within the Wheatbelt as part of the Natural Heritage Covenant Program.
The National Trust’s Conservation Covenant and Stewardship Program helps private landholders protect areas of significant natural heritage while retaining ownership and day-to-day management of their properties. Covenants are registered on property titles, providing long-term protection for important environmental values such as native vegetation, wildlife habitat and threatened ecological communities.
The program currently includes almost 200 registered covenants protecting nearly 20,000 hectares of bushland across Western Australia. Private land plays an important role in conserving Australia’s natural heritage, with landholders helping to protect biodiversity and complement conservation across the public reserve system.
Stewardship visits are an important part of the program, providing an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution landholders make to private land conservation while offering practical support for the ongoing management of covenant areas.
Wheatbelt NRM was selected to undertake a portion of the 2026 spring visits due to our specialised knowledge of the region and experience in land management and conservation.
Five covenant visits have been undertaken in partnership with our Aboriginal NRM Noongar Boodja Rangers, with a further visit subcontracted to the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC), providing an opportunity for collaboration between regional NRM organisations.
During each visit, Wheatbelt NRM has spoken with landholders about their experiences managing the covenant, what they have observed on their property and any concerns or opportunities they have identified.
The site assessments have considered native vegetation and natural regeneration, flora and fauna values, habitat condition, water quality, modifications and threats, and landholder observations and management activities. These visits also provided landholders with an opportunity to discuss future management needs and connect with relevant funding opportunities, agency services and other conservation resources.
Following each visit, Wheatbelt NRM are in the process of preparing a bushland management plan to help guide the future management of the covenant area, with assessment findings also reported back to the National Trust.
Where appropriate, landholders have also been connected with existing Wheatbelt NRM projects that provide support for activities such as stock exclusion fencing, feral control, and revegetation.
These stewardship visits will support the long-term protection and management of important remnant vegetation across the Wheatbelt, by utilising landholder knowledge with on-ground assessment and regional expertise.
Published eNews #419, October 2026