Congratulations to Dowerin’s nursery owner and farmer, Rob Boase, who was recently named WA's Individual Landcarer at the 2017 Western Australian Landcare Awards in Perth. He was nominated by the Wheatbelt NRM team to acknowledge his tireless work in protecting unique and rare flora and vegetation across the Wheatbelt.
In the Eastern Wheatbelt, livestock production accounts for a significant portion of income within the typical farming business. The recent run of dry years has depleted the pasture seedbank resulting in pastures that consist mostly of volunteer weeds such as cape weed and radish.
A male Red Headed Mouse Spider was brought into Wheatbelt NRM for identification this week by a worker from Grass Valley. The males of the species is starting to emerge in the warmer weather. They will rear up on their hind legs to strike and will act aggressively if disturbed.
RAKALI OR AUSTRALIAN WATER RAT (HYDROMYS CHRYSOGASTER)
The name Rakarli comes from the Aboriginal language around the Murray Darling River system. Local Aboriginal names include Murit-ya, Ngoor-joo and Ngurju in the south west of Western Australia.
