www.injinoo.net

Land Management Initiatives

A large component of the charges levied at the Jardine Ferry are used to provide land management services in the Injinoo area. These are aimed at maintaining in the short-term the amenity of the land for all users and to assist in the development of long-term management strategies and infrastructures to ensure that open access to the Injinoo lands is viable for all people.

Some of these funds are directed towards the construction and upgrading of visitor facilities, camping areas, maintenance of the ferry and labour.

The operational costs of the Injinoo Community Rangers, with whom the responsibility for the management of the Injinoo area rests, are also partially funded from these charges. If you meet any of the Injinoo Rangers you will find them an excellent source of local information.

The Injinoo Community has taken a number of initiatives to manage their traditional lands. Apart from managing the access of vehicles into sensitive areas and establishing remedial programmes for damaged areas, a number of projects requiring the co-operation of external agencies have been established.

The Injinoo Community and the Department of Environment and Heritage are currently developing a management plan for the Jardine River National Park. James Cook University has been contracted to develop vegetation rnaps of the area and to assist in the development of a fire management plan.

The rainforest walkway from the Pa jinka camp-ground to Australia's most northerly beach will reduce the impact of a high level of traffic on a fragile ecosystem. Another rainforest walk at Roma Flat allows visitors access to the Lockerbie Scrub, the first in the Northern Peninsula area. The key to the numbered posts is included in the back of this handbook.

Facilities to minimise the impact of visitors include toilets and rubbish pits at the Dulhunty River, Bertie Creek, Cockatoo Creek, Gunshot Creek. Sailor Creek, Vrilya Point, Jardine River, Somerset and elsewhere. A laundry has been constructed at the Pajinka campground to avoid contamination of Cape waters by detergents.

The whole Injinoo area, including rivers, reefs and offshore islands, are to be drawn into a comprehensive management plan with a view to fostering a visitor industry based on the attraction of the natural assets themselves as well as preservation of traditional associations with the land. This requires a comprehensive survey of opinions and potential to arrive at a balanced, compromise between all those groups with an interest in using the land and water.

Please contribute by filling out the enclosed questionnaire and returning it to Pajinka Wilderness Lodge, Injinoo Community Council or to the Ferry/Roadhouse at the Jardine River.