Projects and programs
West is Best — Living and working in Western NSW
If you are looking for a great place to begin your career, want to take the next step in your working life, or are ready for a change or new opportunity, Western Local Land Services offers meaningful career options across a number of areas of expertise.
The Western region offers the perfect mix of an active or laid-back lifestyle, affordable property and housing and a true sense of community – making it the perfect place to call home.
Read more about new career opportunities in the Western Region and discover why West is Best.
Regional landholder and Aboriginal community survey
Every three years, we coordinate separate surveys with the landholders and Aboriginal community members within our region. The surveys are designed to assist our Board and staff with identifying opportunities and trends, with the information to help us to plan our activities and priorities for the years ahead.
The 2024 surveys are now open. Read more about them, including how to complete them, on our Regional Landholder and Aboriginal Community surveys webpage.
Greenspots conservation project
We are partnering with landholders to undertake conservation works to create ‘greenspots’ that will provide threatened species with refuges to better withstand dry times.
This important project will see our skilled rangeland rehabilitation practitioners design and layout works to create greenspots, which are essentially areas that remain moister for longer during dry times.
Read more about the greenspots conservation project.
Monitoring Pastures with Drone Technology
The Monitoring Pastures with Drone Technology project (2021-2023) aimed to increase landholder’s capacity to adopt drone technology and apply it in agricultural and natural resource management applications, both current and emerging. Additionally, the project aimed to assess if affordable and commercially available drone technologies are currently suitable for adoption in Western NSW.
The project found there is ongoing interest and suitability in using the technology for increased efficiencies in land management.
Read our online case study on the project. The project was assisted by the Australian Government’s Smart Farms small grant program.
Pasture Monitoring in the Rangelands
The Producer Demonstration Site (PDS): Pasture Monitoring in the Rangelands project commenced in 2022 with 4 producer sites established to monitor pasture productivity and groundcover percentages across 237,747 hectares.
The aim of this PDS project is to demonstrate that livestock businesses can increase productivity when using routine monitoring and managing key species in rangeland pastures.
Read more about the Pasture Monitoring in the Rangelands project.
Broken Hill livestock biosecurity hub
There is currently an opportunity to investigate the feasibility of establishing a livestock biosecurity hub (truck wash) in Broken Hill, with the facility to be primarily used by livestock carriers for the purpose of cleaning livestock carrying crates.
Read more about the Broken Hill livestock biosecurity hub.
The Land Services Program
The Land Services Program offers a new approach to property planning and rural enterprise mentoring in the Western region, and is suitable for landholders interested in building their capacity, innovation and learning from their peers and industry experts.
The Program, which began in 2018 with three businesses in a pilot program, runs over two years or eight 'quarters' and operates under a case officer approach, which pairs participants with one of our staff members who will provide support and guidance through the program. In addition, a range of mentors have been identified to match the particular enterprise and landscapes of the participants.
Read more, including case studies and other resources, about the Land Services Program.
Pastoral Poddy
The Pastoral Poddy is a podcast for landholders, community members and industry on all things pertinent to the rangelands of Western NSW. The Pastoral Poddy is free to listen to on all major podcast apps — please search for 'Pastoral Poddy' on your usual podcast platform.
Click here to access the episodes and please share them with a mate!
Pest animals
Wild dogs are a significant problem in Western NSW, causing significant losses to livestock enterprises, with consequent economic and social impacts. There can also be considerable impacts to the environment and cultural heritage values of the region, through predation on small to medium sized native fauna species, which may be endangered and important totems for Aboriginal communities.
Seasonal predator program
The seasonal predator program is a large-scale aerial and ground baiting program, targeting wild dogs, foxes and feral cats, carried out in autumn and spring. Landholders that are not involved in a pest management group or Landcare group are encouraged to join their local group and participate in coordinated programs.
Professional Wild Dog Controller Program
The Professional Wild Dog Controller Program is a joint effort between Western Local Land Services and pest management and Landcare groups. Through the Program, professional wild dog controllers work with landholders across a diverse landscape to protect livestock, the environment and control wild dog numbers in the western division.
Western Tracks collaring project
The Western Tracks collaring project is a collaborative research project to improve the management of wild dogs and feral pigs in flood and associated country of the Paroo, Cuttaburra, Warrego and Darling River systems in the Western Division. The project has been driven by landholders and stakeholders who want to develop a better understanding of wild dog and feral pig movements in the Western region.
White Spaces
The White Spaces project aims to inform all landholders of their pest animal responsibilities and use a range of strategies to incorporate non-participants into group programs.
For further information on the programs or projects, and for information on managing pest animals more generally, contact our Regional Pest Animal Coordinator, Brooke Anderson on 0436 475 814 or brooke.anderson@lls.nsw.gov.au.
Fish-friendly Diversion Screens
We have provided support to landholders across the region to install fish-friendly screens on their pump intake across several programs since the first program commenced in 2020.
Fish-friendly screens save farm businesses water, time and money, while also contributing to the health of the river system. Fish-friendly screens do not slow water delivery rates and along with native fish, larvae and eggs, the screens also stop any floating weeds or debris entering the pump.
Read more about the Fish-friendly Diversion Screens.