On  Friday (15 Nov) Mission Beach Cassowaries (MBC ) attended part of a Cassowary road crossing trials field trip to discuss potential solutions to reduce cassowary deaths at locations where regular road deaths have been documented.

Present were representatives of CCRC, JCU, WTMA, Terrain and MBC.

"Nature protection in Australia: The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement  (TPPA) is a rip in the fabric all the way from global to local".  (Margaret Moorhouse ASH)

"The Abbott Coalition is flirting with a trade agreement that would allow companies, acting increasingly in secret, to sue Australia if they don’t like its regulations.

"Labor rejected it outright.  Even the  Howard
government issued America with a rare “no” over the  legislation, declaring it contrary to national interests". 

Hello from sunny Coquette Point,

The suspense leading up to the solar eclipse on the 14/11/12 could have been written by Alfred Hitchcock. Dark clouds gathered on the days before the event and the weather gurus held very little hope that we, on the far northern coast, would have clear skies to see the sun. Thousands left the coast and travelled hundreds of miles inland to find clear skies.  However, that was no excuse for us to miss out on a neighbourhood get together and breakfast-party.

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WILDWATCH: by ANNE WILKINSON

I was delighted when I walked into Tully library the other day to find an excellent flyer displayed near the door for anyone to pick up.

Called “Protecting the little terns of the Cassowary Coast” it has been produced jointly by CCRC, the Federal Government, the Queensland Government and Reef Guardian Council. Apart from being an interesting document in its own right, it gives a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these tiny, endangered seabirds. Reading it, one can almost smell the sea and the beach.

WILDWATCH:  by ANNE WILKINSON

This mid-spring is a season of temperature contrasts.

The wonderfully cool early mornings are replaced with baking days. Often in the afternoon the wind springs up, drying any moisture if we were lucky enough to get a shower, and sending leaves and even branches tumbling to the ground.

Hello from Coquette Point,

On Thursday the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, CCRC, approved the reconfiguration of the Metricon marina development at 65 Coquette Point Road. This 89.26ha marina development abuts Ninds Creek, on the east and fronts the Johnstone River to the north. It is part of the old Ninds Creek Wetlands and as such the soils are acid sulphate. The site was cleared 100 years ago for agricultural and cattle farming purposes.

Hello from Jungguy country,

Coastal wetlands are some of the most threatened habitats on the planet. The Melaleuca leucadendren swamps of Coquette Point are included in the World Heritage Wet Tropics and extended from the mouth of the Johnstone River to the Moresby Range, an area three kilometres long by ½ kilometre wide.

This swamp is a major fish spawning habitat and consists of large deep lagoons and shallow swamps of melaleuca, pandanus and tidal mangrove: this is the Johnstone River’s ‘everglades’.