Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

-owned pastoral lease, within the MacDonnell Shire area, south-west of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, east from

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located south of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin by road and south-west of Alice Springs al ...

(Ayers Rock), south-east of Kings Canyon/ Watarrka National Park and from Mount Ebenezer Roadhouse on the Lasseter Highway. The property is a

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

held by the Imanpa Development Association. It was declared and formally recognised as an

Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisation ...

as part of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

's Caring for Country scheme on 10 June 2009. The property forms part of Australia's National Reserve System. Previous land management practices and other

anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human impact on the enviro ...

pressures had damaged Angas Downs, and many native species have disappeared. Preferred game and important animals are less common and feral animals and weeds pose a major challenge. AD Opening

Through the support of the Australian Government's Caring for our Country, Working on Country and Indigenous Protected Areas programs, Anangu rangers and the Imanpa community are addressing these challenges, restoring the landscape and protecting its cultural sites. Land management is based on Kuka Kanyini, "looking after game animals" and aims to increase species which aid the environment. The

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

of Canberra Burley Griffin has also been providing support to the project.

Significance of Angas Downs

Angas Downs is important to the Indigenous Anangu people in the region. As well as biodiversity value, it has significant Tjukurpa (Indigenous law and customary knowledge) places and

sacred sites A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, holy place or holy site is a location which is regarded to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a ...

where ceremonies continue to occur. Today the IPA provides employment and income for the Indigenous community, creates learning and training opportunities, and improves health (through exercise and diet). It reconnects the traditional people of this area to their land and culture, instilling a sense of pride.

Natural resources

Angas Downs has rich natural and cultural resources. There are many different types of vegetation and landscapes including mulga woodlands (''

Acacia aneura ''Acacia aneura'', commonly known as mulga, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland Australia. It is a variable shrub or small tree with flat, narrowly linear to elliptic phyllodes, cylindrical spike ...

''), gypsum depressions, limestone plains, spinifex ('' Triodia'' spp.) sand dunes, desert oak ('' Allocasuarina decaisneana'') woodlands, alluvial floodplains and quartzite hills. Angas Downs has rich bird life and is home to many species of animals and reptiles many of which are important food and

totems A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ''totem'' itself is an ...

to the local Anangu people. Vulnerable listed (NT) quandong ('' Santalum acuminatum'') also occurs on Angas Downs, although they struggle against

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

browsing. Several species of native mammals including

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

s, Ooldea dunnart, lesser hairy-footed dunnart, kultarr, euro ( eastern wallaroo),

red kangaroo The red kangaroo (''Osphranter rufus'') is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the Largest mammals#Marsupials (Marsupialia), largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, exce ...

, Gould's wattled bat, lesser long-eared bat,

spinifex hopping mouse The spinifex hopping mouse (''Notomys alexis''), also known as the tarkawara or tarrkawarra, occurs throughout the central and western Australian arid zones, occupying both spinifex-covered sand flats and stabilised sand dunes, and loamy mulga ...

, sandy inland mouse and

dingo The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...

s have been recorded on the Angas Downs Pastoral Lease. Also, fresh tracks and a burrow of a '' Dasycercus'' spp. likely to be the crest-tailed mulgara (''Dasycercus cristicauda'') were seen by Latz in July 2002. Remote infrared cameras also caught an endangered

woma python The woma python (''Aspidites ramsayi''), also known commonly as Ramsay's python, the sand python,O'Connor F (2008)Western Australian Reptile Species.Birding Western Australia. Accessed 20 September 2007.Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of th ...

on camera in a cave in the central sandstone hills – the Liddle Range – in November 2012. Ninety-nine species of birds have been recorded on Angas Downs.

Emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and in steppe regions. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustards are ...

(bush turkey) are important Tjukurpa and game species, and

mulga parrot The mulga parrot (''Psephotellus varius'') is endemic to arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in the interior of southern Australia. The male mulga parrot is multicolored, from which the older common name of many-coloured parrot is der ...

Major Mitchell's cockatoo The pink cockatoo (''Cacatua leadbeateri''), also known as Major Mitchell's cockatoo or Leadbeater's cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semi-arid inland areas across Australia, with the exception of the north east. Ta ...

Australian ringneck The Australian ringneck (''Barnardius zonarius'') is a parrot native to Australia. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus ''Barnardius'' have previously recognised two sp ...

Bourke's parrot Bourke's parrot (''Neopsephotus bourkii'', formerly known as ''Neophema bourkii''), also known as the blue-vented parrot, sundown parrot, pink-bellied parrot, Bourke's parakeet, Bourke or "Bourkie", is a small parrot found in Australia and the mon ...

and

budgerigar The budgerigar ( ; ''Melopsittacus undulatus''), also known as the common parakeet, shell parakeet or budgie ( ), is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot native to Australia. Naturally the species is green and yellow with black, scallop ...

are common. A birdwatching checklist is available for Angas Downs. Rangers on Angas Downs are improving the environment to protect and increase important animals and plants using a combination of traditional knowledge and western science.

Pastoral history

Angas Downs Station was first taken up for pastoral purposes by William Liddle in 1927. He and his descendants, ran sheep and then cattle until the 1990s. As with many pastoral enterprises during the 1980s and 1990s, Angas Downs struggled financially and was eventually taken over by the mortgagee in 1994 before being purchased by the nearby Imanpa community. Since 1994, it has been owned by the Imanpa Development Association Inc., and managed by their company Lisanote Pty. Ltd. Descendants of William Liddle have living areas on the property. Frederick GG Rose visited Angas Downs during July–October 1962 and documented the people and ways of life. He took specific interest in documenting the process of change in Aboriginal culture in context with contact with white civilisation. He also reported the genealogy of the Liddle family and other Aboriginal people living on Angas Downs. More information on Aboriginal histories of Angas Downs can be found in Fred Rose's book ''The wind of change in central Australia: The Aborigines at Angas Downs, 1962''. In 2009, Angas Downs was declared an Indigenous Protected Area and remains a resource for members of the Imanpa community, some of whom grew up and worked on Angas Downs. The property still runs 300-400 head of cattle, restricted to a paddock in the southeast. Tourists can join tours to Angas Downs led by members of the Imanpa community to learn about the pastoral, cultural and natural history of the property.

Imanpa

Residents of Imanpa include Matuntara descendants (the original occupiers of Angas Downs region),

Yankunytjatjara The Yankunytjatjara people, also written Yankuntjatjarra, Jangkundjara, and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of South Australia. Language Yankunytjatjara is a Western Desert language belonging to the Wati lan ...

and

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...

people. The Imanpa Development Association holds the lease for Angas Downs through its company Lisanote Pty Ltd.

Challenges

As for many remote Indigenous Communities in Australia, the Imanpa community faces significant health, employment and educational challenges. Senior men and women say there is a breakdown in the old ways and that law and culture – the Tjukurpa is being lost. Land management activities restore the station environment and also improve the self-esteem and motivation of the Indigenous people by appealing to their aspiration to care for their country, and provide opportunities for training, employment and economic development. The Anangu elders, the ''Tjilpis'' and ''Myinkmaku'', believe many social and health problems are the result of a breakdown in the old ways, and that implementation of Tjukurpa (Anangu customary knowledge) and restoring the land would help solve these problems. ''Piranpa'' (white fella science) and Tjukurpa can work together to do these things. It will make sure Tjukurpa and culture continue, and get children and grandchildren to learn about land. Looking after land is the key to Tjukurpa. Also more bush tucker means healthier food. Anangu want to increase the amount of game animals like

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

(''Dromaius novaehollandiae''),

(''Macropus rufus'') and plant food like quandong ('' Santalum acuminatum''). Anangu also want to bring back species that aren't in the land any more like rufous hare-wallaby and

common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Ancient Greek, Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae ...

Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area Plan of Management

Through the support of the Australian Government's Caring for our Country, Working on Country and

Indigenous Protected Areas An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisation ...

programs, Anangu rangers and the Imanpa community are restoring the landscape and protecting their cultural heritage using the Kuka Kanyini principles. A plan of management was prepared by the members of the community with support from Australian Wildlife Services. It draws on traditional land management practices and sets out priorities for scientists and wildlife managers to work with Anangu from Imanpa to increase game, control ferals and protect cultural sites and the environment.

Objectives

To manage land and wildlife resources in order to maintain Anangu culture, conserve biodiversity and enable sustainable production in support of human communities and economic development. In greater detail, the plan sets out how to: * increase wildlife populations and estimate hunting yields * identify wildlife refuge areas * restore and protect water sources * restore patch burning practices * control feral animals and weeds * exchange information across the region. The plan outlines the significance of Angas Downs' biodiversity, the importance of its conservation and its contribution to the Imanpa community. It details environment restoration and significantly, proposes development of a wildlife sanctuary and breeding facility and a tourist facility. It restricts cattle to a 250km2 zone to protect other more fragile and significant regions of Angas Downs. ''"Ara nyangaku tjungurni Anangu-ku ara (Tjukurpa / Wapar) munu piran-ku (scientific) ara wirura Malu; Kalaya; Tinka munu Tjulpu tjuta-ku ngura, palyanyku atunymankunytjaku, nganampa ngura munu mai ngaranyangka uranma"'' "Mixing Anangu customary knowledge – the Tjukurpa (law) with Piranpa (non-Anangu) scientific knowledge to improve wildlife habitat, enhance landscapes, and harvest species on a sustainable basis."

Benefits of indigenous involvement in land management

The benefit of Indigenous Australians working in land and wildlife management is well documented. Proactive Indigenous wildlife management combined with science can support sustainable harvesting, provide employment and income, create learning and training opportunities, improve Indigenous health (through exercise and diet) and reconnect them to the land and their cultural values, installing a sense of pride. Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area aims to provide opportunities to Indigenous Australians to become involved in wildlife and land management and use their own knowledge to make decisions affecting their land. The IPA provides employment and income for theIndigenous community, creates learning and training opportunities, and improves health (through exercise and diet).

Angas Downs Anangu rangers

Anangu rangers employed by the Indigenous Protected Area and Working on Country program are putting in fences to keep ferals out, building a wildlife sanctuary area, increasing watering points and cleaning water troughs to encourage more game species (

, perentie,

goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizard of the genus ''Monitor lizard, Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous r ...

) and healthier landscapes. Angas Downs rangers are: * Restoring and reactivating water sources * Erecting feral animal exclusion fences (see

Australian feral camel Australian feral camels are introduced populations of dromedary, or one-humped, camel (''Camelus dromedarius''—from the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Subcontinent). Imported to Australia as valuable beasts of burden from British ...

) * Implementing feral animal eradication programs * Controlling weeds and restoring native species * Helping to increase native species, especially game species * Monitoring wildlife and landscapes using Cybertracker * Implementing patch burning * Documenting bush tucker, medicine plants and cultural places * Helping to start small scale tourism on Angas Downs * Setting up breeding and holding facilities for emus * Fencing and fire protection for rare plants such as Christmas tree mulga and quandong.

Small mammal and reptile surveys

Angas Downs rangers conduct regular reptile and small mammal surveys across Angas Down's landscapes with scientists and volunteers using pitfall and funnel traps, and active searches. 51 reptile, 10 mammal (including one bat) and 4 frog species have been recorded to date. ''Simoselaps betholdi'' (Jan's banded snake), ''Suta punctata'' (little spotted snake), ''

Demansia psammophis The yellow-faced whip snake (''Demansia psammophis'') is a species of venomous snake in the Family (biology), family Elapidae, a family containing many dangerous snakes. ''D. psammophis'' is endemic to Australia, found throughout the continent i ...

'' (yellow-faced whipsnake), ''Tiliqua multifasciata'' (Centralian blue-tongued skink), '' Ramphotyphlops endoterus'' (interior blind snake), ''Pygopus nigriceps'' (western hooded scaly-foot), woma, '' Nephrurus laevissimus'', '' Nephrurus levis levis'', ''Morethia ruficauda'' and ''Egernia inornata'' (desert skink) among others have been detected. Mammals detected included kultarr, Wongai ningaui, spinifex hopping mice, sandy inland mice and lesser hairy-footed dunnart.

Emu breeding on Angas Downs

Emu populations are very low on Angas Downs, as is the case in much of the Northern Territory. They are an important species to the local Anangu and

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

and to ecological processes. In combination with land management and control of feral animals, Anangu rangers will implement an emu breeding program to increase emus in the landscape. Local knowledge has suggested that emus may also increase the success of quandong (''Santalum acuminatum'') germination after the seed is eaten and has passed through the gut – this could be due to a combination of seed coat break down and being deposited in rich nutrient filled dung. They also help to disperse the seeds across the landscape. It is a goal of Angas Downs to increase bush tucker species such as quandong and will trial use of emus in quandong regeneration in coming years In August 2010, Anangu rangers took delivery of 20 emu chicks from an emu farm in WA. They were flown into Ayers Rock airport (

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

) by

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

and driven to the Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area. After successful breeding, the emus will be released into a larger sanctuary area on Angas Downs. Angas Downs rangers also now own an egg incubator which will be used for increasing breeding success in following years. The chicks and incubator were bought with donations provided by the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin. Progress of the emu chicks can be foun
here

Aerial surveys of Angas Downs – camels, kangaroos and feral horse populations

Aerial surveys of the Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area and surrounding lands were completed in June 2010. The survey was flown by Dr George Wilson using standard procedures for fixed-wing aircraft surveys. Indigenous observer, Brad Lander, and Jennifer Smits counted animals seen at low level and 200m on either side of the aircraft. Species targeted/observed included camels, kangaroos, horses, feral cattle, emus, euros, dingos and bustards (turkeys). The study was vital to understanding populations of kangaroos and pressures from camel and horse populations on the property and hence native wildlife. Using mapping program ArcGis 9.3, observations were interpolated to form maps showing spatial variability (animals/km²) of populations across the region. Estimated average density rates of kangaroos and camels across Angas Downs was 0.91 ± 0.16 and 0.24 ±0.07 per km² respectively. It was noted that camel populations were largely dispersed due to recent high rainfall in central Australia (as at June 2010). Spatial variability of grazing pressures was also investigated.

Trial tours

Angas Downs is interested in development of small scale, tourism ventures. Angas Downs is on the main road to Uluru National Park and Watarrka National Park and has many thousands of visitors cross it each week. Led by members of the Imanpa community, Australian Wildlife Services helped coordinate a few trial tour runs through the property including Rotary groups interested in culture, education and philanthropic activities and University/TAFE student groups interested in environment and wildlife. Angas Downs participated in a workshop called 'Stepping Stones' at the Imanpa community in May 2010 to help develop tourism on Angas Downs.

Support for Angas Downs

There is also potential for other benefactors to provide support, technical advice and training to the Anangu rangers who are being employed to complete the work. The Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin raised funds for installation of a solar pump to feed a trough for wildlife, 20 emu chicks for breeding and an emu egg incubator to raise

chicks. The emus in captivity continue to be supported by the Rotary Club via funding for emu food.

International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, South Africa

Angas Downs' Indigenous rangers were lucky to be sponsored to visit South Africa and attend the International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, South Africa in Kimberley in October 2011. The theme of the Symposium was – The business of conservation – science, livelihoods and values. Anangu rangers benefited from an itinerary that enabled them to witness and be exposed to: * intensive wildlife management including techniques for moving wildlife on game ranches * Indigenous guides and rangers in national parks in private game reserves * tourism and accommodation based on conservation of wildlife and land management.

Gallery

File:Tyto javanica, Angas Downs, Australia.jpg, Barn owl on Angas Downs IPA, NT File:Quandong Angas Downs-Fenced.jpg, File:Quandong (Santalum acuminatum) fruit & seeds.JPG, Quandong ('' Santalum acuminatum'') fruit & seeds at Angas Downs, NT File:Thorny Devil4.jpg, Thorny devil (''

Moloch horridus The thorny devil (''Moloch horridus''), also known commonly as the mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Australia. It is the sole species in the ge ...

'') is the Angas Downs mascot and appears on the logo File:ADMalu3.jpg, Red kangaroo ('' Macropus rufus'') on Angas Downs File:Strophurus elderi Jewelled gecko.JPG, '' Strophurus elderi'' jewelled gecko on Angas Downs File:Ctenotus helenae.JPG, '' Ctenotus helenae'' on Angas Downs IPA, NT File:Ctenotus leae on Angas Downs.JPG, '' Ctenotus leae'' on Angas Downs File:Delma demosa on Angas Downs IPA, NT.JPG, '' Delma demosa'' on Angas Downs IPA, NT File:Burtons legless lizard on Angas Downs IPA, NT.JPG,

Burton's legless lizard Burton's legless lizard (''Lialis burtonis'') is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Pygopodidae. The species lacks forelegs and has only rudimentary hind legs. Pygopodid lizards are also referred to as "legless lizards",Bradshaw ...

on Angas Downs IPA, NT File:Bynoe's gecko.JPG, Bynoe's gecko on Angas Downs IPA, NT File:Remote camera capture of Woma.JPG, Remote camera capture of

on Angas Downs IPA, NT File:Varanus gouldii camera lure.JPG, Using Remote camera and lure to capture sand

on camera – on Angas Downs IPA, NT File:Ranger David Wongway.JPG, Angas Downs Ranger David Wongway on Angas Downs, NT File:Emu chick on Angas Downs.jpg, Emu chick on Angas Downs Aug 2010 File:Emu Juvenilles Angas Downs.jpg, Juvenile emus getting bigger on Angas Downs Dec 2010 File:Emus on Angas Downs March 2012.JPG, The baby emus all grown up on Angas Downs in March 2012 thanks to generous support from the Canberra Burley Griffin Rotary Club File:Emu at Angas Downs.JPG,

in captivity on Angas Downs

References

{{Reflist Indigenous Protected Areas of Australia Protected areas of the Northern Territory Indigenous Australian reserves Stations in the Northern Territory Pitjantjatjara Indigenous Protected Areas of the Northern Territory