Contemporary dingo management on K’gari (Fraser Island, Great Sandy National Park) under the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service

Abstract

ABSTRACTK’gari (Fraser Island) is the world’s largest sand island, lying off the east coast of mainland Australia, approximately 300 km north of Brisbane, Queensland. The island is the ancestral home of the Butchulla people, who call it K’gari, meaning paradise, and they continue to be active participants in the management and protection of the island. K’gari (Fraser Island) also has a shared history of logging and sand mining, and was partly designated as a National Park in 1971 with further additions in the following years. In July 2013, the Queensland Government, through the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), released the Fraser Island Dingo Conservation and Risk Management Strategy (FIDCRMS), which included a range of management approaches to promote the best outcomes for human safety and dingo welfare on K’gari (Fraser Island). The strategy presents four programmes: Risk Intervention, Communication and Education, Research and Evaluation and Review. Compliance is recognised as an integral part of the strategy. Here, we describe and distil two of these programmes (Risk Intervention and Communication and Education) from a practical, on-ground perspective.