{"id":951007,"date":"2026-11-03T11:24:17","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T11:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/951007\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T11:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T11:24:17","slug":"desperate-final-bid-underway-to-stop-cane-toads-invading-western-australias-pilbara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/951007\/","title":{"rendered":"Desperate final bid underway to stop cane toads invading Western Australia’s Pilbara"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest bid to halt the ongoing cane toad invasion of northern Western Australia is set to begin after final funding and approval.<\/p>\n

The current estimated front line of the toad’s spread has the pests around 100km from Broome, 2,200km north of Perth.<\/p>\n

Scientists are now hoping a “waterless barrier” across WA’s northern Pilbara will help halt the further spread of the invasive species.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Scientists, traditional owners, pastoralists and Rio Tinto have teamed up in an attempt to stop the cane toad reaching the Pilbara. (Supplied: Lily Youngsmith)<\/p>\n

The barrier proposal, to be implemented south of Broome, will see artificial watering holes such as dams and storage tanks cut off, in turn removing the toads’ water supply.<\/p>\n

This project involves modifying water points across six pastoral stations, which cover 7,500 square kilometres of land.<\/p>\n

An additional $28m funding injection from Rio Tinto and the Rhodes Ridge joint venture will see official work on the containment zone start next year.<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

Locations of the various water points across the Kimberley. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

A ‘national tragedy’<\/p>\n

The toads have already killed millions of Australian native animals, ranging from snakes to goannas and crocodiles.<\/p>\n

“The loss of these animals from across that landscape is a national tragedy and it’s a loss of natural heritage and cultural heritage for Indigenous landowners,” Curtin University biologist Ben Phillips said.<\/p>\n

“The Pilbara is another region of Australia chock-full of plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet. Cane toads will thrive in the Pilbara.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0Professor Phillips said the project represented the best opportunity to prevent the worst from happening.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Judy Dunlop has been involved with the project for three years.\u00a0 (ABC Kimberley: Ruby Littler)<\/p>\n

Curtin University ecologist Judy Dunlop said toad-proofing water points had proven successful in other locations.<\/p>\n

“By removing the critical thing they need, which is water, we prevent them from continuing their spread,” Dr Dunlop said.<\/p>\n

“The build itself will take the next two to five years and we will be doing a lot of work on the sidelines as well as monitoring animals.”<\/p>\n

Protecting native wildlife<\/p>\n

Karajarri Traditional Lands Association chief executive Martin Bin Rashid said traditional owners had been consulted throughout the process.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got a ranger program, we have a heritage team that are going to assist the project leads and construction workers,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Making sure we also look after those special water holes that hold significant stories and Dreamtime stories for our people and give life to country.”<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Martin Bin Rashid says it is crucial to act now.\u00a0 (ABC Kimberley: Ruby Littler)<\/p>\n

The region’s pastoralists are also on board.<\/p>\n

“It’s a big station so there’s plenty of water points; it ends up being about 100 waterless barriers,” Anna Plains Station owner David Stoate said.<\/p>\n

“It took a bit of time to come around to the idea of the project because it’s such a big job.<\/p>\n

“A journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step, so that’s very much what we’re doing with this project.”<\/p>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

David Stoate manages Anna Plains Station, which covers an area of 3,600 square kilometres. (ABC Kimberley: Ruby Littler)<\/p>\n

Funding commitment<\/p>\n

The state government allocated about $340,000 in funding for community consultation in 2024.<\/p>\n

Funding for the conservation initiative initially reached $12 million, with the Rio\/Rhodes Ridge contribution, to be allocated over five years, more than doubling that figure.<\/p>\n

Rio Tinto’s Chris Osborn said the Pilbara was a special place and important to protect.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s a model for how really critical problems can be solved when you get the right partners involved,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Science-based solutions with practical input from traditional owner groups, from pastoralists, [that] will help this project be a success.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest bid to halt the ongoing cane toad invasion of northern Western Australia is set to begin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":951008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[517872,64,63,517869,517868,209812,517866,90921,517865,517870,517871,517864,37150,128,517867,338],"class_list":["post-951007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-anna-plains-station","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-broome-cane-toad","tag-can-cane-toads-be-stopped","tag-cane-toad-control","tag-cane-toad-detection","tag-cane-toads","tag-karajarri-traditional-lands-association","tag-kimberley-cane-toad","tag-pilbara-cane-toad","tag-rhodes-ridge-joint-venture","tag-rio-tinto","tag-science","tag-where-are-cane-toads-in-wa","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}