Bush Heritage Australia, Annual Report 2012-2013 Page 4

I am very pleased to report on the performance
of Bush Heritage Australia over the last 12 months.

It has been an exciting time for us with many positive
activities around the country that have delivered
notable outcomes for conservation.

It has also been a time of great sorrow as we came
to terms with the death of Mauritz `Mo' Pieterse.
Tragically, Mo died on Ethabuka Reserve on 5
November 2012, aged 25. This incident was a stark
reminder of the hazards we face when working in arid

Australia and of the need to always be vigilant about

safety. We are deeply saddened by his passing and will
continue to honour him and the contribution he made
to Bush Heritage and the desert reserves.

The purchase of Naree Station this year has been a

highlight for Bush Heritage. Its purchase demonstrated
our ongoing commitment to protecting places of high
conservation value through direct action, and our
supporters contributed generously. Naree is located
high in the Murray-Darling Basin on the basin's only
unregulated river system. The property's position in
the landscape makes it highly strategic and a significant
addition to the protected area network. Its diverse
wetlands and woodland habitats are also home to
many important inland species.

While continuing to build our reserve network we

are also expanding our partnership activities, and
have reaffirmed our commitment to working with
traditional owners in a collaborative and respectful
way. We continue to strengthen our partnerships,
especially in northern Australia.

Our work with the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal
Corporation in the Kimberley was consolidated through
an historic joint board meeting and visit to country,
hosted by the traditional owners. During this visit
we saw first-hand the traditional owners' impressive
progress towards implementing their Healthy
Country Plan. Similarly, our work with Warddeken
Land Management Ltd in western Arnhem Land
and Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation
sees us supporting activities that recognise culture
and traditional ownership of land and deliver real
conservation benefits.

We are developing a stronger regional focus for our

teams of reserve managers, ecologists, relationship
managers and Indigenous partnership specialists.

This will provide more opportunities for our

supporters to work with us and will connect us
more closely to our networks. The more people who
become part of our conservation community the more
sustainable and durable our work will be. Over the
next three to five years we will continue to invest in
attracting even more supporters to Bush Heritage.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge some of our
key partners. We are pleased to work with the
Federal Government's Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities,
The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Nature, Greening

Australia, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, state

environment agencies, natural resource management
groups, Aboriginal land councils, universities,
philanthropic trusts and many others. By working
together we will achieve much more and do so
more efficiently. And there is much to be done.

I recommend to you the conservation and financial
reports in the following pages.

Chief Executive's

report

Photograph by Peter Morris

"We could not do our work without the generosity

and commitment of our supporters."

Gerard O'Neill
Chief Executive