After seven years of service, including three years as chair, Dr Bob Crouch has stepped down from the Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority (CMA) Board.
Bob was a founding member of the CMA Board established in 2004, and served as chair from October 2008 through until December 2011.
Bob says he’s extremely proud of the way the Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA has evolved into an organisation that is working collaboratively with landholders to create a landscape that is both environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
“It has been great and humbling over the last three years to see the CMA grow in stature across our catchments, working closely with individual farmers, local government, Landcare and other landholder organisations to improve our local environment and increase land productivity,” Mr Crouch said.
“As ‘looking after our land for future generations’ has become the accepted way the CMA does business, the community has moved with us to proactively manage for sustainability.
“I want to publicly thank our staff for their efforts in winning community acceptance of the CMA and the work they do, under at times trying circumstances, to adapt government funding programs to meet local community needs.”
Bob welcomed the appointment of board member Leanne Savage as acting chair. Leanne has been appointed by Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson to head the Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA Board until June.
Ms Savage is a landholder from Black Mountain near Guyra with extensive experience in natural resource management and primary production.
She joined the Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA in 2009 and is a strong believer in building partnerships and the community’s capacity to ensure the environmental and economic sustainability of our land for future generations.
Ms Savage began her career in natural resource management undertaking water quality research in the Murray River and its wetlands and in potable water supplies near Adelaide in South Australia.
On return to her home base in Guyra she became an active partner in a family farming business while developing a career in environmental management and education.
Among her previous roles, Leanne Savage has served as a Deputy Chair of the Mid-north Coast Catchment Management Board, a Landcare co-ordinator for the Malpas Catchment (Guyra) and Project Manager for a civil engineering company working in the New England North West region.
As Acting Chair of the Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority, Ms Savage is looking forward to guiding the organisation in its main purpose, ‘helping people in local communities look after their land for future generations’.
“One point of focus will be the ongoing upgrade of our Catchment Action Plan (CAP). This CAP is important as it sets goals for Natural Resource Management across our catchment.
“Community input and building strong partnerships across our region are key components to this process,” Ms Savage said.
“I would also like to take the opportunity on behalf of our board and staff to thank Bob for his leadership over the past three years.
“We wish him all the best as he retires to his property at Bundarra,” she said.
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