Kaltukatjara Rangers

From as early as 1987 we have helped Aboriginal people from Kaltukatjara (Docker River) and the Petermann Aboriginal Land Trust manage their land. Traditional owners of the land have consistently expressed their desire to create land management jobs for young people.

In 2003 a program of activities for young people at risk in the community obtained funding for a Community Development Employment Program (CDEP, now defunct) project to protect culturally significant waterholes in the Petermann Ranges from feral camel impacts. The interest this generated allowed us to broaden this work from 2004.

Rangers, in effect if not yet by name, conducted threatened species surveys drawing on their elders’ ecological knowledge, some of which was recorded for use in the local school.

In 2006 the ABA invested in consolidating the rangers as a group under a shared responsibility agreement between us and the Kaltukatjara Council. In 2009, the rangers became CLC employees.