From The President

August 12, 2026

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Dear Member,

When you open this newsletter, it will be just less than a month until the 23rd Biennial ARS Conference, hosted in Darwin. This is the fourth conference to be held in the Northern Territory, with Alice Springs having hosted previously in 1981, 2004 and 2015.

Covering about 80 per cent of the Northern Territory, the rangelands are among Australia’s largest and most diverse landscapes. From the tropical savannas of the north to the arid shrublands and grasslands of the south, these environments support pastoral production, rich biodiversity and the enduring cultural connections of Aboriginal people.

Life in the rangelands is shaped by variability. As we are increasingly experiencing, rainfall is unpredictable, fire is a natural part of the landscape, and seasons can differ dramatically from one year to the next. Yet these ecosystems have evolved to thrive under change, with native plants and animals well adapted to Australia’s climatic extremes.

Managing these landscapes requires an equally adaptive approach. Healthy rangelands depend on maintaining good ground cover, protecting soils and applying grazing practices that align with seasonal conditions.

The Northern Territory’s rangelands continue to support one of Australia’s most important pastoral regions while delivering environmental, cultural and social benefits that extend far beyond the farm gate. As climate variability and other pressures continue to shape the future, collaboration between pastoralists, Traditional Owners, researchers and communities will remain essential to keeping these remarkable landscapes productive, resilient and healthy for generations to come.

With that in mind, I am proud to say that many of the presentations featured at this conference will be delivered by ARS members who live in the Territory. To whet your appetite, I have asked Past President and long-time Territorian, Dionne Walsh, to share some of her favourite photos of this unique landscape.

Young spinifex (left) and Sandplains (right) in Central Australia. Photos: Dionne Walsh

On the world stage, Dana Kelly, Secretariat of the International Rangelands Congresses and Chair of the Australasian Group for IYRP, and Ben Jarihani, Senior Lecturer at James Cook University, have been nominated to represent ARS at the UNCCD COP17 meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17-28 August. Another of our members, Debbie Dowden, WA IYRP Chair, has been invited as one of only three women pastoralists to represent the world in a plenary session at this convention to combat desertification. We wish them all well at this significant event, and I am sure they will do Australia and the rangelands proud.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our two new Council members, David Gallacher and Niilo Gobius, as well as the new Chair of the Publications Committee, Steven Bray. A big thank you also goes to Bob Shepherd and Bradd Witt, who completed their terms in their respective roles at the AGM in May.

Enjoy the read, and I look forward to seeing you in Darwin.

Kind regards,

Pieter Conradie

Foggy sunrise over a dam in the Northern Territory. Photo: Dionne Walsh