It is with great sympathy and sadness that on Sunday the 28th of July 2024, Senior Scientist and Australian rangeland expert Paul Jones passed away. Known to many as ‘Jonesy’, Paul was dedicated and passionate about the rangelands and landscape repair. Paul’s work on grazing land management covered many aspects, and to name some, included wet season spelling strategies, working on pasture dieback and Indian couch grass projects, leading gully remediation work, investigating plant life cycles, and mentoring and training younger staff. Paul was there to assist all, including landholders, work colleagues and those passionate about the rangelands. Most recently, Paul was working on reviewing abstracts in preparation for next year’s international rangeland congress, where he was a great support to the publications committee. He was going to present some of his groundbreaking research on pasture recovery at the congress.
Paul’s passion for the rangelands was also strong outside of work. Paul loved going on epic desert trips. A trip in 2017 took him to Coongie Lake (photo taken by Paul Jones, Coongie Lake, March 2017).
Paul will be missed and will be remembered. He imparted knowledge to others. He was funny, fun, kind and thoughtful, and at the same time professional. He was an excellent role model. His life was celebrated at Emerald Golf Club on Saturday 3rd August.