Culturally significant Buckrabanyule, in North Central Victoria, has been purchased by Traditional Owners and conservationists, in a bid to be protected from further land degradation and development.
Located between Boort and Wedderburn, the land covers 452 hectares, and was recently purchased by conservation group, Bush Heritage, to be jointly managed with Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (DJAARA).
The land is infested with the invasive wheel cactus, a thorny pest plant that classified as a weed of national significance.
Djarrak rangers have spent recent months working at the site to control the weed, using mechanical chemical and bio-control methods.
With the current state of the land, DJAARA chief executive Rodney Carter said it was too early to know whether the land could be utilised for food production.
Mr Carter said once the wheel cactus infestation was brought under control, the land can slowly be returned to natural bushland.
"We need to get rid of the weeds, reset and get a better base health of the land and soils," Mr Carter said
"We need to be intrusive at the moment to tackle the invasive weed, which is quite alarming. It has been let go for so long. I am confident we have the resourcing and funds to get rid of the cactus.
"We are using a number of methods including injecting herbicide, a biological treatment with larvae to attack the flesh (of the cactus), and mechanical grooming, or front-end slashing, before we can introduce traditional fire to see what impact that will have."
Traditional Owners want to see Aboriginal burning practices employed to control weeds and replenish Country into the future, he said.
The land is connected to an important local creation story as the home of Mindi, a great serpent and enforcer of cultural law.
Mr Carter said the land purchase was a big win for protecting connections to Country and the local environment.
"We've been building a relationship with Bush Heritage for about 14 years so to have this acquisition and their values as a conservation type group that so closely aligns with us as traditional owners is really good," he said.
"With more gentle agricultural approaches with grazing and fire, the plants will be able to re-recruit."
Mr Carter said DJAARA's long-term goal was to educate more farmers and landowners to preserve a care for culturally significant sites.
"We will never be prosperous enough to buy all your land back, and given the difficulties of owning and managing land, we think it is more important to educate people on our cultural heritage so people can protect and look after it," he said.
Earlier this year, a Lake Bolac farmer partially destroyed part of an ancient ceremonial landmark, the Kooyang Stone Arrangement.
The man shifted stones that were placed in the shape of an eel by Aboriginal people more than 1500 years ago.
Mr Carter said the destruction of the Kooyang Stone Arrangement in Western Victoria had raised the profile of protecting Aboriginal heritage in the agricultural psyche, and DJAARA had also worked with landowners to ensure they were aware of their obligations to protect heritage.
"We are working with farmers to prevent this sort of damage to Aboriginal cultural heritage - once they build a relationship and get knowledge, they understand these sites are really ancient and important," Mr Carter said.
"Now 80 per cent of the state is registered with aboriginal parties that can help with identifying culturally significant sites.
"When it comes to native titles, it scares people to lose something they own, or possess, but there is no risk of that."
DJAARA received $1.82 million this year to continue investigating Aboriginal food production systems and species prior to European colonisation, in particular whether Kangaroo Grass could be produced on a mass scale by Australian farmers.
Mr Carter said the project would run over the next four years with the goal to see Kangaroo Grass become a regular food source grown on a commercial scale.