Author Archives: fobif

FOBIF has lent its name to the letter below, urging DELWP to take account of recent research on the Eltham Copper butterfly when it conducts its fuel reduction operation in Kalimna Park this autumn. This operation is a test case … Continue reading →

While we’re on the subject of fire in Box Ironbark systems, it might be worth while recalling important research conducted by scientists at the Arthur Rylah Institute in 2007, and published as Ecological burning in Box Ironbark Forests.  Thirteen years … Continue reading →

Here’s something to think about, from Victor Steffensen’s book Fire Country–how Indigenous fire management could help save Australia [Hardie Grant Travel 2020]: ‘When it comes to Aboriginal fire management, the old people didn’t burn every ecosystem. Many people think that Aboriginal … Continue reading →

The harmless, even charming looking plant below is Tribulus terrestris—variously called Caltrop, bindii, cat’s head, goat’s head, yellow vine. It’s a native of North Africa, now naturalised around the world, including Australia. It’s thought to have been introduced here as … Continue reading →

Another part of the terms of reference is to investigate the matter of ‘hazard reduction.’ Although this has been a favourite theme of commentators wanting to distract the public from the fact that climate change might be making bushfires worse, … Continue reading →

Here’s a factor which should not be forgotten: human causes of fire. We’re not talking only about arson: carelessness or sheer ignorance are factors. The fire which seriously threatened the Canberra suburbs recently was caused by an army helicopter…And it … Continue reading →

As a follow up to our note on the BOM/CSIRO local climate guides, we’ve come across a Bendigo Advertiser 1991 table of rainfall in Bendigo over the period 1863 to 1990. The average annual rainfall over that 127 year period … Continue reading →

We’re constantly and boringly on at DELWP and Parks Victoria about their road maintenance practices, which as often as not consist of gouging a few extra inches out of the bush. It’s not often we see them gouging a bit … Continue reading →

Serious bushfires still burning in NSW have brought out some familiar discussion themes. Like this one: if only there had been more fuel reduction burns, these fires wouldn’t be so bad. And: the reason we don’t have enough reduction burns … Continue reading →