Author Archives: fobif

What a difference lack of water can make

Posted on 22 April, 2019 by fobif

A good group rocked up for FOBIF’s April walk into the Salter’s Creek-Smutta’s Track area on Sunday. As expected, the bush is showing numerous signs of drought stress, including a significant number of dying Golden Wattles. Nevertheless, this corner of … Continue reading →

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Change of route for FOBIF’s April walk

Posted on 15 April, 2019 by fobif

The route for FOBIF’s April walk, next Sunday the 21st, has been changed. It will now start at the Hunters track dam, on the corner of Irishtown Track, and cover about 5 km, partly on tracks, some through bush along the … Continue reading →

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Driving 1: ‘For fun’s sake’

Posted on 15 April, 2019 by fobif

Viewers of sporting coverage on television last Friday might have noticed, if they weren’t asleep, a commercial for Suzuki, which featured a car tearing through a muddy road, then reversing, bouncing over some obstacle [possibly a dead body?]. The clip … Continue reading →

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Driving 2: Do gladiators have sensitive thighs?

Posted on 15 April, 2019 by fobif

A regular offender in the matter of promoting tough guy destructive driving is The Age Drive section. Its edition of last Saturday [April 13] featured an extensive review of the Suzuki Gladiator, complete with pics of mud being spattered, and … Continue reading →

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Remember the thinnings trial?

Posted on 15 April, 2019 by fobif

The ecological thinnings trial was conducted about 15 years ago in four locations in the box ironbark region. Locally the thinnings plot is in the Diggings Park along Morgans Track, between the Chewton-Fryerstown Road and the White Gum Track. The … Continue reading →

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Black Saturday, ten years on: what’s changed?

Posted on 8 April, 2019 by fobif

The March edition of the VNPA’s Parkwatch magazine is now online, and can be found online here. The magazine has numerous articles of interest, but we particularly recommend the section where the magazine looks over the Bushfire Royal Commission’s recommendations … Continue reading →

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Central West forests: sorting out what the public thinks

Posted on 8 April, 2019 by fobif

The Victorian Environment Assessment Council has released a summary of responses to its draft recommendations on the Central West forests. The summary can be found here. The consultation is an interesting example of a public body sounding out opinion as … Continue reading →

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Want to be in the Easter bird check?

Posted on 7 April, 2019 by fobif

BirdLife International has identified areas of conservation importance around the world as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). This includes KBAs right here in our region. Our KBAs were designated especially for their importance for two special birds, Diamond Firetail and Swift … Continue reading →

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State of the environment: Victoria gets a D

Posted on 28 March, 2019 by fobif

The Commissioner for the environment has released the five yearly State of the Environment report for Victoria. The summary report can be found here. Even the summary report is not easy reading, but it’s fair to say that in most … Continue reading →

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Here’s a pretty picture: tell us how nice it is

Posted on 28 March, 2019 by fobif

FOBIF has made a reluctant submission to the current government consultation on forest management. Our reluctance is based on two concerns: These consultations increasingly look like popularity polls, along the lines of the Herald Sun’s daily polls on subjects like, … Continue reading →

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