Author Archives: fobif

Bright winter sunshine, obscure corners

Posted on 20 July, 2015 by fobif

A bitterly cold morning didn’t deter FOBIF walkers from tackling some obscure corners of the Columbine and Salters Creeks valleys on Sunday. The corners turned out to be even more obscure than intended when a navigation error by walk leader … Continue reading →

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The scalping of Fryers Ridge [1]

Posted on 20 July, 2015 by fobif

Visitors to the Fryers Ridge this past week have been stunned to find that major works on the verges of the Ridge Road have scoured the earth bare, virtually eradicating a large part of one of the region’s most significant … Continue reading →

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Maybe THIS is the saddest sign in the region?

Posted on 20 July, 2015 by fobif

The sign depicted in our July 5 post may have been trumped by this one, on the Fryers Ridge: ‘DO NOT…remove soil or rock.’ This injunction doesn’t apply to road works.  

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Is this the saddest sign in our region?

Posted on 5 July, 2015 by fobif

Well, we think it could be a credible nomination, anyway: an eloquent testament to past abuse of the land, painfully slow recovery, and perhaps the under resourcing of our land management bodies.  

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Fire’s off…and on

Posted on 5 July, 2015 by fobif

Several more substantial proposed burns have been removed from the current DELWP Fire Operations Plan. Apart from the Amanda’s Track proposal, which we have previously reported, these include: Donkey Farm Track [in the Maldon Historic Reserve], Chewton Railway Dam [in … Continue reading →

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Fire risks in the Mount Alexander region: public and private responsibilities

Posted on 5 July, 2015 by fobif

In his response to FOBIF’s fire submission [see above], Andrew Koren made the following observations about fire danger in our region: ‘Communities in Castlemaine, Chewton and surrounds are considered to be at extreme property impact risk from bushfires on days … Continue reading →

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Fire: business as usual, for the moment

Posted on 5 July, 2015 by fobif

The State Government is still considering the recommendation by the Inspector General of Emergency Management that the ‘five per cent target’ be replaced by a risk management system. In his response to FOBIF’s fire submission [see above] Andrew Koren made it clear … Continue reading →

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Over the range and far away

Posted on 22 June, 2015 by fobif

It’s not the Himalayas, but FOBIF walkers found the ascent of Gough’s Range satisfying enough in glorious winter weather on Sunday. Greenhood orchids were on display, and a surprising stand of regenerating Casuarinas was an encouraging feature of a forest … Continue reading →

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Seen any good flowering Ironbarks lately?

Posted on 8 June, 2015 by fobif

Ironbarks are flowering attractively along the Pyrenees Highway between Castlemaine and Chewton, but they aren’t what we’re looking for. These beautiful trees are Eucalyptus sideroxylon, Ironbarks native to country from northern Victoria through to Queensland. We believe they were planted … Continue reading →

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Amanda’s Track: Fire’s off

Posted on 1 June, 2015 by fobif

The 409 hectare fuel management burn planned for Amanda’s Track, at the southern end of the Castlemaine Diggings NHP, has been removed from DELWP’s operations plan. It’s been removed ‘based on a values assessment and field checks.’ We’re not exactly … Continue reading →

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