Category Archives: News

Bendigo fire meeting [1]: what’s happening on the ground?

Posted on 14 October, 2012 by fobif

On Tuesday October 9 DSE officials met with about 30 individuals and representatives of conservation groups to discuss outcomes of the consultation process around the Fire Operations Plan. The discussion was limited by the fact that the biggest factor in … Continue reading →

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Bendigo fire meeting [2]: zones and other problems

Posted on 10 October, 2012 by fobif

Some anguish was expressed in the meeting about the inflexibility of the zones. Members will recall that we are concerned at the large Zone 1 area on Mount Tarrengower, and the Zone 2 south of Guildford. The fact is that … Continue reading →

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Invasive species: new legislation in prospect

Posted on 10 October, 2012 by fobif

FOBIF has made a short submission to the Department of Primary Industries as part of the consultation process for the preparation of a new Invasive Species Management Bill. The submission is in response to a discussion paper released by DPI. … Continue reading →

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Get to know your weeds

Posted on 10 October, 2012 by fobif

The North Central Catchment Management Authority has released a Weeds Identification Guide for the region. In many ways it’s an improvement on previous guides, because the photos are better and many species are illustrated by more than one picture. Unfortunately … Continue reading →

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Fire: DSE responds to FOBIF submission

Posted on 7 October, 2012 by fobif

We have received a response from DSE to our submission on the draft Fire Operations Plan. We will be making a comment on this response and the state of consultations on fire management after the upcoming meeting between DSE and … Continue reading →

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Local water birds

Posted on 2 October, 2012 by fobif

The diversity of water bodies in and around Castlemaine provides the opportunity to view a variety of birds. One of the largest is the Great Egret. This bird can be seen along the edges of swamps and larger dams such … Continue reading →

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Garden birds around Castlemaine

Posted on 20 September, 2012 by fobif

Damian Kelly was the guest speaker at the FOBIF AGM in August. His presentation was about observing local birds in our gardens and he included many excellent photos, including the three below, of birds from his Lyttleton Street garden. Damian … Continue reading →

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Hear Don Watson reflect on ‘The Bush’

Posted on 20 September, 2012 by fobif

Don Watson will be the guest speaker at this years Muckeford Landcare Annual General Meeting. ‘Xartec’ from the Lancare Group writes that Don Watson is one of Australia’s wittiest, original thinkers and raconteurs, and is currently completing a book on … Continue reading →

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Get informed about National Parks

Posted on 20 September, 2012 by fobif

Parkwatch, the magazine of the Victorian National Parks Association, has gone online in an easy to read ‘flipbook’ format. The magazine is quarterly: it’s professionally produced, very informative…and it’s free. To subscribe, click here. The current issue contains, among others, … Continue reading →

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Heavy response to Fire Operations Plan

Posted on 19 September, 2012 by fobif

A DSE forum on the draft North West Region Fire Operations Plan has been postponed from mid September to early October to allow DSE to process the exceptionally heavy response to the plan: more than 200 submissions have been received, … Continue reading →

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