Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

Participants in the July Bendigo fire briefing were told of a new approach to fire management, called the Bushfire risk landscapes approach. As we reported at the time, big claims were made for the new approach to fuel reduction, and it was even suggested that this approach might replace the present ‘five per cent’ policy currently laying waste to large areas of the state. Unfortunately no actual specific information on the new approach was delivered at that meeting, and we were told not to ‘hold our breath’ waiting for a significant change in fire policy.

FOBIF has now received the first two information sheets of the Barwon Otways Bushfire Risk Landscape: outcomes of the Otways Pilot of risk based strategic bushfire management planning. You can read them here: BOBRL Info Sheet 1 – Pilot Project Outomes and here: BOBRL Info Sheet 2 – Intro + HYS.

FOBIF is unwilling to be negative about such projects, and the idea of applying fuel reduction programs in areas where it matters, rather than mindlessly torching the public land estate, seems a good one.

Unfortunately the information sheets don’t actually provide much specific information about  practicalities. We suspect that it was to projects like this that the Royal Commission Implementation Monitor was referring when he said that the material he was reviewing ‘did not contain actual data.’

We invite members to have a look, and give us their opinion.

Two things are of interest in the first information sheet, however.

The first is that the risk landscape approach ‘informed the review’ of the Code of Practice in 2012. Given that this updated Code significantly weakened the ecological care requirements for zones 2 and 3, this isn’t necessarily a good recommendation.

Secondly, the risk approach has resulted in the development of a draft  fire management plan for the Otway region. Since this draft plan is not a public document, we’ll have to wait and see how the approach might work in practice.

The planned burning season is on us. As we have regularly reported, FOBIF is not opposed to sensible, targeted fuel management. Our submission to the current Fire Operations Plan is set out below. Essentially, it asks that DEPI follow the procedures of its

Dalton’s Track zone six months after a management burn, 2012: we do not believe that fuel reduction should mean creating a disaster zone.

own Code of Practice, that due care be taken of sensitive areas, and that clear and accountable objectives be set out for each operation:

re: FIRE OPERATIONS PLAN, MOUNT ALEXANDER REGION, 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Plan.

Our position on this Plan is essentially the same as we presented in 2012. The following submission should be read in conjunction with the detailed comments we made then.

GENERAL COMMENTS

We have two general comments to make, and will then respond to several of the proposed burns individually.  The general comments are:

• All Zone 3 burns should be strictly controlled mosaics.

• In all burns the transparency commitment made on page 32 of the Code of Practice should be adhered to. The intention of the managers should be clearly spelled out in detail: both as to the public safety aims, and the ecological aims. Further, where burns are intended to ‘complement’ previous exercises, the exact achievement of these previous exercises should be made publicly available.

• We understand that the purpose of Zone 1 burns is simply asset protection. However, we believe that this has too often in the past led to a scorched earth policy with complete disregard for any ecological value at all. We seek assurance that in Asset Protection Burns effort will be made to reduce fuel with minimum ecological damage.

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