Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

The Wombat Forest is our southern neighbour, but a very different environment from the drier forests and woodlands of our region. If you want to keep informed about the great qualities of the Wombat, you should check out the Wombat Forestcare Newsletter.

The latest issue contains a beginners guide to that frustrating subject, egg-and-bacon plants, great items on bird life and a terrifically interesting argument, ‘Reconsidering commonness’. This article persuasively hammers the point that our concern for rare and endangered species shouldn’t make us indifferent to the fate of common species: ‘Common species often represent the more hardy or adaptable species in an ecosystem so when they start to dramatically decline, it might indicate that something is seriously wrong. While common species often comprise a relatively small proportion of overall species richness, they usually contribute greatly to the structure, biomass and dynamics of ecosystems. Moreover, when habitats are burnt, fragmented, degraded or otherwise damaged or lost, it is common species that often suffer most.’

Check it out online here.

FOBIF’s field guide to the eucalypts of the Mount Alexander Region has sold out its print run of 800 copies in two months, and a reprint edition is now available.

The reprint contains some minor changes, but the most significant addition to it is a dedication to its co-author, Ern Perkins, who died in early November.  The dedication reads

This book is dedicated to the memory of Ern Perkins
teacher, botanist, field naturalist
(1934-2016)

Ern was a great supporter of the eucalypt project from the beginning. Without his knowledge of the genus, and his amazing familiarity with the location of different species in different corners of the region, the book would never have been finished. He overcame serious health problems to come on numerous excursions around the district in search of good tree specimens, and his enthusiasm and good humour never failed him.

Ern’s contributions to the understanding of the natural history of the region were numerous. He was an inspiration to many in the district, and we urge any who have not already done so to read Chris Timewell’s obituary for him (and related links) on the Connecting Country website.

Ern and Lesley Perkins checking out a Candlebark with Bronwyn Silver at Green Gully, Winter 2016

Want to have a say on the way heritage is presented in the Diggings Park? Have a go at doing the Parks Victoria survey. It only takes a few minutes, and your answers might tilt the balance of the way the park is presented.  You have until midnight this coming Wednesday November 30 to do it.

The questions are mainly straightforward—perhaps the crunch question is number 13: ‘Information signage in Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park currently focuses on its important mining heritage. Are there other themes, stories or aspects of the park that should also be told?’

As we’ve said before, one of the problems with the presentation of goldfields heritage is that it doesn’t give due weight to the environmental impact of mining. For that reason, perhaps a good response to question 13 might be something like this:

The problem is not that the focus is on mining heritage: the problem is that this heritage is presented with virtually no emphasis on the destructive effects of mining, even though these are staring us in the face in the form of the total destruction of almost all the waterways in the park: these eroded gullies, and hillsides stripped of soil, are also ‘heritage’.

…But it’s your say: have a go!

FOBIF has received a note from DELWP confirming receipt of our fire submission (see post below). They advise us that the rezoning of Expedition Pass as an Asset Protection zone was a ‘mapping error”.

The area has now been restored to its previous status as a Landscape Management zone.

We’re a bit at a loss for words. We’ll comment in more detail on this and related matters after we meet with fire managers in December.

Extract of letter to FOBIF from West Central Risk Landscape Team:

As a result of your comments, the zoning at Expedition Pass reservoir near Castlemaine has been reinstated as Landscape Management Zone.  While the change was a mapping error, we acknowledge and apologise for the concerns this has caused within your organisation.

Please find attached updated maps of the proposed fire management zones in the Castlemaine – Maldon area.

North Castlemaine, updated map 17 November 2017
Castlemaine, updated map 17 November 2017
Maldon, updated map 17 November 2017

FOBIF has made a submission to the latest round of fire consultations [see our November 3 Post]. Essentially the submission criticises the zonings around Expedition Pass and the Loddon River, questions the size of some of the zones, and raises [again] the neglect of systematic fuel management on private land. FOBIF representatives will meet with DELWP early in December to discuss these concerns.

The substance of the submission is set out below [zone references can be understood by reference to the map at this link]:

***

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the fire management review.

We have three general and four specific comments:

General

1. We continue to be concerned by the apparent inability of DELWP to integrate private land fuel management into its risk program, despite the large ‘priority fuel management areas’ on private land in the West Central Risk landscape maps. The result of this inability is the artificial isolation of public land and an over emphasis on it, despite the fact that in our area the overwhelming majority of fires start on private land. We also have the occasionally bizarre example of small parcels of public land singled out for burning, although they are surrounded by much larger areas of apparently more dangerous private land. CAS 2 is a bizarre example, and CAS 11 an example where DELWP seems to have admitted the impracticality of dealing with public land in isolation.

Continue reading →

Parks Victoria Kookaburra Awards – Acknowledging outstanding voluntary contributions to the Parks Victoria estate

FOBIF is proud to have been nominated for a Parks Victoria 2016 Connecting People to Parks Kookaburra Award.

Parks Victoria presents the Kookaburra Awards to individuals and Friends groups that have made an outstanding contribution to the Parks Victoria estate.

The Northern Region awards will be presented at a Kookaburra Awards Ceremony to be held at Maldon Vintage Machinery Museum, Vincents Street, Maldon on Saturday 3 December 2016, from 10.30 to 2.30pm.

 If you would like to attend this event  as a FOBIF representative please email us at info@fobif.org.au by Monday 21 November.

Several photos for our 2017 exhibition, Mountains and Waterways, have been added to our new Flickr album during the last week. Noel Muller, Ranger Team Leader Goldfields, Parks Victoria, has sent a quirky tree photo from Mount Tarrengower and several FOBIF members have been visiting our flooded swamps. It’s a good time to get out and take water related photos after our recent rains. If you would like directions on how to get to swamps and other sites let us know at info@fobif.org.au

Mount Tarrengower, 15 October 2016

Walkers Swamp, 14 November 2016

Bells Swamp, 9 November 2016

Snakes are out and about, though they’ve become active a little later this year because of cooler conditions.

Obviously people should be careful in areas where snakes are likely to be present–and not only for their own safety.

The picture below is a dismal reminder of the annual massacre on our highways. As we’ve reported before, the kill rate on the roads is both frightful, and very often avoidable: and reptiles are special victims.

Another reason for slowing down…

Pyrenees Highway, McKenzie Hill, November 9:  a sight so common as to be almost unnoticeable.

And on a more positive note: below is a photo of a turtle [any suggestions on the species? We think it might be a Common Long Neck–Chelodina longicollis] found by a driver in the middle of a dirt road in Walmer, and safely removed to the side of the road: