MANAGEMENT OF FIRE
A thorny topic that won’t go away. How do we balance protection of lives and livelihoods with optimum regimes for the environment? What is best for this environment? What can we learn from last year’s fires? What difference is climate change calling for? We have had a couple of actions this quarter.
First, Proo and I gave evidence in July to an all party enquiry. We tried to stress the importance of spending money on research and of listening to the results of research.
Then, as a result of various discussions, the committee endorsed a letter to Mark Corr of DSE on the Fire Operations Plan, which is summarised below. In response to this letter, we have been invited to tour recently burnt areas and proposed burns with DSE and Parks staff on Nov 13th. If any member would like the full text, please contact the editor.
As one would expect, there is some variety of thinking within FOGG. Yet it is too important to ignore. I hope we can continue to explore it rationally, willing to change our minds when new evidence comes in, and to support efforts to educate the public (and ourselves) on the issues. And have some sympathy for those who have to make the difficult decisions.
MS.
LETTER TO MARK CORR
Re Fire Operations Plan 2007-
1. We continue to be concerned that the development of the Fire Operation Plan is too motivated by a desire to appease vocal private interests in protecting their assets outside the park, than a real concern to protect the public biodiversity assets within the park………
2. The addition of shaded areas for 06/07 wildfire and prescribed burns was very useful this year in interpreting the maps. However it became clear that a longer fire history is needed, to be properly informed……..
We request that in future the fire operations plan includes a map showing a ten year fire history of both wild fires and prescribed burning.
3……… There has been a significant change to the wording of the management intensity between the South West Region Protection Plan 2006 and the Fire Operation Plan 2007. This change seems to have occurred without any public review of the Protection Plan. Changing words from “upto” and “approximately” to “at least” substantially changes the meaning and the outcome………….
4. FOGGs wish to make the following specific comments:
08.G20. This is a large burn in Zone 3 area in the Northern Black Range. This is one situation where our response to this would have been aided by a map with a longer fire history, as we are aware that about 50% of the Black Range was burnt a few years ago, but are unsure how this fits with this proposed burn….. We would suggest that this block is broken up and burnt in smaller sections maybe over more than one year to ensure that areas not intended for burning don’t get burnt.
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