bq.. Dear Ian,
I wish to raise some concerns on behalf of FOGGS over the implementation of the FOP this year.
On Friday last week when we heard of the intention to burn the Lynch’s Crossing block on the following Sunday, I contacted a number of both DSE and PV staff. The more people I spoke to the more concerned I became with the process.
I was told that the Wannon River Crossing burn had been a hot burn, crowning at times and resulted in a 95% burn. While I understand that burns will sometimes burn hotter and more completely than was anticipated I was surprised to be told that this was in fact a very good outcome, and although The Fire Protection Plan (July 2006) states that the burn should be “up to 80%” this really means 80% is the minimum aimed for. When I enquired as to what was intended by a Zone 3 fire being “approximately 50%” I was told that it didn’t mean 50 ? 10 %, but once again, this was the minimum that would be aimed for.
We believe this is very misleading to the general public who see prescribed burns as cool burns undertaken to reduce fuel loads, and that the stated guidelines are used to determine the timing of a burn. While we understand that this is not an exact science and sometimes burns will be hotter than anticipated we believe these guidelines need to underpin the decisions to burn.
We are not unsympathetic to the dilemma faced by public land managers during these unprecedented dry conditions. We certainly see the need to carry out controlled burns to reduce the spread of catastrophic wild fires. At the same time we need to recognise that native populations are also under enormous stress. Bird monitoring in the Wimmera has shown a marked decline in the number of birds present, and there is every reason to believe this will be mirrored across most natural populations.
Lynch’s Crossing is almost 70% Zone 4, with the remainder Zone 3. It contains a third of the habitat for heath mouse and bandicoot in the area and has half the ‘long unburnt’ forest of the area, therefore it would seem essential to ensure that this be a cool patchy burn.
We are concerned that the intention to bring the burning of Lynch’s Crossing ahead by a year and plan to burn it last Sunday because other areas were too dry did not give either proper consideration to the guidelines for Zone 3 burns, or the ecological values of the area.
We therefore request that all future burns be carried out according to the Fire Operation Plan and that the zones to be burnt are treated according to the Fire Protection Plan.
Yours sincerely
Prue Pyke
p. We received an answer to this letter from Ian, noting the challenges the DSE face in conducting burns in very dry years, and an intention to clarify the percentage statement.
To our relief, the weather co-operated and the burn did not go ahead as planned. As you can see in the diary, we plan a meeting with DSE Horsham in late July to look at the new Fire Operations Plan.