The group has met twice this year. The first meeting was a combined meeting with the Round Table, and the second was a stand alone meeting.
The meeting with the Round Table group on 9 April was interesting. I was there wearing two hats, substituting for Wendy as FOGG rep, and as Advisory Group convenor. Wendy was unable to attend, but has been keeping me up to date on what has been happening. The meeting specifically focused on the recent Victoria Valley Complex Fire which impacted on private property and National Park Estate. It looked at the fire, its impact, the response and recovery processes. It was also going to discuss the implications on our burning program which is of particular relevance to the Advisory Group, but ran out of time.
Attending the meeting were Graham Parkes and Russell Manning who were both Incident Controllers throughout the fire as well as Dave Roberts and Glenn Rudolph in operational roles. Some of the Round Table members had involvement in the fire as did a number of advisory group members
We had a lengthy discussion on the fire, and its frustratingly unusual behaviour, in that it started when the weather forecast was for low fire danger then spread so fast during the night. The stretched resources of PV and DSE were also a hindrance as firefighters had to be called back from the Mallee and Gippsland fires. Unfortunately we ran out of time to discuss the impact on the Park’s natural and cultural values or the wider implications. So it was good to have our regular AG meeting in April.
At the April meeting we started the very full day with discussing the Round Table Forum. The group felt that it had been an excellent idea to have us there, and should be continued.
We do not see the round table as a replacement for the AG, because of its focus purely on fire, and its uncertain future. We then had a closer look at the fire. DR showed us a map of fire severity. It showed just how hot some of the fire was, and also how last year’s Fuel Reduction Burn slowed the fire and achieved patchiness in some areas. A rapid assessment team has been and has produced a report which will be generally available shortly. This will go to the Department of Finance and request about $3m, but given the huge bill of all the fires in the state this year ($110m) we are unlikely to get that much. DPIE are running the recovery. There’s about $1/2 million damage to roads: 44 culverts and kilometres of damaged road from the heavy machinery, plus170 km of control line needing rehab …., plus damage to infrastructure at cultural sites etc.
Lessons learnt:
The value of a few sensitive burns, and the preparations which were made when it was planned to put a burn in some of the area. Not only the patchiness in the burnt areas, but some cultural sites were better protected. (There’s some ex-foliation at the Camp of the Emu’s Foot, and where arsenic treated pine was used, a specialised team will have to be used to remove it.)
FRB implications. 15,000ha of this fire were planned to be burned this autumn, and now obviously won’t be. But on the current way targets are interpreted, this is not subtracted from the district quota. Some of the group expressed their disappointment with the fact that FRB targets do not take into account wildfire. However this is not something the AG can change. Individuals should consider writing to their local members. (as I have subsequently done: see my letterbelow.)
We covered a lot of ground during the meeting and I’ll deal with the major points.
Flood Recovery Update (Andrew Roach):
Milestones, openings. In all 67 local roads and 12 walking tracks have been worked on, and most work is now complete or almost so. However at Zumsteins there have been frustrating delays. The painting of the bridges was poor and the contractors have to redo it. Paper work from Melbourne has been slow. A decision on a date for the official reopening will be made soon. (Now confirmed as 22 September)
Environment and Heritage Update (Ryan):
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BRTWs. The project is facing real challenges,with several more deaths.
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Foxes. There will be extra fox baiting in the fire affected areas. Next year it is planned to put gps collars on some foxes to track their movements.. Cats are also a concern, and it is hoped that there will be better control techniques soon.
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Bioscan. In addition to the youtube clips, a more comprehensive written report will be done. DVDs of the history interviews have been produced.
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Deer research. The student’s PhD on deer diet in different vegetation communities is complete and will be presented soon.
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Flood and Fire recovery Projects.
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Mammal trapping has recommenced and is extended . Four of the sites were affected by the fire, so having several years prefire data and getting in quickly post fire will be very valuable.
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There are three new research projects. One is on Smoky Mouse. The second is on birds, and follows on from the Bioscan. Recorders will be set up, able to identify the birds from their calls, and also a study of data from long term bird watchers. The third is on aquatic refuges.
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Volunteer Co-ordinator. Thanks to Katherine, a big impact has been made on the outlier sallow wattle infestations.
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Staffing update (Dave Roberts)
The Volunteer Coordinator position has commitment from PV & CVA(Conservation Volunteers Australia) for another 12months. The AG group welcomed this news and confirmed our support for the position to continue and build. Parks Victoria still need to shed 100+/- positions. The impact will be non “front line staff” initially, via voluntary redundancies. However, inevitably there will be impacts to on ground capacity. The amalgamation of DSE and DPI has not altered the status of PV. Parks will not be absorbed into the new body.
Commercial development in the Park. The group was divided on whether this would help or hinder the park, which is so strapped for funds. But we all agreed that adherence to the guidelines and community consultation was essential, and that the AG should get early notice of proposals.
Finally,Dave informed us that the Grampians would star in the forthcoming series of The Biggest Loser. Participants would be filmed out exercising in the Park.
If anyone is interested in more details of any of these, do contact me.
Margo