Category: Submission Letters

Engage Victoria survey on State Forests

Victorian Environment Friends Network News: Have your say on the future of state forests in the Engage Victoria survey, open until Sunday, 12th January. The Victorian Government will not be creating national parks at Wombat-Lerderderg and Mount Buangor/Mount Cole. Instead, the Great Outdoors Taskforce will consider multiple uses of over 2 million hectares of state forests, including expanded recreational activities, firewood collection, and vegetation clearing.

The taskforce’s objectives indicate that no large-scale changes to land tenure, including the creation of new National Parks, will be recommended.

Have your say on the future of our state forests here. The survey closes on 12th January, indicating limited community consultation.… Read the rest

Contact your Parliamentary Representative

 

An important article was omitted from our recent newsletter. You willhave read our president’s article urging members to write to our politicians over the move to encourage private development in our National Parks. Friends of the Prom have written the very useful letter below to their members and we would urge you to use their arguments together with our own in writing your own letters about our Grampians park.

 

Dear Friend,

 

We hope that everyone who loves Wilsons Promontory National Park (and other Victorian National Parks) will support this campaign by writing to State Members of Parliament (post or Email) expressing opposition to this new policy.

 

We believe that individual letters are much more effective than “form letters” which people just sign, or petitions – so please compose your own letter in your own words – including some of the points suggested below. Short, sharp … Read the rest

THE BURNING ISSUE

 

After the discussion at the two advisory group meetings, I wrote the letter below to several local politicians, with copies to DSE and Parks. I sent it as an individual, not as Advisory group nor as a Foggie.

I am writing to you over my deep concern as to some unforeseen consequences of the burn targets set after the Bushfire Royal Commission. I am not at this point commenting on the targets themselves, but on how wildfires and different suppression activities are not taken into account.

The recent fire in the Grampians highlights the problem. The fire burnt through 28,920 hectares, almost one fifth of the park’s 168,110 hectares, of which 15,000 hectares was planned to be burnt this year. And this only 7 years after the Mt Lubra fires, so that now only one third of the Park’s vegetation is more than 7 years old. Yet under the … Read the rest

Response to The Fire Operations Plan 2011-2014 Proo Pyke

Friends of the Grampians Gariwerd wish to make the following points in response to the Fire Operations Plan.

We would like to support the effort that has been made to use the information gained from the Fire Ecology Strategy plan “Biophysical Units for Fire Management” (prepared by the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of Ballarat) to underpin the determination of the areas planned to be burned over the next three years. For many years now FOGGS has stressed the need for science to be the guiding factor in planning for proposed burns and are pleased to learn that Parks Staff are now in a much better position to ensure they understand the potential ecological consequences of their decisions.

For this reason we are very concerned that sufficient money is provided to ensure that the burns proposed can be properly monitored both pre and post burn so that our … Read the rest

LETTERS TO POLITICIANS

Letter emailed in March:
The Grampians experienced severe and extensive damage to its infrastructure during the unseasonal rain event on January 13 and much of this damage will not be repaired or replaced for years and in some cases will never be repaired. It took the park over four years to have infrastructure replaced and repaired after the bushfire of 2006 (which burnt 48% of the park). The difference between 2006 and this event, is that in 2006 the fire was an isolated event, whereas this event has been only one of a large number of flood events vying for government money to repair its infrastructure. We are concerned the recovery from this event will take a lot longer than the 2006 bushfire and the effects this will have on local businesses and the natural values of the park.
The local business people relying on tourism may struggle to keep … Read the rest

TOO MANY FERAL CATS IN VICTORIA

And another petition request:
TOO MANY FERAL CATS IN VICTORIA
Cats are already a major problem in our Park, and as there is growing success in limiting fox numbers, feral cats may become even more of a threat. Halls Gap is supposed to be “cat free” but cats and kittens are continually being seen. And there aren’t restrictions on cat ownership in the other local townships. We received an email highlighting the problem of the many stray and unwanted cats in our community and asking our support for a petition for compulsory desexing of all cats over the age of 12 weeks.
The effects that feral and domestic cats have on our natural wildlife is immense as you know, it is estimated that 96 million birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates are killed by domestic cats alone and that is why I am hoping your group will get behind this … Read the rest

Victorian Environmental Assessment Council needs Friends

From the Victorian National Parks Association I have a request for FOGGS to join in a petition.

The next time you take a walk in one of Victoria’s great national parks, it might be good to remember that it was probably established on the advice of a remarkable independent government body called the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council. VEAC is an independent, science-based body that looks at the ecological value of habitats and advises the government on what to protect. VEAC and its predecessors have been providing sound scientific advice for almost 40 years. Now the Victorian Government has a proposal to abolish the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC). This will put future habitat protection at severe risk.
Why do we need an independent VEAC?
Community organisations like the Victorian National Parks Association have been key drivers for the greater protection and better management of our natural areas. But Victoria, unlike … Read the rest

Management of Fire

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.… Read the rest

Letter to the Parliamentary Enquiry into the management of public land

I first submitted this as a personal submission, but it was subsequently endorsed by the committee as representing the view of the FOGG committee. We have been invited to speak to the inquiry on July 3. The same submission was also sent to the “People’s Review”. Judging from the tenor of that review it seems unlikely that it was popular and I have not received any response from them.

bq.. I wish to make several observations about the Mt Lubra fire, particularly the policies and practices of Parks Vic and DSE prior to the fires.

* While there are always things that may have been done better, I do not agree that any blame for the Mt Lubra fire should be levelled at the local park management, or DSE or indeed the CFA. It was a tragedy both for the Park and the surrounding countryside that the fire was so … Read the rest

Letter to Ian Voigt, Regional director DSE

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 … Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd