Fire proposals: have a say!

The Department of Environment has released its draft fuel management plan for 2022-4 for comment. The plan includes ‘DELWP led fuel reduction and ecological burns, and does not include Traditional Owner burns, CFA led burns and mechanical works.’

The plan can be seen at this link: https://delwp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=23959d4ab7864cd98ffd6de81c81b4dd

The interactive map at the link is pretty mediocre, but it does give an idea of proposed management burns for the next couple of years.

A screenshot from this map shows some of the burns proposed for this region:

–Glenluce-Hunters track, centred at the junction of Irishtown and Hunters track, in the Diggings Park

–Irishtown track: a large area bounded by Irishtown tk, Vaughan-Chewton road, Drummond road, Smutta’s track and Hunters track

–Wewak Track: a very large area between Wewak and Sebastopol tracks

–Tarilta: an area west of Porcupine ridge road, at the north end of the valley.

–Taradale: an area on the Old Drummond road, along Humboldt track.

–Taradale: a substantial area along Salt Water track, adjacent to the recent Bones Gully burn.

— A substantial burn along the Maldon Railway line, one of the region’s prime wildflower areas.

–Two burns in the Walmer State forest.

FOBIF has the usual concerns about these exercises (see, for example, our posts here), here, and here )

And there’s an additional one: we’re curious about the fact that three of them seem to be double zone burns. That is, in one go, the Department is going to burn an area that is half zone two (‘Bushfire moderation’) and half zone three (‘Landscape management’). These zones are in theory supposed to be treated quite differently: Zone 2 is largely fuel reduction; Zone 3 is meant to have significant ecological outcomes.

That theory is going to be severely tested.

We’ll be repeating our concerns in a submission to the Department.  Submissions close on July 11. Address your input to Loddonmallee.plannedburning@delwp.vic.gov.au