Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

Richard Piesse died peacefully on Saturday, December 28, after a short stay in palliative care at Peter Mac. Richard was a contributor to our community in multiple ways—he was a volunteer for the Chewton Domain Society and the Tourist Information Centre and was active in the Great Dividing Trail Association, the Field Naturalists Club and FOBIF. He led many walks in the region for these community groups. He was an active supporter of Ern Perkins and the Field Naturalists in doing quadrat surveys, and the detailed knowledge he had of the natural history of this region made him an invaluable supporter and participant in the production of FOBIF field guides.

Richard Piesse (in green cap) as FOBIF walk leader, Tarilta Gorge 2015

Richard moved to Melbourne to be close to his children some years ago. He had been sick for some time, but this did not stop him from regularly coming back to Castlemaine on the train to volunteer in the Tourist Info centre in Mostyn Street, and to go on bush forays with Field Naturalists and FOBIF members, the most recent being in spring 2024.

Richard loved our bushlands and was a knowledgeable and engaging companion to have on bushwalks. Pugnacious and incisive, he was nevertheless ever ready to engage in positive exchanges with forest officers in the best interests of land management. His passing is a loss not just to his family and friends, but to our community as a whole.

Richard in a copse of the rare Acacia sporadica in the Fryers Forest, 2022. In spite of serious illness, he made many excursions into the bush.

Changes are afoot in the management of Victoria’s state forests.  VicForests (the government-backed logging company) has been wound up and the government has released a survey on the future management of state forests. Here is a link to the survey with information from the Victorian National Parks Association: https://vnpa.org.au/take-action-wildlife-deserve-a-safe-future/

Take action: wildlife deserve a safe future

FOBIF will be making a submission, and it would be great if there were lots of responses from individuals who care about the environment. You have until 12th January to have your say.

In early December FOBIF sent a letter to Mount Alexander Shire Council requesting the adoption and resourcing of a Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan in the next budget. The letter prepared by Asha Bannon (& endorsed by 21 local environmental groups) was presented to the Council last Tuesday. A packed public gallery of supporters included representatives from Connecting Country, Harcourt Valley Landcare, Maldon Urban Landcare and Castlemaine Landcare. Karl Just, Marie Jones, Gen Blades & Lisa Hall spoke in support of the proposal. We were pleased to hear the response from the Council – that they support the development of a Biodiversity Strategy and that it will be funded in the 2024-25 budget. They also assured us that FOBIF will be involved in the process.  You can view the Council meeting here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_LZfGe7ujs

1. The FOBIF end of the year gathering is on next Monday (9 December) at 6 pm in Walmer. You can find all the details here. 

Setting for our breakup near the Walmer South Nature Conservation Reserve.

2. Last week we posted about the current FOBIF treasurer vacancy. The position is still open. Our temporary treasurer, Lisa Hall, will be at breakup next Monday so if you are thinking of joining the FOBIF team this would be the perfect opportunity to find out more. 

Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests is having a BBQ at Bronwyn Silver’s place in Walmer on Monday 9th December. It starts at 6 pm and the address is 1036 Muckleford-Walmer Road, Walmer.

BYO
* food to share, including something for the BBQ if you like
* plates, glasses, cutlery
* drinks
* a chair

All FOBIF members and supporters are welcome. We hope all former committee members will be there so we can raise our glasses to them for a job well done. 

Enquiries Bronwyn: 0448 751 111.

FOBIF breakup December 2019

The 2024-5 bushfire season has started in Victoria, so it might be a good idea to draw attention to one important dimension of management practices. Readers will no doubt be familiar with this kind of notice, attached to trees to notify the public of an upcoming burn:

Note the objective ‘to maintain or improve the resilience of our natural ecosystems.’

Is that objective being achieved? Is it even a serious objective? Whenever we’ve enquired about the purpose of a particular burn, the objectives given to us are to do with life and property, and any mention of ecosystems is vague in the extreme. Some fire officers have expressed outright cynicism about the stated objective!

Now, a new study of the Black Summer fires of 2019-20 suggests that in those fires the most serious damage to biodiversity occurred in areas which had most recently burned:

The study, in the journal Nature, ‘found that sites with high fire frequency (three or more fires in the 40 years preceding 2019–2020) had negative effects that were 87–93% larger compared with sites not burnt or burnt once over the same period. Similarly, when the most recent inter-fire intervals were short (10 years or less), negative effects were 70% larger compared with sites burnt more than 20 years previously.’ These effects were observable even when the previous fires had been mild.

The study also found that frequent fires strongly favour some species. This could lead to the dominance of fire tolerant species and a rapid decline of species more seriously affected by fire. Serious fire also favours feral predators able to move more freely in post fire landscapes.

The study ‘observed the smallest effect sizes at intermediate fire intervals (11-20 years), indicating that communities undergo the least disruption at these intervals. Long intervals are also needed to serve as refuges, create time-dependent habitat attributes such as tree hollows, and support source populations for species that might be lost from areas burnt too frequently.’

(It’s worth noting that, according to a 2010 study by David Cheal, the minimum tolerable fire interval in box/ironbark forests is 12 years after a low severity fire and 30 years after a high severity fire.)

The authors of the study accept the need for fire management action to protect both forest and people: but they urge a change in current strategies: ‘ Given that under extreme weather, prescribed fires have limited capacity to prevent vulnerable areas from burning, widespread and frequent prescribed fire is a poor choice for responding to the growing fire threat. With such a vast area of Australian forests in an early post-fire state, increasing rapid wildfire suppression is now an important alternative strategy for limiting short fire intervals.’

There are, of course, other factors driving fire severity, like drought; and long term warming is an overarching reality, something we feel every summer. The study factors these realities  into its findings. It would be good to think fire officers—and maybe more importantly, politicians—are giving it a good look.

Become our Treasurer!

Are you passionate about nature conservation? Do you have a knack for numbers and a love for protecting our iconic Box-Ironbark forests? The Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests are seeking a Treasurer to join our team of volunteers to help us continue our important work in preserving these vital ecosystems.

About Us:

The Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests is a grassroots conservation group committed to protecting and enhancing the health of Box-Ironbark forests in Victoria. We engage with local communities, raise awareness, and undertake vital conservation projects to safeguard the unique biodiversity of these forests.

Position: Treasurer

Key Responsibilities:

• Oversee the financial management of the organization, ensuring accurate and transparent financial records.
• Prepare financial statements for monthly and annual reporting.
• Ensure compliance with relevant financial regulations, including charity and not-for-profit laws.

What We’re Looking For:

• Attention to detail and the ability to communicate financial information clearly.
• A passion for environmental conservation and the work of the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a dedicated team of volunteers and members.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of an active, passionate community dedicated to making a real difference in environmental conservation.
• Gain valuable experience in nonprofit financial management.
• Help us ensure the future of Victoria’s Box-Ironbark forests for generations to come.

• How to Apply:

If you are excited to take on this vital role, please get in touch with me, Lisa Hall, Interim Treasurer 0488 102 191, lisanaomihall@gmail.com.

Become an essential part of our mission to protect the Box-Ironbark forests—where every number counts and every effort helps ensure a greener, more sustainable future.

A new study examining plant and animal species after the Black Summer fire season found greater biodiversity loss in areas subject to frequent burning. You can view two articles on the study here, one from The Conversation and one from the ABC.

One of the arguments often put forward to support fuel reduction  burning is that it can prevent or reduce the severity of larger bushfires. The argument goes that even if planned burning causes some impacts, it is less than what would occur during a larger bushfire. However, it is interesting to note that this study found otherwise, that the frequency of fire (e.g. planned burning followed by bushfire rather than bushfire alone) may cause greater harm and “condemns many plants and animals to large, potentially catastrophic declines in the next bushfire”.