Frank, I can’t speak for what happens in the southwest but the publically
available fire operations plans published by DEPI in Victoria do try to give
consideration to the principle of creating breaks and mosaics and protecting
high-value areas. See for example:
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fire-and-other-emergencies/planned-burning-an-introduction/fire-operations-plans-approved
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/146641/MALLEE-map_final-2012.pdf
From: Frank O'Connor
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2013 7:38 PM
To:
Subject: [Birding-Aus] the fire hazard reduction program
Ross McFarlane points out the common claim :
There is a need for some prescribed burning, for ecological reasons as well as
for public safety. They create a mosaic of vegetation classes that different
species need - e.g. malleefowl feed on wattle seeds etc. in disturbed habitat,
and the Triodia that Mallee emu-wrens live in senesces in long unburned
habitat. And the firebreaks can protect some long-unburned "lifeboat" patches
from landscape scale bushfires.
The concept of mosiac or patchwork burns sounds nice. But in practice they
blanket burn large areas of the south west and particularly the Kimberley, the
latter year after year. Sure, some patches somehow survive, but in my
experience I can't believe that these patches are enough for the dependent
species to survive. Even if they do hang on, their numbers are greatly reduced.
I have no problems with firebreaks as a means of stopping fires, and especially
to give access to fight fires, but apart from bulldozing / mowing them, I see
no concept of creating a firebreak in the prescribed burning. When they have
done a prescribed burn to protect habitat of threatened / endangered species,
at least two I know of have got out of control and burnt the area meant to be
protected.
_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
