'Fuel reduction' burn looks pretty good

I must say that I have been impressed by the 'fuel reduction' burn just conducted in part of the Grantville Flora and Fauna  Reserve (even though I have great doubts that these burns reduce the risk of wildfires).
It appeared to have been reasonably 'cool' and well targetted which would have allowed many small reptiles and mammals to escape.
The burn was close to our farm but was conducted as an 'asset protection' measure alongside an old and inappropriate subdivision known as the Adams Estate. It would be a better long term outcome for the State Government to buy-out the people who shouldn't be there anyway. It remains to be seen how much future  'protection' they will enjoy.
 Unfortunately quite a few of the families living there have trail bikes and they seem to have no understanding of their responsibilities to the community. There's nothing wrong with motor bikes - we have three on the farm - the only problem is their thoughtless use in the bush. It makes my blood run cold (or hot) when I hear the turkeys revving their bikes through the reserve with hot exhausts and sparks flying on fire ban days. They just don't get the risks, and it's not only kids. There are many 'mature' riders who are oblivious to any potential problems they are creating with wildfires and their own financial liability. Most of the riders here may be under-age children but their parents don't seem to realise they will have to foot the bills for damage caused by their precious offspring - and they could lose everything as a result!!
If you want to see more about the values of our bushland, have a look at http://bassbush.htmlplanet.com/
I'll try to get some photos of the results of the recent burn up on that site.

We may not be here much longer if the arsonists have their way!

A 'controlled fuel reduction burn' is planned in the next week or so for the Grantville Flora and Fauna Reserve next to our property and we are not too happy about it. But of course there is nothing we can do because general public opinion demands that the Department of Sustainability and Environment conducts burns on native vegetation to make it 'safe'.

We have expressed our objection to the planned burn and I must say that we feel more threatened by the prospect of a deliberate burn being ignited by DSE staff and our local CFA than by a wildfire which may start naturally.

So many of these 'controlled' burns (which the proponents say are necessary to reduce the understorey load they see as a threat) get out of control because they are deliberately lit on inappropriate days when wind shifts are likely. Rarely is an assessment made of the actual threat to 'assets'.

The vegetation here is generally wet forest and it's going through a natural transition which will be set back by human interference in the form of a widespread burn. OK, it's reasonably dry at the moment, but putting a burn through now will not reduce the fire threat next year – it may in fact increase the danger for residents in the Adams Estate which is an old and inappropriate subdivision. They have been clamouring for a burn to 'protect assets' without any understanding of fire behaviour or fire ecology. This fire will kill koalas, bandicoots, possums and other wildlife. It's likely that immediately after the 'controlled burn' residents will have problems with snakes looking for a new home. Countless will be killed by panicky people wielding spades.

But at the end of it all, the fire threat will be the same next year – nothing will have changed except more native wildlife will have been killed and more habitat will have been modified for no purpose other than appeasing an insatiable demand for 'someone to do something' about the threat of wildfire.

The current Royal Commission into last year's fires will probably come up with nonsense about justifying the need for more burns – even though those are likely to increase fire danger by changing vegetation types from damp to dry.

Anyway, no-one will take any notice of us. But if this 'controlled burn' get out of hand and generates problems, DSE can expect a bit of trouble. Who is going to be out there finding burned animals? Who is going to euthanase those too badly burned to be rehabilitated? What happens next year if a wildfire goes through and this year's burn is seen as a useless exercise? There's not much point in trying to find somone to blame. And who cares?