Sunday, January 20, 2013

Bushfires rage on mixed land tenures, not National Parks

Via Chris Taylor.

It did not take long, but the logging lobby is now blaming national parks and environmentalists for the recent fires. In the logging industry's newsletter, Timber and Forestry eNews, the lobby are parroting Miranda Devine's article 'Green arrogance burns fiercely'.

The obsession of the logging lobby's focus on just national parks as the driving force behind these fires is misleading at best and outright dangerous at worst, because multiple land tenures have carried these fires. These include state forest, pasture land for grazing, cropping land, conservation reserves and plantations.

In a fire management strategy, ALL land tenures must be considered for the risk of fire that they pose to life and property, not just one. An example of this is the current Aberfeldy-Donnely Creek fire in Gippsland. 

First, the fire is reported to have started in state forest around the Toombon Gold Mine Historic Area reserve, just south east of Aberfeldy. 

Second, it progressed through the state forest, much of it has been extensively roaded and parts logged over the years and it recently had an extensive network of 'fuel breaks' cut through it. Of significance, the entire area carrying the current fire was impacted by the 2007 Great Divide fires only 6 years ago. 

Third, the current fire has progressed out of the state forest into land tenure used for grazing, dryland cropping and possibly irrigated cropping. 

To date, no national park has carried this fire.

We desperately need to have an informed discussion concerning fire risk in our community and cease with the unjustified 'hate mongering' pushed by an extremist minority representing specific political and ideological interests.

Disgusting propaganda and bile the "logging industry" and their PR hacks spout to justify their crimes against our biosphere. Logging increases fire risk, intact forests mitigage it (not cows).

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