Registrations Open for a Burning to Plan Workshop to Assist Landholders …

David Cleaver (TFS) presenting an introduction to fire risk and why fire danger ratings are important to everyone not just the fire service.

… with Managing Fire on their Properties to be Held in Launceston

South-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, is particularly prone to fire and is regarded as one of the most bushfire affected regions in the world. Fire is a part of the Australian landscape and is an important component to the health of many of our ecosystems. It can also be a scary thing when you are feeling under-prepared and fire is threatening.

Knowing how to manage fire, either to reduce the likelihood, severity or impacts of a bushfire, or for beneficial ecological or agricultural outcomes, is an important tool for Tasmanian landholders. However, finding the right information and feeling confident about fire management is not always easy.

Tamar NRM and the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods teamed up in 2017 to develop and run a workshop, Burning to Plan, to help landholders produce Bushfire Management Plans tailored to their properties and management goals. Experts were on hand to offer advice on key ecological principles, legal requirements, fire behaviour and risk and different management tools that landholders could use to reduce the risk of fire to their assets, including built, agricultural and environmental.

“So often we hear that fire has “devastated” an area of native vegetation, this is not always the case with Australian ecosystems” says fire ecologist, Gill Basnett, Tamar NRM. “Although some ecosystems cannot cope with fire, for example rainforests and some of Tasmania’s iconic alpine communities, appropriate fire regimes can be important to maintain the health of many others. How we manage fire successfully and safely to protect life and property, as well as benefit the environment, is an important question for many land managers/owners and something we address in our Burning to Plan workshops”.

After the success of the Burning to Plan workshop last year, Tamar NRM and TFS Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods are holding another 1.5 day Burning to Plan workshop on the 20th and 21st July 2018. The workshop is open to landholders state wide, and will be held at the Tasmanian Fire Service Northern Region HQ Youngtown. Registrations are essential and close on Monday 25th June so that maps and other materials can be produced in time for the workshop.

“With almost 50% of Tasmania privately managed, it is important that we provide landholders with the knowledge, skills and capacity to plan for bushfires as well as manage the risk on their own properties. This includes developing a Bushfire Management Plan and knowing how to safely and effectively conduct planned burning on their properties.” David Cleaver, Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods, said. “This is why the TFS and Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods are working with Tamar NRM to deliver the Burning to Plan workshops.”

“Feedback provided by last year’s Burning to Plan workshop participants was overwhelmingly positive, and we have had interest from landholders who could not attend last year, so we thought we would run another one”. Gill said

“The information and guidance provided by the presenters enabled me to step through the process and produce a fire management plan tailored to the natural attributes of my property and reflecting my objectives”. Burning to Plan participant.

“Until we received first hand expert advice, specific to our site, we felt insecure and uncertain as to a realistic Fire Management Plan. The information we received enabled us to feel more capable to plan and act with confidence that what we are planning is useful.” Burning to Plan participant.

People interested in participating in the workshop should contact Gill Basnett at Tamar NRM on 0438 265 792 or gill.basnett@launceston.tas.gov.au. Visit the Tamar NRM website at www.tamarnrm.com.au for more information.

Project supported by funding from the Australian Government and administered by the Tasmanian State Government.
Gill Basnett Program Coordinator