❓ A parliamentary question regarding an experimental fire at Benger Nature Reserve, focusing on justification, safety, best practice, and impact on threatened species. The Minister's response details the purpose of the burn, weather conditions, and impact assessment.
AnsweredQoN 5753Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the recent experimental fire that was carried out by the Department at the 360 hectare Benger Nature Reserve, near Harvey, on 14 April 2011:
(a) can the Minister please explain the justification for this burn, at a time when the Shire of Harvey had a ‘total fire ban’, and at the end of one of Western Australia’s longest and hottest summers on record;
(b) does the Minister consider that the weather conditions at the time were suitable for a safe experimental burn; and
(i) if not, why not;
(c) is this best practice fire management; and
(i) if yes, please detail; and
(ii) if not, why not;
(d) what impact has this fire caused to the populations of threatened species that live at this reserve; and
(e) what actions has the Department taken to assess the impact of this fire on the reserve’s ecosystems and threatened species?
(a) can the Minister please explain the justification for this burn, at a time when the Shire of Harvey had a ‘total fire ban’, and at the end of one of Western Australia’s longest and hottest summers on record;
(b) does the Minister consider that the weather conditions at the time were suitable for a safe experimental burn; and
(i) if not, why not;
(c) is this best practice fire management; and
(i) if yes, please detail; and
(ii) if not, why not;
(d) what impact has this fire caused to the populations of threatened species that live at this reserve; and
(e) what actions has the Department taken to assess the impact of this fire on the reserve’s ecosystems and threatened species?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
9 August 2011
Responded by
Minister for Environment
Response time
54 days
(a) The prescribed burn in Benger Swamp Nature Reserve was part of a project to manage the dominance of bullrush
Typha orientalis
in the reserve. Typha has displaced native melaleuca thickets and baumea sedgelands and fills areas that would otherwise be open water. The time of year was chosen to ensure the Typha was sufficiently dry to allow the fire to consume as much of the plant material as possible and stimulate resprouting of the rhizomes, rendering them susceptible to herbicide treatment.
(b) The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) advises that conditions on 14 April were cool and mild, well within prescribed limits for the burn.
(c) Yes
(i) The decision to proceed with the prescribed burn was made after careful analysis of forecast weather conditions to ensure it could be carried out safely and achieve the burn objective. Although this was initially achieved, two days later much of the reserve was burnt by a bushfire that probably emanated from the prescribed burn. DEC is completing a post incident analysis and will adopt any recommendations for improvements to fire management practices.
(ii) Not applicable
(d) The Australasian Bittern is the only threatened species known to occur in the reserve. At the time of the fire it is likely that the bittern population was absent as the wetland was dry and had been so since October 2010. Though historically the bittern's preferred habitat would have been baumea sedgelands, the Typha-dominated closed sedgelands at Benger provide similar habitat. DEC is confident that the Typha will regenerate in time for the 2011 spring breeding season. The impact of the fire on the bittern population is expected to be minimal.
(e) DEC has surveyed the extent and intensity of the fire, and the level of vegetation removal. A program to monitor the regeneration of bittern habitat and fringing melaleuca thickets has commenced. Monitoring for Australasian Bittern presence will be undertaken in spring. Routine water level monitoring and water quality sampling is continuing.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Typha orientalis
in the reserve. Typha has displaced native melaleuca thickets and baumea sedgelands and fills areas that would otherwise be open water. The time of year was chosen to ensure the Typha was sufficiently dry to allow the fire to consume as much of the plant material as possible and stimulate resprouting of the rhizomes, rendering them susceptible to herbicide treatment.
(b) The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) advises that conditions on 14 April were cool and mild, well within prescribed limits for the burn.
(c) Yes
(i) The decision to proceed with the prescribed burn was made after careful analysis of forecast weather conditions to ensure it could be carried out safely and achieve the burn objective. Although this was initially achieved, two days later much of the reserve was burnt by a bushfire that probably emanated from the prescribed burn. DEC is completing a post incident analysis and will adopt any recommendations for improvements to fire management practices.
(ii) Not applicable
(d) The Australasian Bittern is the only threatened species known to occur in the reserve. At the time of the fire it is likely that the bittern population was absent as the wetland was dry and had been so since October 2010. Though historically the bittern's preferred habitat would have been baumea sedgelands, the Typha-dominated closed sedgelands at Benger provide similar habitat. DEC is confident that the Typha will regenerate in time for the 2011 spring breeding season. The impact of the fire on the bittern population is expected to be minimal.
(e) DEC has surveyed the extent and intensity of the fire, and the level of vegetation removal. A program to monitor the regeneration of bittern habitat and fringing melaleuca thickets has commenced. Monitoring for Australasian Bittern presence will be undertaken in spring. Routine water level monitoring and water quality sampling is continuing.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.