Appropriate Fire Management

Related Content

• NRM Investment Programs

  

  Natural Resource Management Investment Program 2017-2018

  The State has allocated $80 million to the regional natural resource management investment program over five years from 2013 to 2018, including $30 million to protect the Great Barrier Reef. The majority of the funding is being provided to support strategic projects delivered through Queensland's regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies. These organisations provide an important link between governments and communities. They also work collaboratively with volunteer and grass-roots organisations (e.g. Landcare), rural industry groups and landholders.

  

  Natural Resources Investment Program 2018-2022

  Queensland is investing more than $61 million between 2018 and 2022 to ensure the state’s natural land and water resources are sustainably managed. This includes dedicated funds for Great Barrier Reef catchments. The Natural Resources Investment Program funding acknowledges the important role that the natural resource management bodies and the community play in repairing and improving Queensland’s unique assets for future generations.
  

  

  Cape York - Keep It Clean

  Organisations across Cape York are working together to launch a campaign to educate people about the need to deal with their rubbish responsibly when travelling around the Cape. Funded by the Queensland Government and coordinated by Cape York NRM, the campaign will target both locals and tourists and urge them to plan ahead for responsible waste disposal before they even hit the road.   

  

  Regional Land Partnerships

  The aim of Regional Land Partnerships is "to protect, conserve, and provide for the productive use of Australia's water, soil, plants and animals and the ecosystems in which they live and interact, in partnership with governments, industry and communities. Regional Land Partnerships is a major component of the second phase of the National Landcare Program. The investment for 2018-2023 will fund biodiversity projects focused on protecting rainforest, woodlands and coastal vine thickets as well as cassowaries and the golden shouldered parrot.

  

  Cape York Indigenous Fire Workshop 2015-2018

  Income generated from prior year ticket sales to attend and facilitate Cape York fire workshop At the National Indigenous Fire Workshop you will walk with the fire, learning first-hand with traditional owners reading country, the animals, the trees, the seasons, and the cultural responsibility of looking after country. There are demonstrations of research, plant and cultural knowledge workshops that all lead to practicing culture by making country healthy through fire.

• Land Manager Stories

  

  Elsey Station Fire Management

  Case Study of Fire Management and related costs for Elsey Station (1999).

  

  Management Project - Kaanju Fire Management Project

  Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation has recently completed a report Kaanju Fire Management 2003, funded by the Cape York Peninsula Development Association (CYPDA) Fire Project through Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation. The report investigates a number of issues including:

  

  The golden-shouldered parrot is declining in Melaleuca woodlands under a regime without intense late fires

  Effect of different fire regimes on vegetation thickening in grasslands on Cape York Peninsula

  Crowley G.M. (2001) "Grasslands of Cape York Peninsula - a fire-dependent habitat", in Savanna Burning—Understanding and Using Fire in Northern Australia , (eds) R. Dyer, P. Jacklyn, I. Partridge, J. Russell-Smith and R. Williams, Tropical Savannas CRC, Darwin, p.34.

  

  Northern Territory Agnote - Control of Woody Weeds with Fire

  Woody weeds, or the nuisance increase in trees and shrubs, have taken over parts of the Alice Springs district since the 1970s. The reasons for this invasion and its effect are described in Agnote No 653, F85 'Woody Weeds in Central Australiaí and Agnote No 654, F89 ëWhy Do Woody Weed Problems Occur?í. These Agnotes mention the use of fire for control of woody weeds.

  A separate Agnote (No 343, F20) deals with various mechanical methods of control.

  Fires as a control agent

  

  Engaging graziers in regional fire planning on Cape York

  Purpose

  Wildfire causes major losses to ground cover, and is a key contributor to erosion of Cape York’s fragile soils, to sedimentation of water ways, and to poorer water quality on Cape York.  It also results in reduced biodiversity and a reduction of suitable grazing country.

• Newsletter Articles

  

  Welcome to Cape York Healthy Country Newsletter

  Welcome to our first newsletter for 2021. Some people will be glad to see the back of 2020, but there were many good things to come out of the previous 12 months. During 2020 Cape York NRM was able to restructure its operations and program support so that we are able to deliver the best on ground projects possible and we have an incredibly busy year planned for 2021. We welcome four new staff to the team and the Cooktown office is now bursting at the seams.

  

  Save the Northern Australian Fire Information website

  Cape York NRM, on behalf of far northern landholders, pastoralists, conservationists and carbon project managers, is calling on the Australian and Queensland governments to continue funding the Northern Australian Fire Information (NAFI) website, a critically important, real time fire coordination tool used by land managers across northern Queensland and the Northern Territory.

  Funding for the site, firenorth.org.au, runs out in June.

  

  Coordinated burn in southern Cape

  Words and photo Jessie Price-Decle

  Late season fires can destroy habitat, threaten property and livestock, and scorch groundcover leaving country vulnerable to erosion. Fighting fires is also a significant drain on people’s time and resources.

  

  2021 early dry season burn success

  Savanna burning has occurred across Cape York for more than 50,000 years.

  

  Coastal habitat protection for the eastern Cape

  The Communities and coastal habitats of eastern Cape York will benefit from the Australian Government’s Reef Trust funded, Catchments to Coral program. Running from 2021–2023, the project will invest in a broad range of activities that focus on improving the health and resilience of eastern Cape York catchments and coastal ecosystems.

  

  Fire Management

  Story + Photos by Barry Lyon
  
  Technical and onground training is being provided to land managers on Cape York to assist with improved water quality outcomes.
  
  Cape York Natural Resource management is providing a range of training options for Indigenous and other land managers on Cape York under funding provided by the Queensland Government. A fire management workshop hosted by Cape York NRM and The Nature Conservancy in December 2016 highlighted the need for improved fire management capacity, including training of land managers.
  

  

  An open letter to the Queensland and Australian Governments

  Request for ongoing funding of North Australia Fire Information Website (www.firenorth.org.au)

  I am writing on behalf of all attendees at the 2019 Cape York Regional Fire Forum, to request your support for the future of the North Australia Fire Information (NAFI) website. Nearly 100 participants at the Forum, representing Indigenous land managers, pastoralists, conservation managers, carbon industry and agency staff, unanimously voted to request that the Queensland and Australian Governments provide funding to ensure that this vital service continues.

  

  Talaroo Fire Forum focuses on threatened speies

  Words Juliana Foxlee | Photo James Donaldson

  Cape York NRM is partnering with Northern Gulf Resource Management Group to facilitate opportunities for Australian Indigenous people to showcase and share their cultural fire knowledge, establish a network of Indigenous fire practitioners and protect the habitat of threatened species.

  In May, Northern Gulf RMG coordinated an on- country fire workshop at Talaroo Station in the northern Gulf area. The three - day event was hosted by the Ewamian Aboriginal Corporation.

  

  Co-benefits of carbon farming

  There are positive outcomes to carbon farming in addition to emissions avoided or carbon stored.

  

  Welcome to the Cape York Healthy Country Newsletter

  This edition of the Cape York Healthy Country Newsletter highlights how the combination of solid planning and good on ground delivery combine to bring about great results.

  

  Cape York Fire Forum explores carbon farming through burning

  While unprecedented fires ravage southern Australia, leaders in fire management came together in Cooktown to further their work in managing fire across northern Australia for grazing, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emission reduction and cultural outcomes.

  The Cape York Fire Forum, held in Cooktown on 3–4 December, focused on the opportunities and challenges of carbon farming through burning—a process where Australian Carbon Credit units are produced by preventing or reducing greenhouse emissions through planned early dry season burning practices.

  

  2019 Cape York Indigenous Fire Workshop

  Words and photo Robyn May

  ‘Manage landscape and all species benefit’ was just one of the many positive comments made during the feedback session following the 2019 Cape York Indigenous Fire Workshop.

  This year’s workshop was held in July at Mary Valley and coincided with the school holidays, so lots
  of kids were able to attend and learn an array of traditional fire and land management techniques while spending time on Country. This is critical as these children are the land and sea managers of the future.

  

  North Qld Indigenous Fire Management Network

  Sharing knowledge on cultural burning practices and fire management

  

  Traditional burning protects land, water and the Great Barrier Reef

  Words Bianca Barling-Seden | Photo Andrew Hartwig

  In recent years, traditional land and fire management has received widespread recognition, capturing government and private-sector interest.

  Instructed by an Awu-Laya Elders fire management project in Cape York in 2004, traditional burning has flourished through the National Indigenous Fire Workshop, a community-led initiative supported by Cape York Natural Resource Management.

  The flow-on effects of traditional burning are seen from soil conservation and estuary protection through to reef health.

  

  Carbon Farming on the Cape

  Cape York NRM has been awarded $200,000 under the Palaszczuk Government’s Land Restoration Fund to assess the feasibility of a collective carbon farming initiative in the Normanby basin

  

  Reducing impact of late season wildfires

  Land managers from northern Cape York, in a vast area spanning from the western to the eastern coast, came together in July this year to plan a coordinated burn in order to reduce the risk of wildfires. This collaborative project brought together land managers from across the Embley, Mission, Wenlock, Olive and Pascoe catchments.

  

  Minister visits
 Springvale Nature Refuge

  ‘This project aims to substantially reduce the amount of sediment flowing into the Normanby, and as a result, improve water quality in the Northern Great Barrier Reef,’

  

  Fire and feral animal management on Cape York

  The Healthy Farming Futures (HFF) program has seen the completion of the 2021 coordinated aerial burning program, and the feral animal control program.

  Staff, Andrew and Nat, have visited properties across the Holroyd Plain region, undertaking property planning, discussing project opportunities, updating mapping, and checking in on what’s happening on-ground.

  In June and July, the HFF program supported the Cape York coordinated early season burning program, covering 23 properties from as far north as Wolverton Station, to Bonny Glen, south of Cooktown.

• Newsletter Editions

  

  Issue 45

  

  Issue 44

• Podcast Episode

  

  Episode 2

  The revival of traditional Indigenous fire practice began in the 1990s, on Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland. The early European settlers had discouraged it, and despite efforts to stamp it out, the practice never completely went away.

  

  Episode 3

  The traditional burning movement has many supporters and advocates all over Australia.

  Talk to any of them and it won’t be long before you hear them mention “Victor”, The man who learned about fire from those two Cape York old fellas, the bloke who does the fire workshops.

  Victor Steffensen is a central figure in the revival of Indigenous fire practice.

  

  MCYL 04 Louise Stone

  Louise Stone has lived a colourful life.  She grew up on dairy farm on the Atherton Tablelands and has travelled Australia's east coast in horse and buggy. Louise can play almost any musical instrument she picks up, sings like a songbird and she once went on tour with Ester King from the Platters. She has a fascinating career working in Aboriginal communities in Queensland and Northern Territory, training Rangers in Conservation and Land Management. Until late last year, Louise was the Ranger Coordinator with Mapoon Land and Sea Rangers.

  

  Episode 4

  Contemporary Indigenous fire practice is based on ancient knowledge and culture. But contemporary science proves its effectiveness. Science and traditional knowledge are very different ways of knowing, and the two approaches are still learning to work together. Meet Dean Freeman, whose work puts him right at the intersection of traditional fire practice and contemporary fire and land management methods. Dean Freeman is a Wiradjuri man – he’s the Aboriginal Cultural Fire Officer with the A.C.T Parks and Conservation Service.

  

  MCYL S2 Sue Shephard

  Sue Shephard moved to Cape York in 1970 to work at Musgrave Station for the Shephard family.  She met the youngest Shephard son, Tom, got married, and together they raised four children on Artemis Station.

  Artemis is a 125 thousand hectare cattle property between Laura and Coen on Cape York Peninsula. Sue tells some amazing stories of raising kids and cattle, caring for country, and researching the endangered golden shouldered parrot.

  

  Episode 5

  Two Kuku Thaypan elders are at the heart of the story of the national revival of Indigenous fire practice. Dr George and Dr Musgrave had long been determined to take care of their country as their culture required, using the right fire at the right time, as their ancestors had done for tens of thousands of years. They overcame legal and bureaucratic obstacles, and inspired a new generation to learn and understand how fire could be a medicine for the earth.

  

  MCYL S2 Billy Harrigan

  Billy Harrigan is the Cultural Officer with Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council and is a Traditional Owner from the area.

  He has always lived in the south-east of Cape York and has worked hard throughout his life.  Now, he is a few years from retirement. He has seen a lot of change in community, technology, environmental management and government policy.

  

  Episode 6

  Indigenous fire practice is based on the deep cultural understanding that the right fire at the right time maintains or restores environmental balance. It’s very old knowledge, increasingly supported by contemporary science. As the revival of cultural burning spreads, scientists and land managers are increasingly interested, even though science and traditional knowledge are very different ways of knowing. It’s crucial scientists and academics learn to work appropriately and respectfully with Indigenous people.

  

  Episode 1

  Indigenous fire practitioners talk about how fire can be good for country. It’s an idea that confounds European notions of safety and danger, but in the Australian landscape, Indigenous people have always seen fire as a tool, to be used carefully and in the right cultural context. We hear about the start of the revival of traditional fire practice, and meet delegates to the annual National Indigenous Fire Workshop.

  We hear from Victor Steffensen, Noel Webster, Dean Freeman, Oliver Costello, Lewis Musgrave, Peta Standley.

  

  Episode 7

  For tens of thousands of years, Australia’s Indigenous people managed environments with fire, using fire sticks to light carefully timed burns in the right places. That traditional practice now gives its name to the organisation helping to revive it – The Firesticks Alliance.

• Projects

  

  National Indigenous Fire Workshop 2018

  On 12-15 July 2018, the four-day 2018 National Indigenous Fire Workshop was held at Bundanon in Yuin Country on the New South Wales south coast. Convened by the Firesticks Alliance and hosted by the Mudjingaalbaraga Firesticks Team, Bundanon Trust, Mulong and Cape York NRM and the workshop was attended by 296 participants, mostly from across eastern Australia. Participants came from as far north as Napranum, Cape York in northern Queensland to Truwana in Tasmania, and from the APY Lands in Central Australia.

  

  Provision of Northern Australia Fire Information Services

  Information services for Cape York Land Managers: Providing fortnightly fire scar mapping for Cape York and delivering communication products to support interpretation of fire management information at property and regional scale.

  

  Cape York Indigenous Fire Workshop 2016

  The annual Cape York Indigenous Fire Workshop brings many communities as well as multiple agencies and organisations together to help teach them about fire, how they can progress the methodologies used in their own regions for managing fire, and facilitate sharing the knowledge and practices of individuals and organisations between one another.

  

  Development of a Carbon Prioritisation Spatial Framework

  This project facilitates and develops a carbon prioritisation spatial framework for Cape York now and into the future. The project uses existing models, such as those being used by April Reside and Bob Pressey of James Cook University, and adapts and populates them with data for Cape York. The data might include fire, soils, vegetation, wetlands, culture, management regimes and land use. The project aim is to model different outcomes for Cape York based on different, mostly policy, scenarios. A number of maps reveal different opportunities based on different settings.

  

  Wunta Cultural Knowledge and Fire Management

  This project was the first step in the process of gathering information both traditional and scientific of the Nesbit area through the surveying of the area and the development of a plan which would address the management of weeds, feral animals and fire.

  

  Traditional Owners and community working together to address threats to biodiversity

  This project meets three of the CFOC Environmental stream targets. Works focus on controlling 6 x weed species with 3 Traditional owner groups within 3 key environmental areas:

  • Trevethan Creek wildlife corridor site adjacent to the Northern Wet Tropics World Heritage Area
  • Aligator Creek an endangered coastal wetland environment also including weeds of Waymbuurr country in Cooktown
  • Rainforest isolates adjacent to Mt Web National Park at Starke.

  

  Indigenous Fire Workshop 2015

  The Indigenous Fire Workshop for 2015 marks the seventh year of fire workshops on Cape York. This project with Mulong Pty Ltd will conduct the fire management workshop at Mary Valley in 2015 and provided support for the delivery with the logistical requirements that make this event a success

  

  King's Plains Fire Management Project

  This project sought to continue the trial of traditional fire management techniques on Kins Plain's in order to halt the overtaking of weeds and exotic grasses on the property with the continued expressed permission of the property owners Darryl and Linda Paradise.

  

  Provision of Northern Australia Fire Information system mapping for Cape York Region

  Information services for Cape York Land Managers: Provide to NAFI fortnightly fire scar mapping for Cape York. Deliver communication products to support interpretation of fire management information at property and regional scales.

  

  Kickstarting action carbon, culture, ecology and economies in Cape York

  Kickstarting action carbon, culture, ecology, and economies in Cape York was a pilot project funded by the Queensland Government's Land Restoration Fund. The project, based in the Normanby River catchment, investigated opportunities for a carbon farming project that included co-benefits.

  

  National Indigenous Fire Workshop 2017 Facilitation and Delivery support

  The 2017 National Indigenous Fire Workshop will be hosted by the Balnggarrawarra Gaarraay Traditional Owners at Melsonby, Cape York July 3rd- 7th 2017.

  

  Provision of Northern Australia Fire Information Services 2016

  Provide Cape York NRM individual fire history property maps for 2016 Early Dry Season (1 March- 31 July), Late Dry Season (1 August- 31 October), with percentage area burnt for each season and regional fire season animations.

  

  Burn Training on the Nesbit

  This was a short project for Mulong to provide on-country burning training and fire management planning to the members Wunta Aboriginal Corporation on Palinjii (Nesbit) country. The training was held over 4-5 days on country, with outputs of an action plan for burning in the 2013-2014 and photo and GPS records.

  

  Improving fire management and developing monitoring systems for Fire on the East Coast

  Training and mentoring will be provided with Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Indigenous and non-Indigenous land managers in East Coast catchments on fire management practices. This training will include mapping and monitoring training with four Indigenous organisations, development of relevant monitoring tools for East Coast fire management and data collection to document on-ground management.

  

  Catchments to Coral - Great Barrier Reef Coastal Ecosystems and species protection on Cape York

  Catchments to Coral—Great Barrier Reef Coastal Ecosystems and species protection on Cape York is a program funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust that aims to improve the health and resilience of coastal habitats within the Great Barrier Reef catchments of eastern Cape York.

  

  Guide to Grasses on the Kimba Plateau

  This project will produce a series of fact sheets for 15-20 species of grasses found on the Kimba Plateau and adjacent areas (Cape York Peninsula). These fact sheets will assist land owners and managers to identify grasses in the Kimba Plateau area, especially grasses of concern to the management of endangered Golden Shouldered Parrot (Psephotellus chrysopterygius). 
  This project follows and builds on the Guide to the Grasses of Quinkan Country project toward a future guide to the grasses of the entire Cape York Peninsula.

  

  Indigenous Fire Workshop 2014

  This project partnered with Mulong Pty Ltd to conduct a fire management workshop on Steve Irwin Wildlife Sanctuary (or other suitable location) over five days in July 2014. The project built on Indigenous fire knowledge into land management on Cape York and beyond. The project also supported the establishment of a steering committee for Indigenous fire knowledge holders.
  
  This project involved:

  

  Bonny Glen Mud Springs Integrated Pest Management

  This project involved fire, weed and feral animal management using integrated control techniques which complemented each other. The partnerships formed from the project will have lasting benefits for Gummi Junga by combining traditional knowledge with contemporary methods, and also legislative requirements for looking after country. The project was funded through the Department of Environment and Heritage, through the Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Grant Program, with Cape York NRM hosting the project.