The Hotspots Fire Project is developing educational resources to help landholders undertake fire management planning at a property level. Workshops will offer a practical hands-on approach to fire management within and between properties; an approach that protects property and biodiversity in the Clarence Valley.
Funded by the Environmental Trust, WWF-Australia and the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC) are working together on this pilot project. Regional partners in the project include the Rural Fire Services, the Department of Environment and Conservation, the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority and the NSW Farmers Association.
Fire plays an important role in keeping country healthy and in protecting the diversity of plants and animals in our landscapes. Evidence suggests that inappropriate fire regimes, both too frequent and too infrequent burning has negative impacts on many species and ecosystem processes.
Eliminating fire is neither a practical nor an ecological solution. We live in fire prone landscapes. Managing fire to protect property and the environment requires collaboration within communities, between agencies and across tenures.
The Hotspots Project staff will work with landholders, rangers, fire fighters, government agencies and other interested stakeholders in the Clarence Valley. We will provide landholders with regional case studies and fire management guidelines to use in fire management planning.
At the 6 or 7 workshops for landholders, participants will have the opportunity to learn from fire managers and scientists about the role that fire has in meeting the goals of farm productivity and biodiversity conservation. Other train-the-trainer workshops are also planned.
The project team will be visiting the region regularly between June to October 2005 and look forward to meeting any interested stakeholders. We welcome and encourage your involvement, through attending workshops and/or providing the project team with your knowledge and experience of property level fire management practices.
If you have any feedback or would like to learn more, please contact
Nicole Conroy,
Hotspots Fire Project Co-ordinator,
Nature Conservation Council at (02) 9279 2466 or
email nconroy@nccnsw.org.au
