Give native habitats proper oversight

Our native forests cool our climate, house our native animals, support livelihoods and keep our air and water clean.

But across the state, Forest Fire Management Victoria’s ‘salvage logging’, ‘clean up’ operations and strategic fuel break construction and maintenance are flying blind. They’re tearing up habitat in established parks, promised parks, conservation areas, water catchments and even selling the wood for commercial use in some cases.

Our native forests cool our climate, house our native animals, support livelihoods and keep our air and water clean.

But across the state, Forest Fire Management Victoria’s ‘salvage logging’, ‘clean up’ operations and strategic fuel break construction and maintenance are flying blind. They’re tearing up habitat in established parks, promised parks, conservation areas, water catchments and even selling the wood for commercial use in some cases.

Minister: Give native habitats proper oversight

Ask the minister to put independent oversight in place and regulate impacts using up-to-date science.

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Dear Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos,

Re: Independent Oversight of Fire-Related Management

I am writing to express significant concerns regarding Forest Fire Management Victoria's (FFMV) logging activities within our national parks, and the inadequacies of our current legislation in properly overseeing and guiding the ecological impacts of these operations.

I have closely followed the work of VNPA, particularly their investigations into 'salvage logging' and fire prevention efforts across the state. Their findings have revealed logging activities within established national parks such as the Dandenong Ranges National Park and Yarra Ranges National Park, as well as in promised national parks like the Wombat Forest, conservation areas, the Cobaws, and even the closed Silvan water catchment.

I am furious that a dead Greater Glider was found by citizen scientists in trees which conservation groups had previously informed state and Commonwealth ministers contained gliders. The felled tree is just one of scores of ancient hollow-bearing trees that FFMV are destroying within the Yarra Ranges National Park.

Climate science underscores the increasing frequency and intensity of weather events and fires. While protection of human life and emergency response are paramount, we must adopt a more thoughtful approach. Nature is not the enemy but a vital part of the climate solution. It would be a governance failure to succumb to the temptation of exploiting natural disasters for commercial gain or for an unevidenced approach to fire prevention.

To address these issues, direct investment in independent, on-ground habitat and tree assessments prior to fuel reduction or fire preparation works is imperative. Hasty appraisals of trees as hazardous by DEECA/FFMV are resulting in the unnecessary felling of significant trees. Achieving the joint ambition of preserving human life and significant trees requires enhanced ecological oversight and transparency in FFMV's operations, coupled with improved biodiversity management.

The absence of a regulatory body overseeing the environmental impacts of fire management allows FFMV to effectively regulate itself, which is concerning. Therefore, there is an urgent need for increased transparency, independent oversight, and regulation of the impact of FFMV's operations.

'Salvage logging' exacerbates forest vulnerability during the critical recovery phase after storms or fires. The broad powers granted to FFMV under the Forests Act 1958 must be subjected to scrutiny to prevent abuse. Despite claims of assessing impacts on threatened plants and animals, these assessments are not made public, raising questions about their validity.

Furthermore, works conducted under the guise of fire mitigation bypass established forestry guidelines and lack independent ecological oversight. This arguably contravenes both state and federal environmental laws and undermines commitments made to protect national parks from logging activities.

Operating in an ecologically questionable manner based on dubious science is a troubling pattern observed in FFMV's behaviour. This issue was highlighted in the IGEM report following the 2019-20 bushfires.

Fire management logging is not exempt from assessment and approval requirements under our federal environmental laws. Both state and federal environmental laws must be strictly adhered to.

We need an independent regulator to keep fire management in check, ensuring their actions: are backed by science; adhere to Victoria's nature laws and; to refer operations to the federal government where matters of national environmental significance, like federally listed threatened species, may be impacted. We cannot continue to let this state department mark their own homework.

I urge you to take immediate action by establishing an independent regulator of fire operations in Victoria to monitor and assess the biodiversity impacts of fire management operations.

I eagerly await your prompt and decisive action on this matter.

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