Redeveloping NPWS fire management plans across the Murray Mallee

The NPWS Murray Mallee Fire Management Plan covers the same area as the Murray Mallee Bushfire Management Area. This area is approximately 5 million hectares and covers 8 local council areas and the Gerard Aboriginal Community area, see the Murray Mallee Bushfire Management Area Plan for further detail. It includes the NPWS Riverland and Murraylands region and a small proportion of the Limestone Coast region. Whilst the fire management plan covers the same area as the Murray Mallee Bushfire Management Area Plan, this plan’s focus is on fire management activities on NPWS land (e.g. parks and Crown Land), including bushfire suppression.

Why is DEW moving to larger area fire management plans?

• Improves mitigation and response strategies
  Fire management plans at a landscape scale help to identify areas at greatest risk from bushfire and prioritise mitigation and response strategies. Future bushfires are expected to be bigger and more frequent due to an increase in elevated fire weather and drought conditions. Coupled with large areas of connected vegetation with poor access these fires will become increasingly difficult to suppress. Knowing this helps us address the risk with mitigation and response strategies at a more appropriate scale.
• Bushfires don’t respect boundaries
  By mirroring the Murray Mallee Bushfire Management Area, local council areas, and landscape board boundaries, this plan will be at a more relatable scale for our partner agencies and stakeholders. It also elevates stakeholder conversations and risk management strategies across the region, which can help prioritise actions, share resources and streamline approvals.
• Provide a holistic view of the planning area
  NPWS fire management plans use a software tool that integrates CFS site-based risk assessments, with landscape bushfire risk modelling and species-habitat modelling linking different strategies and displaying them across this larger planning area.

A fire management plan helps guide fire management activities on South Australian parks and on crown land. It identifies risks from bushfires to life, property, cultural and environmental assets and sets strategic priorities to address these risks. The fire management plan also provides guidance on ecological management using fire to maintain and enhance biodiversity at a landscape scale using prescribed burning and other tools.

Learn more about fire management plans.

NPWS conducts a statewide fire management program to reduce the spread and intensity of bushfires, protect communities and enhance biodiversity.

The program is also driven by a range of State and Commonwealth Acts, regulations and policies.

Wilderness protection areas are home to significant natural and cultural values that support a functioning ecosystem. There are two wilderness protection areas in the plan area: Billiatt and Danggali. Fire has played an integral part in shaping their ecosystems and proactive fire management, such as prescribed burning, helps conserve their environmental values including for endangered species or ecological communities.

Aboriginal Cultural burning in South Australia is led by First Nations Peoples, as custodians of their culture and Country and not a part of NPWS fire management plans. NPWS fire management plans are not intended to guide or limit the aspirations of First Nations Cultural land management including Cultural burns. However, First Nations input to the fire management plan is important to ensure Aboriginal views and perspectives are considered in the plan development.

Is private land covered in the plan?

The NPWS Murray Mallee Fire Management Plan does not include private land. Its focus is on DEW parks and Crown land only as part of its land management responsibilities.

For guidance on reducing the risk of bushfire on your property, head to the CFS website. The Murray Mallee Bushfire Management Committee has developed a bushfire management area plan (BMAP) to provide strategic fire management direction across all land tenures, including private properties and those with heritage agreements. It identifies high risk areas along with risk prevention activities. The committee is made up of representatives from fire, land and emergency management agencies, including State and local government as well as primary producers and CFS volunteers.

Why is my Heritage Agreement not covered in the plan?

Native vegetation Heritage Agreements were previously included in NPWS fire management plans; however, the focus has changed to only include land managed by the DEW because of the following:

• BMAP: Fire management planning is now available through the CFS-supported bushfire management committees and associated bushfire management area plans. This planning was not available during the initial development of DEW’s fire management plans. The Murray Mallee Bushfire Management Plan provides strategic direction and identifies high risk locations along with risk prevention activities across all land tenures. BMAPs help individuals to better understand the bushfire risk in their community and undertake bushfire prevention actions to ensure their properties are prepared for a bushfire.
• Focused resourcing: By concentrating efforts on DEW-managed land, the department can better use its resources, ensuring fire management strategies are more effective and targeted.

To help you, CFS and Native Vegetation Council have also produced a guide; Managing Native Vegetation; How to reduce the impact of bushfire and the steps you need to take. This step-by-step guide outlines activities which do or do not need approval and includes guiding principles on managing bushfire in native vegetation. If you have any queries relating to heritage agreements or the guide, please email Native Vegetation Councilor phone (08) 8303 9733.

Does NPWS respond to bushfires?

The NPWS Brigade forms the largest CFS brigade (firefighters and appliances). Under the direction of CFS, the NPWS Brigade is deployed and contributes to bushfire response the same way as any other CFS brigade member.

Is public land the main problem with bushfire risk?

No, bushfires don’t respect boundaries, that’s why NPWS works in partnership with other government agencies as part of an integrated statewide bushfire mitigation program to reduce the spread and impact of bushfires on communities and the environment.

Bushfires are a natural part of the Australia environment, particularly in the Murray Mallee area. Bushfires can’t be eliminated from the landscape so planning and being prepared through fire management is the responsibility of NPWS on parks.

NPWS uses a holistic and integrated landscape-scale approach across these emergency management actions:

• Preparedness: maintain and improve fire breaks and access tracks; maintain firefighting appliances; train highly skilled firefighters.
• Prevention: manage and reduce fuel with prescribed burning, and mechanical or chemical treatment.
• Response: patrols on Total Fire Ban days; rapid response to ignitions; first attack, incident management, early warning, and upscaling as necessary.
• Recovery: support neighbours and affected communities; make effort to re-establish vegetation; reopen public assets.

How is bushfire risk in river corridors managed on public land?

The River Murray corridor is a unique environment that provides essential ecosystem services and important habitats for wildlife. The area includes private and public land (i.e. parks and Crown Land managed by DEW). To reduce bushfire risks on public land along the river corridor, we focus on identifying and assessing risks to life, property, and the environment, including ecological assets. Fire management strategies focus on reducing risk to assets and areas assessed as high risk. This means not all areas are treated (e.g. low-risk areas are typically excluded). These strategies may include prescribed burns, and mechanical or chemical treatments, to help decrease fuel loads and ensure the safety of visitors and the community. They also improve access to campsites and river access tracks and help prevent future fires. As some parks in the plan are located within the Murray-Darling Basin, fire management activities will be guided by the River Murray Act 2003 and its Objectives for a Healthy River Murray, and Regulations under the Native Vegetation Act 1991.

What happens to the wildlife during a prescribed burn?

Prescribed burns give wildlife the best possible chance of finding shelter or escaping from fire as they are generally less intense and burn more slowly than bushfires. Each burn has an environmental assessment, which identifies strategies to minimise impacts to wildlife, including protecting hollows and large logs that might be used as habitat, leaving unburnt patches to provide areas of refuge during and after a fire, and excluding areas known to be critical breeding or feeding habitat for threatened species.

Do you have more questions on prescribed burning? There are more FAQs here.

Will my beehive be affected by a prescribed burn?

NPWS staff work with the apiary industry to assess the location of a prescribed burn and identify potential risks to leased sites. During the planning phase, strategies are developed to minimise any impact on the sites and adjacent harvesting grounds to ensure their protection throughout the prescribed burn process.

Are there plants and animals in the plan area that depend on fire?

Yes, fire is a natural part of the Murray Mallee environment, and many local plants and animals rely on it for survival. For example, mallee heath and shrublands need fire to thrive. We use fire as a management tool to help native plants flourish, improve animal habitats, and control weeds. This is part of our ongoing planning, which includes strategies for species that need fire or are sensitive to it. In addition, in mallee areas we might consider burning the tree canopy to achieve a desired fuel reduction and ecological outcome. By temporarily reducing this canopy cover we can provide access to light and nutrients for a greater variety of understorey plant species to improve the biodiversity of the area.

Are prescribed burns done in winter or at night?

Most prescribed burns happen in spring and autumn, when the weather is moist enough to control the fire but dry enough for the right intensity. However, if conditions are suitable, burns can also be scheduled in winter or at night. We work closely with the Bureau of Meteorology to ensure safety and the best conditions for burning. If a burn can’t be completed in one season, it may be rescheduled for the next spring or autumn.

What other work is done to reduce bushfire risks?

We use several methods to reduce bushfire risks, including managing weeds. Fire can help control certain weeds, especially woody species. However, fire alone is not enough to control invasive plants. We combine fire with other treatments—like mechanical, biological, or chemical methods—to achieve the best results. In the Riverland and Murraylands region machinery is predominantly used to treat weeds, rather than prescribed burning. Each treatment is carefully planned to be the most effective against specific weed species.

Do fire breaks and or fire access tracks work?

Fire breaks and tracks can reduce the intensity and rate of spread of bushfires and provide options to suppress fire. They’re a strategy that NPWS uses in the ‘Preparedness’ and ‘Response’ phases of emergency management to enhance other fire management strategies and tactics. Examples include:

• Rapid access with shorter response time to a fire to start suppressing it in its early stages.
• Backburning from an existing and safe area, without the need for heavy machinery to create a control line during a bushfire.
• Strategic advantage for aircraft to use if a break/track exists as the vegetation is already modified. This reduces fire intensity under most conditions and so it’s safer for aircraft to use.
• Increased safety for firefighters through easier access and egress on a fire ground compromised by reduced visibility at night or in heavy smoke; increased view of the fire ground through good design to enhance situational awareness with views to the horizon and upcoming terrain; and the ability to rapidly depart a fire ground in changing conditions. Poorly designed tracks can be dangerous.
• Safer for other ‘preparedness’ strategies such as modifying fuel loads with prescribed burns and/or mechanical and chemical treatment to allow access to infrastructure, provide escape routes, and support efficient patrolling, ensuring that response efforts can be swiftly deployed, and risks minimised during heightened fire danger.

Do we need more fire breaks/tracks?

If more fire breaks are required, then where possible, they’ll align with control lines or access tracks to have the least long-term impact on the environment. In general, any new fire break or track comes with environmental impacts such as loss of vegetation; potential to increase soil compaction and erosion and weeds, predators and pathogens. These impacts are weighed up against the wider benefit that tracks can provide in reducing bushfire spread and its impact on the environment.