Fire Management Plan Sydney Harbour & Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks NSW NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE SERVICE FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Sydney Region December 2004 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author of this plan was Paul Ibbetson. Significant contributions and advice were provided by Jennifer Bean. The NPWS staff involved, Ross Bradstock, Jim Burrell, Martin O’Connell, Robert Sheaffe, Robert Bird, Bronwyn Conyers, Rob Newton, Julia Visser, Tony Prior, Julie Bourne, Afonse Duque-Portugal, Brad Ralph and Richard Pearce, all gave freely of their time and knowledge. Advice and assistance was also provided by Matthew Jones, Danny Hirschfeld, Doug Benson and Anne Gaha. Cover Photograph – View from Clark Island This publication is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Published by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney Region, December 2004. Contact: PO Box 95, Parramatta, NSW 2124. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is part of the Department of Environment and Conservation ISBN 0 731 365 100 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PLANNING AND CONSULTATIVE PROCESS This Fire Management Plan (FMP) has been developed to provide direction for fire management activities, including bushfire prevention, suppression and mitigation activities, in Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks (Botany Bay – Kurnell Precinct is covered by a separate FMP). This plan will emphasise the protection of life and property as well as providing direction for land managers in the protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the Parks. This plan provides detailed policies and actions for fire management which complement the Plans of Management for Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks. This plan also provides guidance to other fire authorities in the management of fires within the above areas and will provide guidance in terms of future reviews of bush fire operational and bushfire risk management plans. The management of fire within Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks have particular challenges as they incorporate small, fragmented areas of harbour and coastal foreshores and islands and a range of cultural sites, all adjacent to densely populated Sydney suburbs. Various methods of fuel management will be implemented within the parks, including mechanical fuel removal and ecological and prescribed burns (when native regeneration is required). All fire management activities undertaken within the Parks will include: rehabilitation measures such as weed, sedimentation and erosion control, sustainability value of remaining unburnt vegetation for wildlife, effects of fire and smoke on residents, maintenance of biodiversity and the overall management effectiveness of the activity. The success of fuel reduction operations within the Parks will also rely upon the co-operation of the community. Neighbours will need to manage fuels near their own assets to complement work undertaken in the parks. This Fire Management Plan was developed in consultation with neighbours, NSW Fire Brigades and the Environmental Officers of Manly, Mosman, Randwick and Woollahra City Councils. Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of details from existing databases, additional information is continually being collected and management concepts and practices evolving. Therefore, it is proposed that this plan will be updated annually and reviewed in five years. FIRE MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES In accordance with Sections 63 & 64 and Part 1, Section 3 of the Rural Fires Act 1997 and also in accordance with the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974; the primary objectives for fire management in Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks are: • Protect human life and property both within the park and adjacent to it • To prevent the occurrence of unplanned bushfires on the Parks. • To suppress unplanned bushfires occurring on the Parks. • To minimise the potential for spread of bushfires on, from, or into the Parks. Fire Management Plan Sydney Harbour & Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks i • To protect from damage by bushfires all Aboriginal sites, Historic places and culturally significant features known to exist within the Parks. • Maintain species habitat and diversity, avoid local extinctions of native plants and animals and enhance the conservation of rare and endangered native plants and animals • Protect key natural assets, including fire sensitive habitats such as rainforest remnants STRATEGIES FOR LIFE AND PROPERTY PROTECTION Strategies for the protection of life and property from the effects of wildfires include: • Rapid suppression of wildfire. • The maintenance of fire breaks and trails along park boundaries in priority protection areas. • Fuel reduction through mowing, slashing or prescribed burning where indicated. • Community Fireguard will be promoted in neighbouring areas. STRATEGIES FOR FIRE MANAGEMENT Strategies for the prevention, detection and control of wildfire that are included in the plan are: • The suppression of wildfires in a manner that minimises the threat to human life and property, and that minimises adverse impacts on the natural and cultural features of the Park; • Appropriate locations will be managed as asset protection zones, with intensively managed fuel reduced areas around the assets; • Appropriate locations will be managed as strategic zones to limit the intensity of fire in strategic areas. • Monitoring of fuel levels within zones on an annual basis; • Co-operation with other fire authorities and local Councils to plan and implement fire management. STRATEGIES FOR HERITAGE MANAGEMENT Strategies for the protection of natural and cultural heritage include: • the exclusion of fire as far as practicable from areas with cultural heritage items that may be damaged by fire eg historic buildings, Aboriginal sites; • determine and implement appropriate fire regimes to maintain biodiversity (ie. the complex diversity of vegetation associations and structures), to prevent species or community extinction and to protect specific natural assets; • assessment of environmental impacts prior to any fire management works; • monitoring vegetation regeneration following fire events. Fire Management Plan Sydney Harbour & Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks ii PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Unplanned fire ignitions on the reserves, caused by humans, are progressively reduced over the planning period. Fires occurring on a reserve are suppressed within appropriate control lines on the reserve, safely, with minimum environmental damage and cost effectively during the planning period. Fires starting in a reserve are suppressed within the reserve and fires starting outside of a reserve are prevented from entering the reserve, safely, with minimum environmental damage and cost during the planning period. No death or injury to persons, or destruction of property, caused by on park bushfires in the planning period. Fire regimes are maintained within specified ecological thresholds across more than 50% of the area of each plant community on each reserve. No significant decline of species populations (common or endangered) due to inappropriate fire regimes, suppression activities or other fire management works, occurs during the planning period. No damage caused to Aboriginal sites, historic places and culturally significant features as a result of bushfires occurs during the planning period. Fire Management Plan Sydney Harbour & Botany Bay (La Perouse Precinct) National Parks iii CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................1 1.1 SCOPE AND PURPOSE ..........................................................................................................................1 1.2 THE PLANNING ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................................2 1.2.1 Fire Management Legislation ..............................................................................................2 1.2.2 Fire management policies of the National Parks and Wildlife Service................................3 1.2.3 Local-Regional environmental plans....................................................................................4 1.2.4 State environmental planning policies .................................................................................5 1.2.5 NSW biodiversity strategy ....................................................................................................5 1.2.6 Management objectives of the Parks....................................................................................5 1.3 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED .............................................................................................................6 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PARKS................................................................................................8 2.1 LOCATION .....................................................................................................................................8 2.3 BIODIVERSITY .............................................................................................................................17