Fire Ecology Program Achievements 2009–2011 Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, , December 2011.

© The State of Department of Sustainability and Environment 2011.

This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 .

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne.

Print managed by Finsbury Green Printed on recycled paper

ISBN 978-1-74287-234-6 (print) ISBN 978-1-74287-235-3 (online)

For more information contact the DSE Customer Service Centre 136 186

Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format, such as large print or audio, please telephone 136 186, or email [email protected]

Deaf, hearing impaired or speech impaired? Call us via the National Relay Service on 133 677 or visit www.relayservice.com.au

This document is also available in PDF format on the internet at www.dse.vic.gov.au

Photos : Cover images courtesy Stephen Platt from left to right: Diuris sp., Wilsons Promontory; Stone fungus, Marysville; Xanthorrhoea , Wilsons Promontory; background image courtesty Department of Sustainability and Environment Contents

Background 1

Next Steps 1

Governance Arrangements, Policy Development and Advocacy 2

Governance and Fire Ecology Committees 2 Policy Advice 2

Strategic Direction 1: Landscape Planning and Management 3

Fire Ecology Assessments 3 Case Studies 3 Mallee Fire Strategy 3 2006/07 Great Divide Fire Area Planning Guide 3 Greater Grampians Biophysical Units 4 The Future Fire Management Project 4 Development of Practice Notes and Proformas 4 Guide to Environmentally Sustainable Bushfire Management in Rural Victoria 4

Strategic Direction 2: Science and Research 5

Flora Vital Attributes Surveys 5 Vegetation Community Growth Stages and Tolerable Fire Intervals 5 Vertebrate Fauna Vital Attributes 5 Landscape Mosaic Burning – Biodiversity Research 6 Mallee Fire and Biodiversity Project 6 Mallee Dendrochronology Study 6 Southwest Woodlands Fire & Biodiversity Project 7 Fire in River Red Gum Communities 7

Strategic Direction 3: Monitoring and Assessment 8

Pre and Post Planned Burn Flora Surveys 8 Landscape Monitoring Program 8 Fauna Habitat Monitoring 8 HawkEye Project 8

Strategic Direction 4: Information Management and Knowledge Sharing 9

Fire Ecology Database – Growth Stages and Tolerable Fire Intervals (TFIs) of Native Vegetation Datasets 9 Digital Capture of Fire History Mapping (South and East Gippsland Fire Districts) 9 Development of Fire History Analysis Tool (FireHAT)9 Eastern Victoria EVC Fire Regime Categorisation 9 Fire Ecology Database – Fauna Response Curves 10 Online Fire Monitoring Database – Argus 10

Strategic Direction 5: Stakeholder Engagement and Communication 11

Communications Plan 11 Stakeholder Workshops 11 Fire Ecology Web Pages 11 Fire Ecology Brochure and Poster Series 11 Fire Ecology Signage 11 Fire Ecology Booklets 12

Next Steps 13

To Learn More 13 Department of Sustainability and Environment 13 Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research 13

Publications and Further Reading 14

General 14 Policy and Planning 14 Monitoring 14 Research 14

Background This report summarises major project achievements that were directed by the Fire Ecology Program: Strategic Directions 2009 – 2011 document. The Fire Ecology Program is a cross-agency initiative involving the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Parks Victoria (PV) and the Country Fire Authority (CFA). Research partners include Melbourne, Monash, Deakin and La Trobe Universities, and the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI), which is the biodiversity research centre of DSE. The aim of the Program is to develop guidelines and procedures (using the best available science) to achieve fire regimes that provide a dual role to protect biodiversity, and human life and property. A 2009 Strategic Directions Document (SDD) was produced to provide medium to long-term priority directions for projects that progressively improve our understanding of the role of fire in the landscape, and its influence on biodiversity and ecosystem processes. The SDD outlined five themes and these have been replicated as main headings in this report. The achievements outlined in this report cover the three year period between 2009 and 2011. It should be noted that a new revision of the Fire Ecology Program Strategic Directions document will be published in January 2012 to cover the period 2012 to 2015. This 2012 revision will reflect our contemporary strategic direction, and progressive emphasis in fire management on fire regimes, spatial and temporal processes and social and ecological resilience at large (landscape) scales. Next Steps The Program will be structured in response to the recommendations from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report (July 2010). The recommendations most pertinent to the Fire Ecology Program are: Recommendation 56 The State fund and commit to implementing a long-term program of prescribed burning based on an annual rolling target of 5 per cent minimum of public land. Recommendation 57 The Department of Sustainability and Environment report annually on prescribed burning outcomes in a manner that meets public accountability objectives, including publishing details of targets, area burnt, funds expended on the program, and impacts on biodiversity. Recommendation 58 The Department of Sustainability and Environment significantly upgrade its program of long-term data collection to monitor and model the effects of its prescribed burning programs and of bushfires on biodiversity in Victoria.

The Fire Ecology Program: Strategic Directions 2012 – 2015 will outline the objectives, and strategies for achieving those objectives, across five themes: Landscape Planning and Management Science and Research Monitoring and Assessment Information Management and Knowledge Sharing Stakeholder Engagement and Communication For further information on the Fire Ecology Program and to download materials please visit www.dse.vic.gov.au/fireecology. For information on the broader fire program, refer to Victoria’s Bushfire Strategy – Living With Fire (2008) and the Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land , also available on the DSE website www.dse.vic.gov.au.

Governance Arrangements, Policy Development and Advocacy Governance and Fire Ecology Committees Fire Ecology Program committees have been established and operating since 2005, and through the period of the SDD, for the following Committees (see diagram): Fire Ecology Steering Committee (Executive) Fire Ecology Working Group Fire Ecology Regional Coordination Groups Fire Ecology Scientific Reference Group The Committees meet regularly and have cross agency membership (DSE, Parks Victoria, CFA and representatives from universities, Catchment Management Authorities and non-government organisations) with a Chair and Executive Officer. Policy Advice The Fire Ecology Program prepared advice to support requests by the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission (VBRC) process in 2009–10 and this continues during implementation of the government’s response. An updated draft Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Action Statement on “Inappropriate Fire Regimes Causing Disruption to Sustainable Ecosystem Processes and Resultant Loss of Biodiversity” was completed in 2009. The Action Statement outlines major management actions over a five year period. A report on progress in implementing the Action Statement was prepared in 2010 for the VBRC.

Fire Ecology Steering Committee (FESC)

Fire Ecology Fire Ecology Scientific Reference Working Group Group (FEWG) (FESRG)

Fire Ecology Regional Co- ordination Groups (FERCGs)

Strategic Direction 1 : Landscape Planning and Management A number of projects have been completed that integrate new datasets and facilitate analysis of fire history, flora & fauna vital attributes, vegetation type and habitat growth stage, disturbance history and fuel accumulation to inform decisions on integrated fire management planning. These have been supported by science and research projects (described later in this report) that underpin and progressively inform integrated land management and planning. Examples of the application of this information are summarised below. Fire Ecology Assessments Led by Fire and Environment Planning Officers (Parks Victoria), Fire Ecology Assessments (Strategies) have been completed for most of Gippsland, Central, North East, North West and South West Fire Areas. Approximately 40 Fire Ecology Assessments were developed from 2009–2011 across Victoria. These assessments are key inputs into fire management planning and the three year rolling Fire Operations Plans. Assessments are supported by a range of spatial assessment tools (see Information Management and Knowledge Sharing p.9). Fire ecology practitioner’s processes have continued to be documented to enable co-ordination and maintain standards. A new mapping template has been developed to incorporate the main spatial fire ecology information into a poster format. The poster is supported by a spreadsheet that displays vegetation growth stage distributions (see Mallee Fire Strategy below).

Case Studies

Mallee Fire Strategy A draft Ecological Fire Strategy for the Mallee region has been written that describes the contemporary approach to managing fire in the Mallee Parks. The Strategy advocates a cross-tenure approach to public land management involving maintenance of strategic corridors to moderate bushfire behaviour and further development of the burnt/unburnt landscape mosaic at a smaller patch size than in the recent past. Strategic corridors have been placed to reduce the risk that a large bushfire may impact on a large area of a single reserve. Future fire management will be improved through locally-focused research including the findings of the Mallee Fire and Biodiversity Project (see p.6).  Fire ecology information for Wyperfeld / Big Desert National Parks is described with the use of a new mapping template developed by Parks Victoria.

2006/07 Great Divide Fire Area Planning Guide A 2006/07 Great Divide Fire Area Planning Guide has been developed by Fire and Environment Program Officers, in conjunction with DSE fire management and biodiversity staff in East Gippsland and the North East. This planning guide is being used to inform fire management across the Great Divide Fire Area.  Fire ecology information, displayed as a series of map information products, for the 2006/07 Great Divide Fire Area.

Greater Grampians Biophysical Units A detailed Fire Ecology Strategy is currently being completed for the Greater Grampians. It is being informed by a research project that was funded by Parks Victoria and undertaken by Ballarat University to develop a series of biophysical units across the Greater Grampians landscape. These units form the basis of fire ecology and fire management planning.

The Future Fire Management Project Led by DSE, this project is a core component of the “Managing the Land with Fire” theme of the Victorian Bushfire Strategy. It is developing methods for defining and evaluating landscape-scale fire management options. The methodology uses Geographic Information System (GIS) modelling and analysis tools, including the fire behaviour tool Phoenix RapidFire, to test various scenarios and support the delivery of outcomes for protecting human life and property as well as sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services (e.g. timber and water quantity and quality). The project investigates, through modelling, the effects that various planned burning scenarios may have on fire behaviour and the spread of bushfires. The various planned burn scenarios are compared to assess their effectiveness in balancing the needs of biodiversity with the protection of human assets, timber supply and water quality and quantity. The project is being undertaken initially in two pilot study areas (the Otways and Central Highlands). Interim report — Future Fire Management Project 2010. 

Development of Practice Notes and Proformas A new template and Practice Notes that will guide planners, managers and natural resource users in the methodologies and information products to prepare fire ecology assessments are under development. The design is such that Notes can be updated quickly in view of the progressive refinement to information and planning processes. They will incorporate significant elements of the Guidelines and Procedures for Ecological Burning on Public Land in Victoria 2004 .

Guide to Environmentally Sustainable Bushfire Management in Rural Victoria This Guide is a CFA-developed strategic planning reference that is specifically aimed at preparedness and prevention as well as managing fire to maintain or improve biodiversity in sustainable fire management. It is a tool of potential relevance at a range of scales, but particularly relevant to the rural landscape. The Guide presents a step-wise approach to planning in the rural fire environment. Using principles of the Victorian Fire Risk Register and Integrated Fire Management Planning, the Guides methodology has been trialled in a pilot area of South Gippsland Shire. As a documented case-study, this project considers ‘land-tenure blind’ planning across the Country Area of Victoria to improve planning and delivery systems that mesh community safety and risk assessment with biodiversity assets of importance. It is envisaged that this initiative will improve planning for the integration of both fire ecology and asset protection into fire operations plans across private land. Its relevance is primarily for the CFA, municipal, road and rail managers through CFA’s operations and Vegetation Management Officer staff. Strategic Direction 2 : Science and Research Numerous projects to improve knowledge of flora vital attributes, Key Fire Response Species (KFRS) and appropriate fire regimes have been established.

Flora Vital Attributes Surveys A number of surveys have been undertaken to progressively document the fire response and life history characteristics of flora species post fire. This work enables continued understanding of the tolerable fire intervals of vegetation communities to inform fire planning. In the last three years, data has been captured from the following areas: Grampians National Park Mallee Box Ironbark communities Alpine National Park Wilsons Promontory The Flora Vital Attributes database is maintained and curated at the DSE Arthur Rylah Institute. Approximately one third of Victorian flora taxa have been scored for their Key Fire Response Species status.

Vegetation Community Growth Stages and Tolerable Fire Intervals A four year project was completed in 2010 that described the fire adaptation and growth stage responses of vegetation communities. This enabled the development of tools to display the historic, current and projected states of vegetation growth stages by intersecting them with fire history data. The data are now used as a fundamental tool for fire ecology assessments and will have further value once integrated with new information on the post-fire response and growth stage preferences of resident fauna species (see opposite).  Vegetation growth stages can be mapped to show historic, current and projected growth stages by intersecting fire history and vegetation data layers using GIS.

Vertebrate Fauna Vital Attributes A project to document the preferred habitat and post-fire responses of vertebrate fauna species was completed in 2009 by DSE’s Arthur Rylah Institute. The project identified a number of key fire response fauna species. More recently, this information has been incorporated into a new database so that predicted fauna species associations with vegetation communities can be interrogated and their response patterns projected across different growth stages (see Fire Ecology Database – fauna response curves, p.10). This will be a valuable tool in planning and managing fire to ensure a balance of growth stages to support fauna is maintained in the landscape, and the relative importance understood by the fire management community.

Landscape Mosaic Burning – Biodiversity Research Focused biodiversity research programs were initiated to quantify the relationships between fire and environmental effects, habitat heterogeneity and structure (scale and patchiness) and ecosystem resilience – thus testing the validity of the assumptions that underpin the Landscape Mosaic Burning program. The research programs involve partnerships between DSE and Melbourne, La Trobe and Deakin Universities. These groups have worked together to establish an integrated, multi-disciplinary Fire Ecology Biodiversity Research Program. Major components underway include: Project 1 – Biodiversity impacts of baseline landscape mosaic burning in the 2009 bushfire areas (Faunal Refuges in Fire-prone Landscapes) – La Trobe and Deakin Universities Project 2 – Experimentally examining mosaics created by planned landscape mosaic burns – Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, Melbourne University Project 3 – Retrospective approach to identify the biodiversity values of different fire mosaics – DSE Arthur Rylah Institute.

Mallee Fire and Biodiversity Project The Mallee Fire & Biodiversity Project was a large, four-year collaborative project which commenced in March 2006. It was jointly led by La Trobe University and Deakin University. The project investigated the properties of habitat mosaics produced by fire that enhance the persistence and status of a broad range of taxonomic groups (birds, mammals, reptiles, key invertebrates and plants) in eucalypt-dominated mallee habitats across three states (VIC, SA, NSW). The project supported seven PhD students. It is now complete and findings are being integrated into planning processes. Project HawkEye biodiversity monitoring (see p.8) will build upon the strong baseline dataset established by this project.

Mallee Dendrochronology Study An additional Mallee ecosystem project was undertaken by DSE’s Arthur Rylah Insitute (to value add to the La Trobe and Deakin University research program) by improving our understanding of the age of areas with unrecorded fire history. The project investigated the age of Callitris -dominated vegetation communities using tree ring (dendrochronological) techniques. The results provided new understanding of the role of fire in the life history of these communities where fire history was poorly known. Southwest Woodlands Fire & Biodiversity Project The heathy stringybark woodlands of south-west Victoria are home to many rare and threatened species whose ecology is poorly understood. Management for one particular species, the endangered Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, aims to reduce damage to canopy- stored seed (the cockatoo’s main food) by the strategic and limited use of fire, which leaves many areas unburnt for years. But how does this strategy affect other plant and animal species that inhabit the woodlands, particularly those that require fire as part of life- cycle processes or to create suitable habitat? From 2006–10, the undertook a study to investigate the ecological burning requirements of the plants, small mammals and insects in these woodlands. Funded by DSE, Parks Victoria, the Bushfire CRC and the Glenelg-Hopkins CMA, this project supported two PhD and four Honours students. Outcomes from this project assisted in the recent review of the Portland Fire Protection Plan and provided new locality information for the nationally threatened Heath Mouse and locally significant Silky Mouse.

Fire in River Red Gum Communities A literature review was funded by Parks Victoria, and undertaken by Ballarat University, to determine the state of existing knowledge in relation to the role and management of fire in River Red Gum communities. Strategic Direction 3 : Monitoring and Assessment

Pre and Post Planned Burn Flora Surveys This project was initiated in 2006 to establish standard monitoring protocols and operational procedures to guide monitoring and to report on success in meeting objectives for fire ecology and fuel management. Cost-benefit pilot studies of different methodologies for sampling the abundance of flora key fire response species were undertaken in 2006–2007 in various vegetation types (e.g. Central Highlands, Gippsland and Greater Bendigo regions). In 2008, a rationale report and flora monitoring protocols were published. The flora monitoring protocols have since been adopted by all DSE regional centres. At 2010, 413 sites have been established and monitored. Some sites now have data ranging over five years. The project directly links to the Landscape Mosaic Burn Program and ‘Learning by Doing’ Projects. In 2009, an interim report into site characteristics was published. This is currently being updated to include the first analysis of data collected and will be published in 2012. Landscape Monitoring Program Twelve DSE Landscape Monitoring Coordinators have been employed and have implemented monitoring at 221 sites across 12 Landscape Mosaic Burns (LMBs). Pre-burn assessments were conducted for flora, habitat, birds, fauna cameras and fuel hazard at all sites. Five LMBs had fire applied as part of the planned burning program and post burn fire severity, fuel hazard and habitat assessments have been conducted at the burnt sites.

Fauna Habitat Monitoring This project is led by DSE and builds on the Vertebrate Fauna Vital Attributes project completed by the Arthur Rylah Institute. The monitoring tests the relationship of fauna to preferred habitat growth stages. The work is central to the Landscape Mosaic Burn Monitoring Program and will be complemented by the Hawkeye Project (see below). A new Guide to Monitoring Habitat Structure has undergone rigorous testing and review within Victoria and is being trialled in South and Queensland. The guide is due for publication in 2012.

HawkEye Project In 2010, DSE established a long-term biodiversity monitoring project, HawkEye, to inform the way it conducts planned burning and guide how we balance the dual objectives of fire safety and biodiversity protection. HawkEye includes monitoring, research, modelling and evaluation of the effects of planned burning on biodiversity. HawkEye is a targeted monitoring project which aims to answer key questions about the effects of planned burning on biodiversity. These questions will be investigated in landscapes where planned burning occurs, including the Mallee, Otways and foothill forests of Gippsland. The project is building partnerships with related projects in these areas. The project began field operations in 2011. HawkEye will also investigate other aspects of fire and biodiversity, such as the interaction between fire and threats to biodiversity (e.g. weeds, predators) and impacts on threatened species at risk from fire. HawkEye will also invest in monitoring tools such as a monitoring sites database, that will improve access to information. For more information: www.dse.vic.gov.au/HawkEye Strategic Direction 4 : Information Management and Knowledge Sharing

Fire Ecology Database – Growth Stages and Tolerable Fire Intervals (TFIs) of Native Vegetation Datasets DSE has developed a Fire Ecology Database that allows the analysis of Victoria’s native vegetation data sets (e.g. EVCs or EVDs). Besides offering quick access to the fire response characteristics of vegetation, the data can be applied to calculate the proportion and spatial distribution of habitat growth stages in the landscape.

Digital Capture of Fire History Mapping (South and East Gippsland Fire Districts) Between 2007 and 2010, the Fire Ecology Program funded contractors to source all fire history mapping data that was yet to be digitally captured from hard copy maps in regional offices. The project led to the consolidation of fire history data across Gippsland fire districts.

Development of Fire History Analysis Tool (FireHAT) In 2010, DSE commissioned an innovative project to condense all fire history mapping layers and vegetation mapping into a single multi-dimensional grid. The project is named FireHAT and the product allows the user to interrogate all fire history events at any selected 25m grid position (date and type of fire event). The interrogation also provides data on whether successive burns at the grid location fall within or outside the tolerable fire intervals of the resident vegetation community. The tool is also used as a basis for stratification of monitoring sites for research and monitoring.

Eastern Victoria EVC Fire Regime Categorisation A GIS tool has been developed for eastern Victoria that places each Ecological Vegetation Class in a range of categories relating to fire ecology (see diagram).

Fire Ecology Database – Fauna Response Curves DSE is currently developing the second stage of the Fire Ecology Database to incorporate response curves for each vertebrate fauna species for each Ecological Vegetation Division (Group of EVCs). The approach is based on Vertebrate Fauna Vital Attributes (described p.5). The tool enables a user to consider the relative abundance of fauna in different growth stages following high or low intensity fire. Response curves will be linked to distribution models and will help fire planners to assess the potential impact of burns on fauna species over time.

Online Fire Monitoring Database – Argus A prototype online database called Argus has been developed by DSE that staff and the community can use to store, share and retrieve biodiversity monitoring data. Initially it includes data on the monitoring of flora, fuels, fire severity and habitat. For more information: http://fireweb.dse.vic.gov.au/argus

Strategic Direction 5 : Stakeholder Engagement and Communication

Communications Plan A Fire Ecology Community Engagement and Communication Plan (2008) was prepared and has been used as a key tool to guide communication projects and initiatives. Key messages were developed that have been used for media initiatives and to support stakeholder communications during bushfires.

Stakeholder Workshops A number of stakeholder workshops for both staff and the general public have been conducted since 2006. In addition, an annual Fire Ecology Workshop is organised in October each year for the benefit of fire management and planning staff from DSE, PV and the CFA. Two large public forums have been undertaken in Melbourne (2008) and Torquay (2009).

Fire Ecology Web Pages A fire ecology website, integrated with the DSE website ‘Fire and Other Emergencies’ theme, was created and launched in 2009 and updated in 2010. The website provides background information, project descriptions, downloadable publication materials and associated data. Further information: www.dse.vic.gov.au/fireecology  Fire ecology information and project updates can be found at www.dse.vic.gov.au/fireecology .

Fire Ecology Brochure and Poster Series Fire ecology information brochures and posters have been published and are available on the DSE website.

Fire Ecology Signage Signs were erected for visitors to State Forests and National Parks that were burnt by the 2009 bushfires. Visitors can visually compare a picture of the landscape just after the fire with that at the time of their visit.

Fire Ecology Booklets An 87 page booklet was produced in 2011 that explains how fire shapes Victoria’s natural environment, and how the Fire Ecology Program is working to achieve ecologically appropriate fire regimes on public land.

A booklet on fire recovery, with a similar design, has also been produced. Both are available on the DSE website. Next Steps The Fire Ecology Strategic Directions document is currently being reviewed and will be published on the DSE website. It will guide the Fire Ecology Program through the next three years. To Learn More Further information on the Fire Ecology Program, downloadable publications, and progressive updates on our forthcoming projects with research partners can be found at the following websites:

Department of Sustainability and Environment www.dse.vic.gov.au/fireecology www.dse.vic.gov.au/hawkeye

Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/arthur-rylah-institute/research-themes/fire-ecology-and-recovery Publications and Further Reading General DSE (2011). About Fire Ecology – an overview. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. DSE (2010). About Fire Recovery – an overview. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. Policy and Planning DSE (2006). Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land, Revision No 1.Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. DSE (2008). Living with Fire: Victoria’s Bushfire Strategy. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. Fire Ecology Working Group (2004). Guidelines and Procedures for Ecological Burning on Public Land in Victoria 2004, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. Fire Ecology Working Group (2009). Fire Ecology Program Strategic Directions 2009–11, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. Cheal, D. (2010). Growth Stages and Tolerable Fire Intervals for Victoria’s Native Vegetation Datasets, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. Monitoring Cawson, J. and Muir, A. (2008). Flora Monitoring Protocols for Planned Burning: a user’s guide. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne – Fire and Adaptive Management Report No. 74. Cawson, J. and Muir, A. (2008). Flora Monitoring Protocols for Planned Burning: a rationale report, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne– Fire and Adaptive Management Report No. 75. MacHunter J., Menkhorst P. and Loyn R. (2009). Towards a Process for Integrating Vertebrate Fauna into Fire Management Planning, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne – ARIER Technical Report Series No. 192. Research Gill, M. (2009). Underpinnings of Fire Management for Biodiversity Conservation in Reserves, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne – Fire and Adaptive Management Report No. 73. Tolhurst, K. (2000). Guidelines for Ecological Burning in Foothill Forests of Victoria: Mt Cole Case Study. Unpublished report of Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne.