Fire Management Plan Reserves of the Southern Eyre Peninsula Incorporating Lincoln and Coffin Bay National Parks; Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area; Lincoln, Sleaford Mere, Kathai, Kellidie Bay, Murrunatta, Wanilla Land Settlement, Wanilla, Tucknott Scrub and Mount Dutton Bay Conservation Parks and included Minister for Environment and Conservation Lands. Department for Environment and Heritage PREPARE. ACT. SURVIVE. www.environment.sa.gov.auwww.environment.sa.gov.au For further information please contact: Department for Environment and Heritage Phone Information Line (08) 8204 1910, or see SA White Pages for your local Department for Environment and Heritage office. This Fire Management Plan is also available from: http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/management/fireplanning.html Front Cover: Memory Cove by Bill Doyle Permissive Licence © State of South Australia through the Department for Environment and Heritage. Apart from fair dealings and other uses permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of this publication may be reproduced, published, communicated, transmitted, modified or commercialised without the prior written approval of the Department for Environment and Heritage. Written requests for permission should be addressed to: Design and Production Manager Department for Environment and Heritage GPO Box 1047 Adelaide SA 5001 Disclaimer While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Department of Environment and Heritage makes no representations and accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of or reliance on the contents of this publication. Reference to any company, product or service in this publication should not be taken as a Departmental endorsement of the company, product or service. © Department for Environment and Heritage September 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Fire Management Plan for the Reserves of the Southern Eyre Peninsula includes: Lincoln National Park, Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area, Lincoln Conservation Park, Sleaford Mere Conservation Park, Kathai Conservation Park, Coffin Bay National Park, Kellidie Bay Conservation Park, Murrunatta Conservation Park, Wanilla Land Settlement Conservation Park, Wanilla Conservation Park, Tucknott Scrub Conservation Park, Mount Dutton Bay Conservation Park and Crown land dedicated as a reserve to the Minister for Environment and Conservation (Sections 97, 98 and 564 Hundred of Lincoln). The plan has been developed to provide direction for fire management activities, including bushfire suppression in these reserves. The plan emphasises the protection of life and property, as well as providing direction for land managers in the protection and enhancement of the natural and cultural heritage of the reserves. It is important to note there will be a transitional phase where the activities and works proposed in the plan are implemented. Some degree of flexibility will need to remain for fire suppression in those areas where there has only been partial implementation of works. The Reserves of the Southern Eyre Peninsula were identified as a priority for fire management planning within the Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) West Region, to address the following issues. • High visitor numbers, particularly during the Fire Danger Season (FDS), to reserves within the plan area. • Positioning of reserves adjacent the township of Coffin Bay and the city of Port Lincoln and the protection of significant built and natural assets adjacent the reserves. • General protection of life, property and environmental values. • Protection of significant fauna and flora species, some of which are unique to the area. • Pro-active management of habitats at a landscape level as well as individual fauna and flora species by using fire as a management tool. Including the recognition that fire is one of the disturbance events that is required by some species to ensure their viability and is a key part of recovery plans for several significant species. These issues are addressed by: • applying a risk assessment process to identify life, property and environmental values that may be threatened by bushfires • applying DEH Fire Management Zoning Principles to manage fuel in Asset and Buffer zones and designating Conservation zones • applying DEH Ecological Fire Management Guidelines to determine appropriate fire regimes in Conservation zones • auditing tracks within the reserves of this plan using the Government Agencies Fire Liaison Committee’s (GAFLC) guidelines for fire breaks and fire access tracks in South Australia and recommending track upgrades. A number of actions as a result of applying the above processes are recommended, including: • prescribed burning to: Reserves of the Southern Eyre Peninsula Fire Management Plan i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY reduce fuel in Asset and Buffer zones, as outlined in the plan (other methods of fuel reduction will also be used and in some cases, specifically outlined) reduce fuel in strategic areas within the Conservation zone to provide some landscape protection within the reserves and increase patchiness within the vegetation (to reduce the possibility of a block or reserve burning in a single fire event) maintain or improve conservation values. • track upgrades (in accordance with GAFLC standards) • identification of suppression considerations that may assist bushfire suppression operations to contribute to improved fire management. This draft plan was released for public comment for a period of four weeks. Comments were evaluated and incorporated where considered appropriate. A major review of this plan will occur after ten years of implementation, or earlier if required. ii Reserves of the Southern Eyre Peninsula Fire Management Plan CONTENTS CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... I CONTENTS........................................................................................................................................ III List of Tables.........................................................................................................................................v List of Figures........................................................................................................................................v List of Attached Maps .......................................................................................................................v 1 SCOPE AND PURPOSE ...............................................................................................................1 1.1 General Objectives for Fire Management ...........................................................................2 2 THE PLANNING FRAMEWORK.................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Legislation ..................................................................................................................................3 2.2 Policies and Procedures ..........................................................................................................4 2.3 Local and Regional Environmental Planning.......................................................................6 2.4 DEH Reserve Management Planning ....................................................................................6 2.5 Consultation ..............................................................................................................................7 3 BUSHFIRE ENVIRONMENT .......................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Location .....................................................................................................................................8 3.2 Climate.......................................................................................................................................8 3.3 Terrain .........................................................................................................................................8 3.4 Fuel..............................................................................................................................................9 3.5 Conditions for Large Fire Events .......................................................................................... 12 4 FIRE HISTORY AND FIRE REGIMES............................................................................................ 14 4.1 Mapping Fire Occurrences.................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Large Fires ............................................................................................................................... 14 4.3 Lightning and Fires................................................................................................................. 14 4.4 Human-caused Fires..............................................................................................................14 4.5 Risk of Fire Ignitions ................................................................................................................ 15 5 DAMAGE POTENTIAL TO LIFE AND PROPERTY ........................................................................ 16