Wadbilliga Fire Management Strategy
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Fire Management Strategy NSW Wadbilliga and NATIONAL PARKS AND South East Forest WILDLIFE National Park SERVICE FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WADBILLIGA AND SOUTH EAST FOREST NATIONAL PARK NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Far South Coast Region November, 2003 2 Fire Management Strategy for Wadbilliga and South East Forest National Park ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author of this strategy was the Narooma Office of the Far South Coast Region of the N.S.W National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). This book 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, Far South Coast Region, June 2003. Contact: Fire Officer, PO Box 282, Narooma, NSW, 2546. ISBN * **** **** *. 3 Fire Management Strategy for Wadbilliga and South East Forest National Park TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Scope and Purpose.............................................................................................. 5 1.2. Fire Management Objectives................................................................................ 5 1.3. Description of the Reserves ................................................................................. 6 1.3.1 Location and Terrain.................................................................................. 6 1.3.2 Fire History and Frequency ....................................................................... 8 1.3.3 Natural and Cultural Heritage .................................................................... 9 1.3.4 Recreational use and facilities................................................................. 10 1.3.5 Infrastructure ........................................................................................... 10 1.3.6 Summary of key fire issues ..................................................................... 10 2. BUSHFIRE RISKS ............................................................................................... 13 2.1. Introduction......................................................................................................... 13 2.2. Life and Property ................................................................................................ 13 2.3. Cultural Heritage................................................................................................. 14 2.4. Natural Heritage ................................................................................................. 14 3. BUSHFIRE RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES............................................... 20 3.1. Introduction......................................................................................................... 20 3.2. Fire Management Zones .................................................................................... 20 3.2.1 Asset Protection Zones ........................................................................... 20 3.2.2 Strategic Wild Fire Control Zones............................................................ 20 3.2.4 Fire Exclusion Zones............................................................................... 22 3.3. Radiation Zones and Strategic Fuel Breaks ....................................................... 32 3.4. Fire Management Trails and Roads ................................................................... 33 3.5. Other Fire Control Advantages........................................................................... 34 3.6. Education, Co-operation and Enforcement......................................................... 34 3.7. Research and Monitoring ................................................................................... 34 4. REFFERENCES................................................................................................... 35 4 Fire Management Strategy for Wadbilliga and South East Forest National Park 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Scope and Purpose This strategy describes the strategies the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will implement to meet its fire management obligations under the Rural Fires Act 1997, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 in Wadbilliga and South East Forest National Park (hereafter referred to as ‘the reserves’) between 2002 and 2007. This strategy has been prepared in accordance with the policies and procedures detailed in the NPWS Fire Management Manual (NPWS, 2001), NPWS Fire Management Planning Strategy (NPWS, 2001) and the Wadbilliga and South East Forests National Park Draft Plan of Management (NPWS, 2001). This strategy is supported by: • Fire Management Works Schedules which are prepared annually and list the fire management strategies to be implemented each year. • Bush fire Suppression Guidelines which are prepared annually and identify natural, cultural and capital assets to be protected from bush fire each year and fire control advantages. • Far South Coast Region Incident Response Procedures which are prepared annually and detail general bushfire preparedness and response procedures. This strategy is also supported by hardcopy maps and a Geographic Information System (GIS) database maintained at the NPWS Far South Coast Regional Office, Narooma. Data used by this strategy to display mapped information has been burnt to a standard CD with working Arcview 3.2 and Spatial Analyst Project file (.apr) and can be run independently of the NPWS GIS database using the same GIS software. 1.2. Fire Management Objectives Consistent with the statutory obligations and policies of NPWS, as defined in the NPWS Fire Management Planning Strategy (NPWS, 2001), the fire management objectives defined for the reserves are to: • Reduce the occurrence of human caused unplanned fires in the reserves. • Suppress unplanned fires occurring in the reserves. • Minimise the potential for the spread of bushfires within, from or into the reserves. • Protect from bushfires occurring in the reserves, persons and property in, or immediately adjacent to, the reserves. • Manage fire regimes to avoid the extinction of all species that are known to occur naturally within the reserves. • Protect from damage by bushfires all Aboriginal sites, historic places and culturally significant features which are known to exist within the reserves. 5 Fire Management Strategy for Wadbilliga and South East Forest National Park 1.3. Description of the Reserves This strategy applies to the following National Parks: • Wadbilliga National Park (including recent Murrabrine, Wandella, Dampier and Badja additions), and • South East Forest National Park (previously Glenbog and Bemboka State Forest). In addition to the reserves, this strategy also considers fuels, assets and fire control advantages that are outside but continuous with, or adjacent to, those in the reserves. 1.3.1 Location and Terrain The reserves are located within the Bega Valley, Eurobodalla and Cooma Monaro Local Government Areas (table 1) on the Far South Coast / Southern Tableland Escarpment of NSW approximately 350 km South of Sydney and 100 km South East of Canberra (Map 1). The major land-use practices adjoining the Reserves are grazing (cattle and sheep), timber production (State Forests and private lands) and a variety of residential development on smaller-sized rural allotments. The Reserves provide an almost contiguous expanse of hinterland on the NSW Far South Coast, from Narooma (in the north) to Bega (in the south). The total size of this area and that of each reserve is show in Table 1. Table 1: Area of each reserve Reserve Hectares BVSC % ESC % CMSC% Wadbilliga National Park 95’072 67 9 9 South East Forests NP 17’437 15 0 0 (Bemboka & Glenbog sections) Total = 112’509 82% 9% 9% Elevation within the Reserves extends from near sea level to over 1400 metres. The Reserves cover a range of topographical features, from tableland plateau in the west, through deeply dissected escarpment on the east of the tablelands, to gently undulating coastal foothills and plains east of the Reserves. Table 2: Slope analysis in the Reserves Slope a % area Hectares 0 - 50 4% 4’896 5 - 100 8% 9’314 10 - 150 12% 13’082 15 - 180 8% 8’874 > 180 68% 76’131 a – slope categories for Planning for Bush Fire Protection. 6 Fire Management Strategy for Wadbilliga and South East Forest National Park 1.3.2 Fire History and Frequency (see Maps 2 & 3) Fire history records for the study area are available from 1938/39 to 1999/2000. From this information, significant fires occur every 6-8 years. Figure 1: Hectares burnt within the Reserves by wildfire from 1938/39 to 1999/2000 40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 Hectares burned Hectares 15000 10000 500 0 1938/39 1968/69 1980/81 1988/89 Source: NPWS GIS records at time of writing Strategy The risk of fire in the Reserves has been greatest during spring, and in January. Figure 2: Monthly occurrence of wildfire in the Reserves, 1970/71 to 1998/99 20 26% 18 % of fires in a year 16 14 16% 12 14% 10 19 8 9% 9% Number of fires 6 12 7% 7% 7% 10 4 4% 7 7 5 1% 5 5 2 3 00 1 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Lightning is the dominant cause of wildfire in the Reserves, closely followed by illegal ignitions as the next most common cause. Fires resulting from negligence or accident account for about 9%