Murrumbidgee Valley National Park Vegetation Vegetation Map Legend Contact Information Broad Vegetation Agency Position / Location Phone MIA 1 Precinct Vegetation Biodiversity Thresholds Fire Behaviour Type Duty Officer (8am-10pm) 02 6332 6350 Class National Parks Fire Management Strategy 2012 Regional Office – 200 Mapsheet 1 of 1 An interval between fire events less than 10 years and greater than 35 years These vegetation communities will generally not carry fire & Wildlife Service 02 6966 8100 River Red Gum should be avoided. River Red Gums will only tolerate low intensity fires. unless there are high ephemeral fuel loads, which generally Yambil St Griffith Forested Forests Individual trees may survive canopy scorch if they are not under stress and are occur after flooding events. In favourable years the River Red This strategy should be used in conjunction with aerial photography and field reconnaissance during incidents and the development of incident action plans. Fire Control Centre These data are not guaranteed to be free from error or omission. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife and its employees disclaim liability for any act done on the information Wetlands (Tall Open & Sedge in older age classes. Younger trees will not survive moderate to high intensity Gum forests can be scattered with 2m high reed beds, which 02 6964 1144 in the data and any consequences of such acts or omissions. This document is copyri ght. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of study, research criticism or review, as Dominated) fires. Two fires occurring in the same area in a period of less than 20 years can result in isolated areas of very high to extreme fire NSW Rural Fire 46 Jensen Rd Griffith permitted under the copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. This strategy is a relevant Plan under Section 38 (4) and S ection apart may reduce the extent of River Red Gum Forests. behaviour. In years of high ephemeral fuels, landscape fires 44 (3) of Rural Fires Act 1997. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is part of the Office of Environment and Heritage. Published by the Office of Environment and Service (MIA) 02 6964 5400 Freshwater An interval between fire events less than 10 years and greater than 35 years are possible as fire potential will be very high to extreme, Duty Officer Heritage (NSW), March 2011. Shallow Swamp (AH) Contact: OEH PWG Regional Office: 200 Yambil St, Griffith NSW 2680 P.O. Box 1049 Griffith NSW 2680 ph. 02 6966 8100 Wetlands should be avoided. characterised by spotting from Black Box and River Red Gum An interval between fire events less than 9 years should be avoided. There is communities and fast moving fires in other communities. Red Fire Station 02 6959 1380 Semi-arid NSW Fire Brigades ISBN 978 1 74293 720 5 OEH 2012/0561 Date: August 2012 Version: 1 no maximum interval between fire events specified for this vegetation type as Gum trees commonly form candles. Woodlands Weeping Myall Leeton Fire Station 02 6953 6786 there was insufficient data to give definite intervals. Fire should be avoided In periods of high ephemeral fuel loads the wetlands pose a Map Details Related Documents (Grassy sub- Open Woodland where Chenopod species occur. Two fires in the same area in a period of less risk of extreme fire intensities, hot – fast moving fires and rapid State Forests Forbes – Duty Mobile 0428 696 678 formation) Datum: Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA) 1994 1:25k Topographic Map: Euroley 81281-S OEH Fire Management than 10 years apart may remove younger Black Box trees. change in direction associated with wind. Emergency Services 000 Projection: Map Grid of Australia (MGA) Zone 55 (AGD-1966) Manual 2011 - 2012. Semi-arid Cypress Pine The Cypress Pine Woodlands generally occur on source - An interval between fire events less than 15 years should be avoided. There is SES 13 2500 Scale: Noted scales are true when printed on I Woodlands Woodland of bordering dunes and the potential rate of spread would be low Data: Spot Satellite Imagery: 2005. rr no maximum interval between fire events specified for this vegetation type as A1 size paper ig (Shrubby sub- source-bordering due to low overall fuel hazard. Fire runs are likely to slow down Police Station (not Leeton 02 6953 1399 a there was insufficient data to give definite intervals. tio formation) dunes when entering this vegetation. open 24 hrs) Narrandera 02 6959 5999 n Yellow Box/River High intensity fast moving fire once grasses have cured. Fire Police - Local Area W Griffith 02 6969 4310 a Grassy Red GumTall Grassy An interval between fire events less than 8 years and greater than 40 years behaviour is dominated by winds, both speed and direction. Command Operational Guidelines y Woodlands Woodland should be avoided. Even in very low fuel, grass fires can erratic and fast moving. In Brief all personnel involved in suppression operations on the following issues using the SMEACS format : Some Grey Box ephemeral years intensity will be higher and in drought years Griffith Base 02 6969 5555 minimal growth will result in moderate fire behaviour but Hospital An interval between fire events less than 3 years and greater than 10 years Leeton 02 6953 1111 General Guidelines Grassland Native Grasslands potentially still fast moving depending on weather conditions at should be avoided. the time. Potential spotting from trees. Council 02 6959 5510 . The use of bombing aircraft should support containment operations by aggressively at tacking hotspots and spot-overs, Council Council 02 6953 0911 Aerial Water . The use of bombing aircraft without the support of ground based suppression crews should be limited to very specific Water Swampy Lagoon No fire regime Bombing circumstances, Murrumbidgee Shire Council 02 6960 5500 Planted Woody . Where practicable foam should be used to increase the effectiveness of the water, Other No fire regime . Ground crews must be alerted to water bombing operations. Vegetation . Aerial ignition may be used during back-burning or fuel reduction operations where practicable, but only with the prior The only fire to be recorded for this precinct was in 2006 a nd was quite large with a little over 90 Ha being burnt. Fires are generally attributed to humans from either Fire Season Information Fire History . consent of NPWS Regional Manager, OEH Section 44 delegate or as pres cribed in an operational burn plan, escaped campfires, discarded cigarettes and matches or deliberate ignitions. The critical wildfire season generally occurs from October/November to March/April. Aerial Ignition . . Aerial ignition will only be undertaken by accredited navigators & bombardiers, Dry lightning storms frequently occur and typical fire weather conditions are winds Ephemeral Ephemeral fuel conditions occur after consecuti ve years of effective rainfall and significant flooding events. This in turn leads to the growth and build up of fine surface . The pattern for aerial ignition will be specified in the IAP during fire suppression, Wildfires from the west to the north, high day time temperatures and low humidity Conditions fuels such as grasses and herbs, which can create a continuous fuel load across all of the above vegetation communities. As a result expect higher fire intensity. . . Utilise incendiaries to rapidly burn out large areas where required. Particular care is required following periods of Winter rain and after periods of negative Southern Oscillation Indices. Drought During drought conditions and when vegetation communities are visibly stressed or experiencing dieback no prescribed burning will be permitted and wildfires areas will . Temperature and humidity trends must be monitored carefully to determine the safest times to implement back -burns. Prescribed . Prescribed burning should generally be undertaken during winter or early Spring be minimised. Generally, when the FDI is Very High or greater, back -burning should commence when the humidity begins to rise in the Conditions Burning . Care should be taken to ensure a low intensity burn over most of the area treated. late afternoon or early evening, with a lower FDI back -burning may be safely undertaken during the day, Back-burning St . Where practicable, clear a 1m radius around dead and hollow bearing trees adjacent to containment lines prior to back - urt H burning, or wet down these trees as part of the back-burn ignition, wy . Use parallel containment lines when applicable, Scale1:62,000 . All personnel must be fully briefed before back-burning operations begin. Incident Map . Standard Incident Management Systems are to be applied, 0 0.5 1 km . On the arrival of other combatant agencies, the initial incident controller will consult with regard to the ongoing command, Command & MIA 2 Rd 2a Threatened Sites Guidelines control and incident management team requirements as per the relevant BFMC Plan of Operations, Control Site Guidelines . Where OEH is not the first responding fire authority to arrive at a fire on OEH-managed lands, a competent officer of the first

arriving fire authority will direct fire management activities until a competent OEH officer assumes control (unless prior Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Site Management agreements have been made). RFS Brigade Areas & Towers Locality Kiln Road An aboriginal sites survey is yet to be conducted for this reserve (as of August 2012). Therefore aboriginal sites may be present and . Construction of new containment lines should be avoided, where practicable, except where they can be constructed with consideration in engaging a Senior NPWS Officer or Aboriginal Sites Officer prior to hazard reduction and wildfire suppression activities Note Merungle Hill Road minimal environmental impact, Leeton P045 is required. Scale1:500,000 . For new containment lines IMT to liaise with and receive consent from a Senior NPWS officer prior to construction, Uroly Road Avoid fire and grading control lines within 100 m of a water course, wherever possible, to protect unknown aboriginal sites.

6,168,000 MIA 2 Rd 2 6,168,000 Containment . Use parallel containment lines when applicable, Irrig 0 4 8 km Regulator ThreatenedRoad Fauna Management ation Lines . All containment lines not required for other purposes should be closed at the cessation of the incident, Gogeldrie Way FA1 . Utilise mosaic burning and avoid disturbance at known sightings, roostings or refuges and avoid frequent fire (<6 years). Whitton 10/02/2006 . . Utilise mosaic burning, avoid disturbance at known sightings, roostings or refuges, avoid frequent f ire (<6 years) and exclude chemical All personal involved in containment line construction should be briefed on both natural and cultural h eritage sites in the urrumbidg Leeton FA2 M ee / use. location, R. Leeton . Containment line construction using earthmoving equipment must be in accordance with the earthmoving guidelines Ir FA3 . Utilise mosaic burning and protect hollow bearing trees. ri LGA contained within the RFMS. ga FA4 . Utilise mosaic burning, protect hollow bearing trees and avoid frequent fire (< 6 —10 years ). tio Narrandera . Earthmoving equipment may only be used with the prior consent of a senior NPWS officer, and then only if the probability of n rrumbidgee R FA5 . Utilise mosaic burning. W Paynters Siding Mu LGA MIA 1 Road 14a its success is high, Euroley - Leeton . ay FA7 Exclude fire from habitat and avoid the use of machinery and chemicals. . MIA 1 Road 14b Earthmoving equipment must always be guided and supervised by an appropriately experienced person, and accompanied Threatened Flora Management by a support vehicle. When engaged in direct or parallel attack this vehicle must be a fire fighting vehicle, Sturt H wy FL1 . . Avoid fire in known locations.  Containment lines constructed by earthmoving equipment should consider the protection of drainage features, observe the MIA 1 Road 14 Earthmoving Threatened Species and Cultural Heritage Operational Guidelines, and be surveyed, w here possible, to identify unknown Murrumbidgee Sturt Hw Equipment cultural heritage sites, P051 LGA y Communications Information . Earthmoving equipment must not leave tracks or create new tracks in Machinery Exclusion areas as marked on the Incident Narrandera Location and Map of a RFMS, Irrigation Way Service Channel Gillenbah Comments . Earthmoving equipment must be washed down, where practicable, prior to it entering NPWS estate and again on exiting Narrandera MIA 1 Road 4d MIA 1 Road 13 1:400,000 Scale NPWS estate, Scale MIA 1 Road 4 NPWS 10 . UHF . Where multiple items of earthmoving equipment are being used, the IMT should consider the establishment of a Plant 0 4 8 km 06 . Yanco-Wamoon 6,166,000 6,166,000 Operations Manager. RFS Brigade 10 . Paynters Siding Fire . Advantage . All fire advantages used during wildfire suppression operations must be mapped and where relevant added to the database. MIA 1 Road 6 dormant UHF 17 Euroley-Leeton . Recording Mackellar Road 15 Gillenbah MIA 1 Road 4c . Use of wetting and foaming agents (surfactants) is permitted on the reserve, RFS Griffith P029 . Scenic Hill Fire . The use of fire retardants are only permitted with the prior consent of the senior NPWS officer and should be avoided where RFS . Koonwarra, Darlington Suppression reasonable alternatives are available, Bushfire Risk Management Strategies P035 Murrumbidgee Point Chemicals . Exclude the use of surfactants and retardants within 50m of watercourses, dams and swamps, . Areas where fire suppression chemicals are used must be m apped and the used product’s name recorded, RFS Leeton- P045 . Square Head . The Threatened Species Operational Guidelines are to be observed. Fire Management Zones Narrandera P051 . Quarry Trig The objective of APZs is the protection of human Yanco Weir Road Rehabilitation . Where practicable, containment lines should be stabilised and rehabilitated as part of the wildfire suppression operation. State Forests life and property. This will have precedence over 292 . Square Knob Asset Protection VHF (Repeater) . The potential impacts of smoke and possible mitigation tactics must be considered when planning for wildfire suppression guidelines for the management of biodiversity. MIA 1 Road 4a Zones Smoke and prescribed burning operations, Maintain Overall Fuel Hazard at Moderate or Mobile phone coverage is likely to be good Management . If smoke becomes a hazard on local roads or highways, the police and relevant media must be notified, below. . Smoke management must be in accordance with relevant RTA traffic management guidelines. The objective of SFAZs is to reduce fire intensity MIA 1 Road 12 . OEH personnel are not trained in structural fire fighting and must not enter a structure in order to undertake structural fire across larger areas. Maintain Overall Fuel Hazard fighting, Strategic Fire MIA 1 Road x Structural Fire MIA 1 Road 6

at High or below, however adherence to 6,164,000 Mahey Road 6,164,000 Fighting . Fire suppression activities may be undertaken from outside a structure in accordance with the policies in the NPWS FMM, in Advantage Zones order to protect a built asset. guidelines for biodiversity will take precedence where practical. Stannard Road Visitor . The reserve may be closed to the public during periods of extreme fire danger or during wildfire suppression operations. Land The objective of LMZs is to conserve biodiversity Management . Areas of the reserve may be closed for prescribed burning operations. . Management and protect cultural and historic heritage. Zones Manage fire consistent with fire thresholds. Fire should be avoided wherever possible from . Beware of overhead powerlines, Fire Exclusion MIA 1 Road 7b WARNINGS these areas as they will cause detrimental Cudgel Road . Reserve prone to flooding and only some trails will be trafficable after flood events or rain fall. Zone MIA 1 Road 7a damage to the environment.

MIA 1 Road 3cMIA 1 Road 3b

MIA 1 Road 8b Status of Biodiversity Thresholds Evaluation of Biodiversity Thresholds MIA 1 Road 7 Vulnerable The area will be too frequently burnt if MIA 1 Road 8 MIA 1 Road 1 MIA 1 Road 3 to Frequent it burns this year 6,162,000 6,162,000 Fire . Protect from fire as far as possible. Irr Within the threshold for vegetation in igati this area. Species have had sufficient on W Within time to mature and reproduce, and for ay Threshold habitats to develop. . A fire event is neither required nor

should one necessarily be avoided. Grahams Grave Road Underburnt, excessive time since last fire, species may become extinct. MIA 1 Road 5b Long S . A fire event may be ecologically turt MIA 1 Road 10 MIA 1 Road 5c Unburnt Hwy advantageous. Consider allowing MIA 1 Road 2a unplanned fires to burn

Areas which do not have thresholds MIA 1 Road 1e No Fire assigned to them, e.g. cleared land, Regime rock, water bodies. MIA 1 Road 1h NB. Fire thresholds are defined for vegetation communities to Scale1:62,000 conserve biodiversity 0 0.5 1 km 6,160,000 E MIA 1 Road 9 6,160,000

MIA 1 Road 1b NPWS Estate Powerlines MIA 1 Road 1d MIA 1 Road 5 Suppression Strategies Season Typical Conditions Indicative Suppression Strategies Wildfire Fire Trails BFCC Policy No. 2/2007 Direct . Current Fire Danger Rating (FDR) of Very MIA 1 Road 1c MIA 1 Road 2 Ir Initial attacks should be to try to extinguish or to Cat 7, Essential MIA 1 Road 11 riga High or Greater, tio contain to the smallest possible area. n W Just prior to or . Short and medium range forecasts suggest Cat 9, Essential ay during the conditions typical to a FDR of Very High or Indirect Cat 9, Important MIA 1 Road g critical fire Greater, MIA 1 Road 1a Develop a suppression plan using existing and/or season . A risk to life and/or property exists in the short Dormant potential containment lines. If possible take into – medium term, account biodiversity requirements but never to the N Roads and Trails . A broad area risk to biodiversity exists. Stu detriment of life and property. Sealed Road - Two Lanes rt Hw MIA 1 Road 11b y Direct 6,158,000 Unsealed Road - Two Lanes MIA 1 Road 2e 6,158,000 Evaluate the biodiversity thresholds and use direct . FDR of High or below, Unsealed Road - One Lane attack methods to extinguish if required. . Short – medium term forecast indicate a Outside of the Site Management (see guideline tables) continuing FDR of High or below critical fire Indirect Scale1:62,000 . No risk to life or property exists in the short- Threatened Fauna Scale 1:30,000 season Develop a fire suppression plan to the maximum medium term, 0 0.5 1 km allowable perimeter based on Biodiversity Threatened Flora - FL1 0 0.25 0.5 km . Only small area risk to biodiversity exists. thresholds.

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