FireScape (Fire Ecology) Project – Where Red Meets Green Community Engagement and Fire Awareness Forum. The Road to Safer Communities; Are we there yet? 3 rd – 4 th August, 2013 Mike McStephen VMO Gippsland and Kim Stanley-Eyles, VMO Barwon South West

2 Balances risk management with fire ecology –Suited to Rural & Semi-rural communities Link fire agencies, NRM agencies, community See fire as one part of land management Encourage local fire management planning Increase appropriate burning on private land Introduction – Aims of the program Fire Ecology Project

3 Country Area of Victoria Domain of Country Fire Authority (CFA) Seventy-eight percent of Victoria Roadsides, rail easements, local reserves Private land (75%) surface area CFA is NOT a land manager Fire Ecology Project

Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission recommendations Four year pilot ‘Environmental Compliance’ Two year pilot (years 3 and 4) Community Engagement Workshop Pilot –Modeled on “HotSpots” program: NSW Rural Fire Service partnering Nature Conservation Council –Burn planning across landscape tenures Pilot Project: a background Fire Ecology Project

5 Overview of the Workshops Fire planning: ecological perspective Fire behaviour Fire Planning: Risk perspective - BAL Burn Planning Monitoring the effects of fire Property planning for fire Fire Ecology Project

6 What we have done so far Identified groups – Share boundaries in bushland – share risk and interests – Mixture of attitudes and motivations Two workshop sessions – Education and planning – Planning review and Burn Burn separately if coordination can’t be done

7 Fish Creek –South Gippsland, north of Wilson’s Prom –An isolated rural group Koonwarra –South Gippsland, near Leongatha –A semi-urban group Barongarook –Near Colac –Engaged with CFA support Fire Ecology Project Communities involved

8 Fish Creek –Small number of households –Predominantly semi-retired farming –Shared attitudes –Coherent local community

9 Communities involved Location of Gippsland communities

10 Fish Creek

11 Fish Creek Fish Creek, burn block

12 Koonwarra

13 Koonwarra characteristics Koonwarra –Larger town than Fish Creek –Working locally –50% House blocks –Not shared attitudes –Less well connected community

14 Program Structure Two sessions –Session I – Education then planning Fire Ecology – Planning fire without people –ParksVic: Fire and Environment Program Officer Fire Risk – Fire Behaviour, Asset risk, BAL scale –CFA Local brigade input –Brigade role and expectation Walk and talk –Site inspection and reinforcement Long lunch Planning session (Big Maps)

15 Session II –Review and update plan –Burn if possible Program Structure

16 Monitoring Year 2 activity Land owners concerns –Will this: damage the environment regenerate species remove animals from the area Interest from DEPI –Fire risk on private land –Fauna monitoring linking remnants –Fire history on private land