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bushtracks B u s h H e r i t a ge M a g a z in e | W inte r 20 20
Six months on Seeds of change The firebirds
Yourka Reserve is buzzing with A burning program in the Mimal Rangers in Arnhem
life once more after a severe Kimberley brings new hope for Land are burning country the
bushfire in December 2019. Gouldian Finches and other right way, with a fire-spreading
seed-eating species. raptor at their side.
Bush Heritage acknowledges the Traditional
Owners of the places in which we live,
work and play. We recognise the enduring
relationships they have with their lands and
waters, and we pay our respects to Elders, “Through all of this, your unwavering support
past and present.
has been staggering. It has allowed our staff to
continue doing their vitally important work
and for that I cannot thank you enough.”
CONTRIBUTORS
Amelia Caddy
Eliza Herbert
Kate Thorburn
DE SIGN
Viola Design 1 Liffey Valley Reserve, Tas. Photo by Annette Ruzicka
COVER IMAGE
I
A Mareeba Rock-wallaby (Petrogale
2 n March this year, our Bunuba partners in the There have been many silver linings to the past
mareeba). Photo by Dave Watts/ few months, too. Across the globe, from Venice to
Six months on Kimberley region of Western Australia were
naturepl.com Los Angeles, the environment is benefitting from
due to start a project that had been a long time
coming: bringing back right-way winthali (fire) to humankind’s newfound stillness. Pollution and
parts of their country that hadn’t been walked on greenhouse gas emissions have dropped and wild
for many decades. But when COVID-19 arrived it animals are reclaiming urban spaces, proving that
threw a spanner in the works. nature can bounce back when given the chance.
This publication uses 100% post-consumer
waste recycled fibre, made with a carbon
6 In ‘Seeds of change’ (p. 6), you’ll learn how, Through all of this, your unwavering support has
Seeds of change with determination and some creative thinking, been staggering. It has allowed our staff to continue
neutral manufacturing process, using
Bunuba ultimately were able to push ahead with doing their vitally important work and for that I
vegetable-based inks.
their winthali project and we’re privileged to be cannot thank you enough.
supporting them in that work. In much the same
BUSH HERITAGE AUSTR ALIA With care,
way, our staff have been finding ways to ensure that
T 1300 628 873 our reserves – particularly those affected by the
E info@bushheritage.org.au Black Summer fires – are still being protected and
8 Heather Campbell
W www.bushheritage.org.au looked after. Through all of this, the health of our
Bush Heroes Chief Executive Officer
staff, our supporters, and of course the bush, has
Follow Bush Heritage on: been foremost in our minds.
Adapting to change has been a consistent theme
of 2020 so far. Whether it’s learning how to home
school, stay connected with loved ones, or plan a
burning program in the Kimberley under social
10 distancing guidelines, this year has taught us all
The firebirds how to adapt and operate in different ways.
1
7
Tiger Hill on Yourka Reserve, Qld.
Photo by Martin Willis
O
ne summer’s night halfway through
December 2019, a lightning strike hit Bush
Heritage’s Yourka Reserve on Jirrbal and
Warrungu country in far north Queensland.
Yourka is no stranger to lightning. This is the
Einasleigh Uplands, where the summers are
hot and humid and storms are a dime a dozen.
Typically, lightning will strike a tree, causing a fire
that will burn 20 metres or so, get rained on and
self-extinguish.
That night in December however, the rain didn’t come.
Suffering from a string of dry months, the reserve
was, in the words of long-time Yourka Reserve
Manager Paul Hales, “basically cardboard”. He
estimates that Yourka’s ‘cure rate’ – a measurement
used to assess grass flammability– was close to the
maximum of 100 percent.
For the first time in Bush Heritage’s 11-year history
of protecting Yourka, a lightning strike had started
a bushfire.
By the next morning, the fire was burning hot
and fast. It swept up and over Yourka’s eastern
foothills including Tiger Hill, where a population
of diminutive Mareeba Rock-wallabies live amongst
the granite outcrops. Wind at its back, the flames
continued westwards.
Paul, other Bush Heritage staff, units from the
Queensland Rural Fire Service, neighbours and
contractors would spend the next 10 days containing
the fire, responding to the last active ground
burning on Christmas Day. It would take another
Six months on 12 days of patrolling and mopping up to completely
extinguish the blaze.
All up, 18,800 hectares of Yourka burnt –
approximately 43 percent of the reserve or an
Silver linings shine as Bush Heritage’s area roughly 10 times the size of tourist town Port
Douglas. After that first, intense day however, the
Yourka Reserve in far north Queensland blaze moved at a slower pace, allowing animals time
regenerates following a significant to escape and causing minimal long-term damage
to vegetation.
bushfire last year.
For many of us, fire invokes fear. Yet in northern
Australia, fire is part of the furniture. This is a
STORY BY K ATE THORBURN
landscape of extremes where ecosystems not only
endure burning, but often also benefit from it.
As Paul puts it, “this country has burnt before and it
will burn again”.
3
bushtracks
“All the burnt country
is heavy with grass...The
Cockatoo Grass is at shoulder
height, the Giant Speargrass
almost double that, the big
trees look happy.”
“That’s ideal habitat for arboreal mammals like
Six months on and Yourka is buzzing with life.
Greater Gliders and Possums.”
Thanks to 500 millimetres of late summer rain that
arrived five weeks after the blaze, major creeks are Another upside; easier visibility of and access to
flowing clean and clear. It’s as if a green film has been infestations of Siam Weed and Lantana – two of the
placed over the landscape. biggest ecological challenges at Yourka.
“All the burnt country is heavy with grass,” says Paul. And another; a lot of weeds don’t like fire so Paul’s
“The Cockatoo Grass is at shoulder height, the Giant betting on their seedbanks being depleted.
Speargrass almost double that, the big trees look
happy. Pretty much everything is coming back.” A heart-stopping moment
“It can be hard to imagine after weeks of exhausting And the Mareeba Rock-wallabies?
work fighting fires that the country will spring back
so incredibly, but it has,” adds Leanne Hales, Paul’s Paul and Leanne visited Tiger Hill a few weeks after
wife and Bush Heritage Volunteer Coordinator for the fire went through. As they clambered up the
northern Australia. craggy granite outcrop to set up monitoring cameras,
unsure of what they would find at the top, a flash of
Like much of far north Queensland, Yourka struggles movement caught their eyes.
with woody thickening, a phenomenon whereby trees
grow close together. The shade produced by this A Mareeba Rock-wallaby bounced out, followed by
crowding suffocates the growth of grasses, herbs and another and another. Four healthy animals were
shrubs critical to the diets of animals like Rufous spotted that day, and images collected from the
Bettongs, Brown- and Long-nosed Bandicoots, camera traps since have confirmed more, including
Melomys and other native rodents. joeys and babies in their mother’s pouches.
“The problem is that you end up with a monoculture… “We were both extremely relieved,” recalls Paul.
which is hard to reverse,” says Paul. “Those key “There was a big question mark over that population
species like Cockatoo Grass and Kangaroo Grass, so we were happy to see them and see that they were
that’s what we’re trying to restore and that’s what will none the worse for wear.”
help all those ground-dwelling mammals.”
“The Rock-wallabies are a symbol really,” says Leanne.
Addressing woody thickening is one of the main aims “They’re a symbol that the country bounces back.”
of Yourka’s fire plan. For up to eight weeks each year,
The silver linings shine.
Bush Heritage staff and contractors put in controlled,
cool burns to help prevent woody thickening and
reduce the severity and size of dry season bushfires.
December’s fire helped to thin out the trees on
Yourka to the extent that in some parts of the reserve,
daylight is hitting the ground for the first time in 25
years; good news for that all-important understorey.
8
“This fire will hopefully flick the switch the other Yourka Reserve Manager Paul Hales.
Photo by Martin Willis
way so those big old hollow-bearing trees like
3
Stringybarks and Bloodwoods might be able to Grassy woodlands on Yourka Reserve.
replace themselves over time,” explains Paul. Photo by Martin Willis 7
xx
4
Seeds of change
Fire can be as harmful as it is essential in the
Kimberley of Western Australia. Maintaining that fine
balance is at the heart of the Bunuba Rangers’ fire
program, bringing right-way winthali back to country.
STORY BY AME LIA CADDY
1
A Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae).
Photo by Martin Willis
“For the past few decades,
unmanaged hot fires have
B
unuba Elder Joe Ross can recall seeing and younger vegetation that provides habitat for many One of the areas they will be focusing on is
hundreds of Gouldian Finches flying in different animals, including Gouldian Finches. miluwindi, the rocky, sandstone hills of the King destroyed the food source for
rainbow flocks across his country as late
Now, Bunuba people are working to bring right-way
Leopold Ranges in the north of Bunuba muwayi. Gouldian Finches in that
as the 1970s. During the late dry season, when food is scarce,
winthali back to their country, with support from Gouldian Finches flock to miluwindi to breed in the Snappy Gum country.”
Located in the central-west Kimberley region Bush Heritage and a $250,000 Australian Heritage hollows of smooth-barked Snappy Gums (Eucalyptus
of Western Australia, Bunuba muwayi (country) grant from the Australian Government. brevifolia) and feed on spinifex grass seeds. The
contains ideal habitat for the finches with its seeds are critical to their survival at this time of year
sandstone ranges and grassy savanna woodlands. “The grant is continuing the work that we started with
– without them, they can starve. But spinifex grass
But today, these colourful birds, which were once Bunuba back in 2018,” says Bush Heritage National
will only produce seed if it hasn’t been burnt in the “Gouldian Finches are sort of like the canary in the
common across most of northern Australia, Fire Program Manager Richard Geddes, who works
last three years, so when big wildfires burn through coal mine,” says Richard. “We focus on them because
have all but disappeared. closely with the Bunuba Rangers to plan when and
large areas of country, it can have a catastrophic they're a really clear indicator of whether or not the
where their burning will happen.
effect on the birds’ food source. country's being managed well for fire.”
“Since about the 80s, their population has really
dropped off dramatically and now there are just small Over the past two years, Bunuba’s burning has been
“Unmanaged hot fires at certain times of the year will In an average year, Bunuba Rangers – accompanied
pockets of Gouldian Finch colonies left on Bunuba restricted to Yaranggi (Leopold Downs), one of three
basically burn all the grass so there’s no regrowth and by Elders and young people – will aim to strategically
country and elsewhere,” says Joe. pastoral stations that Bunuba regained control of
no grass seeds,” says Joe. “For the past few decades, burn about 15 to 20 percent of their land through
in an exclusive possession native title recognition
unmanaged hot fires have destroyed the food source right-way winthali, while taking care to avoid long-
The decline of Gouldian Finches is believed to in 2012. The Australian Heritage grant provides
for Gouldian Finches in that Snappy Gum country.” unburnt spinifex and fire sensitive areas.
be primarily due to changes in fire regimes. As the funding for Bunuba to manage fire and protect
Aboriginal communities right across northern natural and cultural values across their entire Gouldian Finches aren’t the only species impacted Over the coming years, the rangers will conduct
Australia were forced off their land, they were no 502,000 hectare exclusive possession native title area. by uncontrolled wildfires. Many other grass seed- regular surveys to determine the impact their work is
longer able to continue their traditional burning. eating birds and mammals are in decline right across having on plants and animals. With any luck, they’ll
These deliberately-lit, early-dry season fires, known “We're working to protect places that younger
northern Australia, including Northern Quolls, be spotting flashes of rainbow colour amongst the
to Bunuba people as right-way winthali (fire), not generations have never been to before the project
Partridge Pigeons, Golden-shouldered Parrots and grasses very soon.
only reduce the extent and severity of uncontrolled started and the older generations wouldn’t have
Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens.
bushfires, they also create a diverse mosaic of older visited some of these areas in over 30 to 40 years,”
says Richard.
6 7
bushtracks bushtracks
5 Illustrations by Jessie Rose Ford
Our bush heroes
The Australian bush is remar kably resilient to fire,
and that’s in no small par t thanks to the combined
ser vices of many native animals.
Wedge-tailed Eagles Echidnas Ants Gang-gang Cockatoos
Without Wedge-tailed Eagles, we would have Our favourite spiny monotremes are constantly Small though they may be, ants are one of These distinctive parrots help the Australian
a much harder job cleaning up landscapes disturbing and moving soil around as they Australia’s most important seed dispersers. In bush to regenerate after fire by facilitating the
after fire. Along with other birds of prey and search for their next meal of tasty ants. After fact, they’re so vital that many native Australian spread and germination of native seeds. Found
scavengers, these apex predators clear away fire, this activity is hugely beneficial to soil plants, including some native wattles and peas, throughout south-eastern Australia, Gang-gangs
carcasses and help prevent the spread of health and seed dispersal. Intense bushfires actively encourage ants to spread their seeds feed on the seeds of many eucalypt and wattle
disease. With fewer carcasses lying around, can bake the ground making it difficult for through nutritional benefits and chemicals. The species, as well as berries, nuts and insects.
feral predators such as cats and foxes are less water to penetrate the surface. Echidnas break primary way in which ants disperse seeds is by Using their powerful, curved beaks, they crack
likely to be drawn to an area. down this hard surface as they scratch and prod carrying them back to their underground nests open hard casings and crush the seeds within
around with their long beaks and clawed feet, and this industrious work proves incredibly before distributing them all over the landscape in
Wedge-tailed Eagles help the bush regenerate increasing water permeability in the process and important following fire. Not only does it reduce their droppings. As they forage, Gang-gangs will
in another important way, too – through a cycling top layer nutrients into the soil beneath. the amount of surface seed eaten by other also knock seeds from stems, cones and flower
mechanism known as energy transference. After They also collect and eat soil and seeds along animals such as native rodents and wallabies, it heads to the ground, which further promotes
feeding, Wedge-tailed Eagles cycle nutrients with ants, and then spread them through the also distances seeds from their parent plants and the regeneration of the bush.
back into the environment through their landscape in their faeces. These small, ecosystem protects them from fire and harsh temperatures.
droppings, allowing energy to be spread more services all add up to aid in the recruitment and Ants can also be credited with creating holes in
evenly through the landscape. regeneration of native plants after fire. the top layer soil post-fire, thus helping increase
its permeability to water.
8 9
bushtracks
7
Karrkanj the Brown Falcon (Falco berigora).
Photo by Greg Oakley
4
Mimal Rangers Lydia Lawrence and Anne Kelly.
Photo courtesy of Mimal Land Management
Firebirds I
n the heart of Arnhem Land, there is a very
special bird. Karrkanj, it is called; the Brown
Falcon, the firebird.
And while at times Karrkanj has been a little
troublemaker - jumping firebreaks and starting
unwanted wildfires that need to be put out - he
is also a friend.
Across cascading river waters and wetlands (djula
The Mimal Rangers of central Arnhem Land are and wah), grassy plains (ruwurrno and rorrobo), and “We have a partnership with that bird. We mainly
woodlands (berrhno and mininyburr), Karrkanj can work together, the bird and us,” says Annette.
looking after country the right way, preventing sometimes be seen soaring overhead carrying a “Mimal means fire and Karrkanj is a firebird,
damaging wildfires and reducing emissions, smouldering stick in its talons. so that's how it goes. Mimal and the firebird.”
with a fire-spreading raptor at their side. On the move from one fire, it drops the stick to start The Mimal Land Management area spans nearly
another. As small reptiles and mammals scuttle 2 million hectares in central Arnhem Land. It
away from the newly lit flames, Karrkanj becomes is home to a whole range of species that depend
STORY BY E LIZ A HERBERT
the hunter, swooping in to pick up its meal. on appropriate fire regimes to keep their habitat
healthy, including the Emu, Northern Cypress
This raptor is one of three birds in Northern Pine, Gouldian Finch and Northern Bandicoot.
Australia known to spread fire – the Brown Falcon,
Black Kite and Whistling Kite – and it is very
significant to the Rembarrnga and Dalabon people
of the Mimal Land Management area where Bush “On the move from one fire,
Heritage has a partnership with the Mimal Rangers. it drops the stick to start
For Mimal Rangers, fire is a part of life. It is a another. As small reptiles and
part of the culture and the story of their land and mammals scuttle away from
is a reason that Traditional Owners are needed on
country, looking after it the right way. the newly lit flames, Karrkanj
becomes the hunter.”
“I saw with my own eyes, that Karrkanj collecting
firewood from where we made fire to go and burn
other grass,” says Annette Murray, a board member
on Mimal Land Management. “Our people used to
say that bird is the firebird because when our people
used to go and burn, he’d go and do it for them.”
For tens of thousands of years before pastoralists and
miners came to the area, Rembarrnga and Dalabon
people used fire for hunting and rejuvenating bush
tucker plants. Burning country was, and still is, an
important tool for land management.
Expert knowledge passed down through generations
is used to strategically light a mosaic pattern of small,
cool fires during the early dry season to prevent hot,
damaging wildfires later in the season.
“In the past, our Elders and our old people had the
knowledge. We didn't have calendars at that time,
but we read the stars, the moon, and the weather
changes,” says Annette.
“We had names of all of those things; for when the
rain’s coming, when the dry or wet is coming, and
our Elders knew exactly when to burn and when
not to.”
11
bushtracks bushtracks
But when many Rembarrnga and Dalabon Parting shot
All donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible.
Title First name Last name
Address State Postcode
Signature
people were moved off their country in the
My happy place
1900s, traditional burning stopped and wildfires
predominated, altering the ecology and damaging
large tracts of the landscape.
Diners
Then, nearly two decades ago, an initiative to develop
caring for country activities with Traditional Owners
AMEX
led to the establishment of the Mimal Rangers. Leanne Hales Yourka Reserve
Volunteer Coordinator
In 2006, Mimal helped pioneer the West Arnhem
Visa MasterCard
Lives on Yourka Reserve
Land Fire Abatement (WALFA) Project to
reinstate traditional burning through an emissions
offset program.
Email Phone Date of birth
Expiry Date
Rangers, working under Traditional Owners, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from late season wildfires There are so many special places to explore and Themeda Green emerges from the ashen earth
Cheque/money order (enclosed)
Please send me information about including a gift to Bush Heritage in my will.
by doing traditional burning in the early dry-season. enjoy on Yourka Reserve. From the upper reaches with the promise of food and shelter, resilience
This generates Australian Carbon Credit Units of Sunday Creek where the milky blue water carves and renewal.
Yes, I want to help the bush recover from a season of devastation.
(ACCUs) for the carbon market and creates funding basins and caves in the conglomerate rock bed, to the
No matter where I am on the reserve, nothing
Cardholder’s name
for the Mimal Rangers. wide sand bars of the Herbert River where monstrous
paperbarks yawn across tannin-stained pools and makes me happier than seeing a vast carpet
Now, with the increasing threat of climate change, callistemon curtains tickle the muddy banks. of Themeda Green stretching off through the
this work has never been so important. woodland. The colour signals a healthy understorey,
But my favourite part of Yourka is not actually a a solid foundation for the whole ecosystem and it
With Karrkanj on their logo, rangers use a two- place, it’s a colour. Somewhere between blue, green, fills me with a sense of peace and stability.
I will give $ via:
toolbox approach, combining traditional knowledge grey and silver is a shade I call Themeda Green. Both
and skills with modern tools like geographical muted and luminescent, it’s a colour that can never There are places on Yourka where the Kangaroo
information systems (GIS), trucks and helicopters quite be captured in a photo or mixed on a palette Grass has reclaimed its territory from weeds, erosion
to undertake controlled burning and wildfire – it can only be brought to life by sunlight, clean air and grazing pressure. A triumph for nature and
suppression, and protect country. and new growth on a tussock of native Kangaroo the management practices in place to support her,
Grass (Themeda triandra). celebrated in my favourite shade of blue-green-grey.
For John Dalywater, another Mimal board member, I love the colour not only for its beauty but for all
this means working together with both neighbours I’ve often wondered why I have such reverence for that it represents.
and people across the country and making sure that this particular hue. It evokes feelings of strength
“With Karrkanj on their logo, knowledge is passed on to the next generation. and wellbeing in a landscape that gets battered 5
rangers use a two-toolbox “There’s a phrase we've been using as Indigenous
by wildfires, cyclones and flooding rains. It’s the Themeda Green in the grassy woodlands on
approach, combining traditional first colour to appear after the country has burnt. Yourka Reserve. Photo by Leanne Hales
people: caring and sharing,” says John. “We share, we
knowledge and skills with care together. This is what Australians do together in
this thing; sharing ideas, caring for each other.”
modern tools like geographical
information systems...” “We do the early burning with the project. That's with
the neighbouring rangers, Warddekken and ASRAC,”
he goes on. “It's how we look after the land.”
Card no.
“As an Indigenous person, the love that you have for
your land, it's unexplainable. It doesn't get any better
than that. I have got no other one. Without it, you
are lost, without your country.”
Our work relies on the support of generous
Please tear off and return this coupon to:
Bush Heritage is a national
not-for-profit organisation.
and passionate people like you.
You can also donate online at:
bushheritage.org.au/donate
Bush Heritage Australia
1
Flinders Lane VIC 8009
Raptors hunt around the edges of a burn.
Photo by Claire Thompson
1
DM WINTER2020 bushtracks
Reply Paid 329
Mimal Rangers Robert Redford and Norrie Martin
conduct a right-way burn. Photo by Peter Cooke/
Northern Pictures
12 13
Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage is an independent not-for-profit
conservation organisation that buys and manages
land, and partners with Aboriginal people, to protect
our irreplaceable Australian landscapes
and native species.
Founded by Bob Brown in 1991, we have since
grown to protect and help manage over 11 million
hectares - that’s more than all of Tasmania. These
landscapes span from rainforests to woodlands,
savannas to deserts, and everything in between.
Our work would not be possible without the support of
people like you. We gratefully acknowledge the estates of
Pamela Driscoll and Dorothy Searle, as well as the many
other people who have recently donated.
Looking for more stories? Find us on:
Help the bush rise
up and recover
from a season of
devastation.
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