Forestry

Grass rings of the outback and trees of the artificial wilderness

/ 3 Comments

“Fire has helped the flammable spinifex invade this vast land, and that spinifex has helped fire to dominate the landscape”. Peter Latz

So I’ll see you out on the mulga and spinifex plain; Anytime, Tjilpi, I’ll be coming back this way; See you out on the mulga and spinifex plain; Just light me a fire and I’ll soon be home again

“Mulga and spinifex plain”, Warumpi Band (Track 10 on Big Name, No Blankets)

As we have travelled through large arid and semi-arid areas of Australia, two vegetation communities have dominated the country – spinifex grasslands and mulga shrublands.… Read more

Grass rings of the outback and trees of the artificial wilderness Read More »

Should we cull crocodiles?

/ 5 Comments

Crocodiles are ancient reptiles with their ancestors around before the age of the dinosaurs. What makes them so durable is they are perfectly adapted to their environment. The estuarine or saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is most likely encountered in tidal rivers and estuaries, billabongs, and floodplains. However, they can also be found in the open sea.… Read more

Should we cull crocodiles? Read More »

A tale of two grasses

/ 7 Comments

How buffel grass changed the dead heart of Australia

When you enter the Northern Territory from South Australia the landscape changes immediately from mulga scrub to more open savannah woodland dominated by the introduced buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris). 

Buffel grass landscape at MacDonnell Ranges.
Photo courtesy-Tony-Faithfull-https-www.faithfull.id_.auindex.phpweeds13-buffel-grass-changing-the-ecology-of-the-west-macdonnell-ranges-2.jpg

Buffel grass is a deep-rooted perennial native to Africa, the Middle East and India.… Read more

A tale of two grasses Read More »

Fabricated myths and politics are causing the mismanagement of water in the Murray-Darling Basin

/ 4 Comments

“It doesn’t matter what is true, it only matters what people believe is true.“[1]

Before I started our travels, I recall hearing and reading stories about the parlous state of the Murray River and its basin. These calls are always louder when there is a drought.[2]  On our trip, I have spent a lot of time on the Murray, the Lachlan and Edward Rivers, as well as in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation area.… Read more

Fabricated myths and politics are causing the mismanagement of water in the Murray-Darling Basin Read More »

A Redwood forest

/ 2 Comments

One of the best secrets in the hills surrounding Warburton is a plantation of various softwood species planted from the 1930s. The most impressive are the coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) which stand majestically at up to 60 metres tall. Called the Cement Creek plantation, the area is a significant softwood plantation.… Read more

A Redwood forest Read More »

70 years of bushfires – have the lessons learnt been ignored ?

/ 2 Comments

This blog focuses on two Victorian bush fire disasters 70 years apart. It highlights a failure of governance, a failure to heed fire expert advice, a preoccupation with an emergency response model that has failed in North America and is failing forests and residents in Australia, and an arrogant contempt towards previous bushfire inquiries.… Read more

70 years of bushfires – have the lessons learnt been ignored ? Read More »

A Charred landscape

/ 11 Comments

“The dead ash forests reach starkly towards the sky like sentinels bearing witness to the holocaust just past, and those who love the bush are heavy hearted because this may be only the beginning of what is yet to come.” David Treasure, 2007[1]

Since 1939, the high-country forests in Victoria were relatively free of devastating wildfires.… Read more

A Charred landscape Read More »

Memorable faunal encounters in the forest

/ 5 Comments

Foresters who have spent most of the working career in the bush will have numerous stories about encounters with our native fauna. The most dramatic and scary usually involve snakes. Despite spending a lot of time walking in the bush, I still have a fear of snakes. If I see one early in the morning, I can be edgy for the rest of the day, particularly if it is a close encounter.… Read more

Memorable faunal encounters in the forest Read More »