Ending Victoria's timber industry has created a 'time bomb' in the state's mountain ash forests
Vast tracts of Victoria's alpine forests are one major bushfire away from oblivion, according to a growing number of scientists.
Alpine ash, a tall eucalypt, is most vulnerable to fire because it takes at least 20 years to produce seed.
"There's probably about 80,000 hectares which is young forest currently and will be young forest for the next decade or so," University of Melbourne scientist Tom Fairman said.
Dr Fairman, a future fire risk analyst at the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, has calculated that in the past two decades, half of the state's mountain forests have been ravaged by bushfire.
After six high-intensity major fires in those years, government agencies have re-sown tens of thousands of hectares of burnt country, broadcasting seed from aircraft to reach impenetrable slopes and valleys.
With fires occurring on average every four years, young alpine ash that has not sprouted since then are at high risk of summer bushfires killing them all.
Dr Fairman called it a "ticking time bomb".
He and other leading scientists, alarmed at the precarious state of the mountain forests, have accused the Victorian government of not doing enough to address the problem.
Owen Bassett, a silviculture, or forest, scientist has spent decades working on the post-fire recovery of Victoria's 600,000 hectares of alpine and mountain ash forests.
From a mountain near Mount Hotham he looks across ridges of dead trees rolling to the horizon.
Some are weather-bleached skeletons, others are strewn across the bare ground.
Devastating fires, not logging as some claim, are to blame.
The trees, which grow to 80 metres, once flourished here but this landscape is so degraded some want alpine and mountain ash declared a threatened species.
Successive fires have thwarted attempts to re-seed the trees.
Mr Bassett said the sudden shutdown of Victoria's native timber industry in 2023, six years earlier than expected, had inadvertently further jeopardised this ecosystem.
Vic Forests, which was responsible for collecting and preserving vital eucalypt seed for forest regeneration, was closed.
"In their absence, DEECA [Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action] is attempting to put together a seed program," Mr Bassett said.
The government has just awarded tenders to seed harvesting contractors who scale the giant trees to gather the tiny pinhead-sized seeds at the tree's crown.
Landline can reveal the contracts are only for one to two tonnes of seed from alpine and mountain ash species in the next two years.
Mr Bassett describes the amount as "woefully low". In past years about three times that amount was collected.
He believes 17 tonnes of seed is now needed to ensure there are sufficient supplies to re-seed burnt areas after severe bushfires.
He said responsibility for the alpine forests should be broadened and favours the establishment of privately funded seed banks supported by corporate and community donors to assist the state.
Victoria's native species seed bank was depleted following re-seeding efforts after the Black Summer bushfires.
Next to no seed has been collected since the timber industry shut down and seed-harvesting contractors were retrenched.
Brendon Clark, long regarded as the industry's best harvester, did not put in a tender for the latest seed collection contract.
He said the amount of seed and the remuneration were both inadequate.
"Our forest is in serious trouble," Mr Clark said.
Watch ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm AEST on Sunday or stream any time on ABC iview.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Manipulative': Expert slams states on sluggish shark net stance
A Sydney shark expert has gone to town on the NSW and Queensland governments, accusing them of manipulating public perception in an effort to drum up support for shark nets and saying none of the available scientific evidence points to them being effective. Shark nets across NSW beaches are taken in annually from mid-autumn to mid-spring, however the NSW government is conducting a review to determine shark mitigation measures for the 2025-26 summer, including support from local councils on the continued use of shark nets. Speaking to NewsWire, The University of Sydney associate professor and shark behaviour expert Christopher Pepin-Neff said he believed two simple premises lay at the heart of the issue; firstly, that shark nets catch fish (Sutherland Shire council reported a 13 times differential between non-target animals caught in nets compared with the targeted eight species of sharks), and secondly, that in getting caught, those fish struggle and die and attract sharks. 'Shark nets attract sharks,' he said. 'There is no way that science exists everywhere in the ocean except on netted beaches in NSW or Queensland. 'That the vibrations that struggling fish make attract sharks everywhere in the ocean except when they get caught in a net at a netted beach in Australia. 'If science still applies, then we have to conclude that shark nets attract sharks to local beaches.' The decision to use shark nets is left to the state government, and during the 2024-25 season, 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong used shark nets. Professor Pepin-Neff said his principal objection to shark nets was that 'they are used by politicians when it is convenient for them to protect themselves by providing a false sense of security to the public'. 'Politicians know that the public has an idea that shark nets work and they are manipulating that public perception for their own benefit,' he said. 'It's a disgrace that in 2025, politicians have not come clean about the fact that shark nets and a lot of beach safety measures are mythical. 'For me, this is not an environmental issue; it is an issue of integrity in the policy process and respect for local constituents across Australia.' The office of NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty declined to respond to NewsWire's request for comment; however Professor Pepin-Neff, received a letter from the Department of Primary Industries (DPIE) saying 'in 2024/25 the DPIE consulted the 25 coastal councils about their preferences for shark mitigation at beaches within their local government area'. 'The NSW government is currently considering the feedback from the councils as well as the evidence from the technologies used over the 2024/25 summer period to help inform the upcoming season,' the DPIE continued. The Sutherland Shire in Sydney was one of the last councils in NSW to oppose the use of shark nets on its beaches. When the state government surveyed local councils in late 2024, councillors were presented with options and evidence for the various shark mitigation technologies. Sutherland Shire councillor Kal Glaznig voted against the use of shark nets and speaking to NewsWire said 'just based on the evidence that was presented it was pretty clear that they're not the most effective tools to keep people safe'. 'I feel like it's a big education piece for beachgoers. The thing around shark nets and why there's a bit of hesitancy to take them out is this perceived safety, which from what I saw scientifically, there's no argument for,' he said. 'People in our community aren't getting in the ocean or not getting in the ocean because they feel like they're being saved with nets.' Mr Glaznig said he couldn't speak for everyone, but during the council deliberation he didn't have a single constituent reaching out to say 'keep the nets in' but was instead inundated with community members who spent large amounts of time in the ocean saying they didn't believe the nets should be in. 'A lot of the evidence for me is around the fact that these nets have been here since 1937,' Mr Glaznig said. 'And I feel like if we just relied on existing measures for everything in life from nearly 100 years ago, we would be so backwards and behind. 'The ocean is such an unknown and you're never going to be able to control the elements, but you can definitely use better technologies and fuller solutions.' 
 'My take for the state government is for them to hopefully listen to what the councils who are on the ground with the community are saying because ultimately we are more accessible than state ministers in getting the response and the feel from the community. 'And our community in the Sutherland shire is telling us that they don't want shark nets and the experts that presented made it super clear that shark nets were not the most effective way to keep people safe.'
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Radiation at Montebello Islands still 4,500 times higher than WA coast after nuclear blasts
Cam McGurk's stories of one of Australia's most heavily irradiated areas come drenched in warm Pilbara sunshine. "I actually spent my honeymoon at the Montebello Islands," Mr McGurk, a longtime member of the Ashburton Anglers fishing club, said. "It was the middle of COVID, so all the travel restrictions were in place … that was the one island holiday where I could take my beautiful wife. The fondness locals like Mr McGurk feel for the islands, about 1,300 kilometres north of Perth, could soon be given fresh pause. According to a landmark study published today, the archipelago's atomic contamination runs astonishingly deep. The Montebello Islands were the site of three British atmospheric nuclear weapons tests between 1952 and 1956. Two of the around 174 spits of sandy earth are still subject to hour-long visitation limits. Since 2019, a team of researchers from Edith Cowan University has sought to measure precisely how much plutonium remains in the islands' marine sediment. Their findings have now revealed levels reaching up to 4,500 times higher than the rest of the WA coast. Scientists spent eight days on the Montebello Islands, diving to gather surface sediment from the ocean floor. Samples were sent to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, the chief regulator for historic nuclear testing sites. "We're able to essentially create a map with the over 66 locations that we took samples of sediment from," lead researcher and PhD candidate Madison Williams-Hoffman said. Ms Williams-Hoffman said two "mechanisms" were spreading radiation through the islands over the past 70 years. "The first one is the plume trajectories … like the mushroom clouds that you conjure in your mind when you think of nuclear detonations," she said. "Those travelled with the wind direction at the time of the detonations." Second, decades of tides and severe weather dispersed residual plutonium in unexpected ways. "There are two cyclones a year that directly impact that part of WA, and so sediment is being tossed up and around, and things [are] moving," Ms Williams-Hoffman said. She said concentrations in the islands' north were "comparable" to other places touched by nuclear testing, including French Polynesia and the Marshall Islands. Any degree of similarity was remarkable because the Marshall Islands suffered a cumulative nuclear impact 700 times greater than the Montebello Islands. "It makes us question what's different between the two sites," Ms Williams-Hoffman said. The legacy of British nuclear testing in Australia is fraught with displacement and disease. Following three major tests conducted on the Montebello Islands, two more nuclear devices were detonated at Emu Fields and another seven at Maralinga in South Australia. Ray Kaye, former president of the Australian Ex-Services Atomic Survivors Association, said it was crucial the impacts of radiation were recorded. The 85-year-old, who later contracted leukaemia, was awarded a medal by the British government for his involvement in the SA nuclear tests. Mr Kaye reminisced on a 2016 trip with his fellow veterans to the Montebello Islands, marking the 60th anniversary of the blasts. WA Parks and Wildlife marine program coordinator Tim Hunt said managing radiation on the Montebello Islands was an "interesting" part of the job. "When I came into this role almost nine years ago, I never thought I'd have to get my physics hat on and learn about radiation," Mr Hunt said. He noted that exposure to marine sediment was far less concerning to authorities. "I'm not an expert, but people aren't going down and putting their head in the sand at 10 or 16 metres," he said. "Our current understanding is that the measures we have in place are sufficient to mitigate that risk." Visitors to Trimouille and Alpha Islands, where the three tests took place, are advised to restrict their time to no more than one hour per day, and not to disturb the soil or handle any relics. Ms Williams-Hoffman said the results were an important step in understanding the repercussions of radionuclides in Australia. Next, researchers will evaluate the effects of such high radiation on the environment. "It's kind of like walking before you can run," she said. "Now that we have these numbers or values in hand, then we can later do those assessments in terms of … how much radiation a person, or perhaps most important with sediment considering it's under water … the animals, the fish, and the plants are exposed to." For Cam McGurk, his appreciation for the "boating and fishermen's playground" reels back to 1998, when a special permit was needed to travel there. He mused that the legend of atomic testing had likely shielded the islands from over-tourism, but supported further monitoring.
ABC News
11 hours ago
- ABC News
New 'risk-mapping tool' aims to prevent bird deaths from powerlines
Craig Webb says he does not want to share images of dead eagles on his social media pages. "But the fact is there are so many that I feel like everyone needs to know," the Raptor Refuge founder said. "I wish there was none. I'm not trying to cause trouble. I'm just trying to put it out there … how many of these birds are succumbing to powerlines." Raptor Refuge is a not-for-profit sanctuary in southern Tasmania dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of the state's birds of prey. Mr Webb said a "high percentage" of the birds that came into the sanctuary were injured by powerlines. "There's a real threat to them out there, and we see countless birds brought in with damages, or they're dead," he said. Technology that is used to mitigate against the risk of birds being electrocuted includes flappers — small reflective disks that hang from powerlines — perches, and covers. TasNetworks said more than 600 kilometres of its distribution lines had flappers, perches or covers installed — up from 140 kilometres in 2023-24. It has also used what is called the "delta design standard" that spreads lines further apart to reduce electrocution risk. Tasmania's powerline network includes 20,310 kilometres of distribution lines. University of Tasmania researchers, in partnership with TasNetworks, have released a new "risk-mapping tool" aimed at preventing powerline bird deaths. By tracking 23 wedge-tailed eagles over six years, the research team built a model that predicts where eagles are most likely to cross powerlines, and where the risk of death is highest. Lead researcher James Pay said powerlines were among the leading causes of injury and death for large birds of prey in Tasmania, and globally. It is hoped the data will help TasNetworks identify where mitigation technologies are most needed. "There's some other models that [TasNetworks has] been working on as well," Dr Pay said. "We're combining them all together to help guide where to put either the different designs of the powerlines or the bird flappers more proactively — rather than relying on where the birds have already been killed." TasNetworks said it invested almost $1 million every year in bird protection. In 2023-24, 11 threatened birds were "impacted" by powerlines, down from 26 reported incidents in 2022-23, according to TasNetworks. Mr Webb is concerned the number of birds injured or killed by powerlines in Tasmania is under-reported. "These birds are found under or near powerlines where there are people around," he said. "So you can imagine how under-reported this is because there are so many powerlines that aren't near people and aren't near townships that are not going to be found." More than 9,400 powerline crossings at "risky altitudes" were recorded during the project. Mr Webb said it was "a significant number". "If we can learn from that and do some more mitigation work in those areas, well, that's fantastic," he said. However, he said more investment in implementing mitigation was needed. "It's taken all this time to really realise what's happening and how these birds can see these powerlines. "We've got to catch up to all those kilometres and kilometres of powerlines that have never had anything and, in fact, make it mandatory that all new powerlines have flappers on them." Dr Pay said installing mitigation technologies could be costly. "The only thing that really holds it back is the amount it costs to get these things put out and also to maintain them," he said. "It'd never be feasible to put them everywhere, but [it is feasible] to target them where they're needed, using methods like the model that we've developed." TasNetworks said mitigation technologies were installed "all the time, based on high-risk areas and new reporting". "We're investing strongly in new technology like fibreglass cross-arms and the delta design standard to make the network itself more bird safe, in turn reducing the need for flappers and perches," a spokesperson said. If you find an injured or dead raptor in Tasmania call 1800 RAPTOR (1800 727 867).
