Bush Heritage fire program earns best-practice endorsement

Our path towards best-practice fire management.

Green zigzag-shaped leaves of a Banksia media seedling poke through white sandy soil at Chereninup Creek Reserve on Goreng Noongar Country, 140 km north-east of Albany, Western Australia. Charcoal blocks cluster among the ancient Kwongan heath, evidence of a recent prescribed burn by local field staff and our Fire team.  

Before the burn, vegetation monitoring showed the heath was declining. Older Banksia media plants were collapsing, or had already, and there was no sign of the next generation. In response, we conducted a targeted prescribed burn – the first known burn on this part of the reserve in 74 years – to encourage recruitment and better understand the species’ relationship to fire. 

Returning to the four-hectare study site, a post-burn survey found that the number of Banksia media recruits increased from zero to 46. While this was expected – the species requires fire to release canopy-stored seed – other insights emerged. 

“Burning in areas where Banksia media have already senesced led to zero recruitment, so the need for some burning of live plants is required before they’re lost in some habitat types,” says Lewis Maar, National Fire Program Officer. “At the right extent and intensity, mature plants can survive low-intensity burns, or can be excluded, to create a mosaic of age classes and build fire-dependent species’ resilience.” 

Endorsement of safe fire operations and risk mitigation allows evidence-based burns to continue

This kind of evidence-based burning is only possible to complete with safe fire operations underpinned by a robust risk framework. In the same month as the burn, our Fire Management Program received endorsement from the Office of Bushfire Risk Management (OBRM), which is part of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ Rural Fire Division and has oversight of bushfire risk management in Western Australia. 

The endorsement demonstrates our strong commitment to bushfire risk management, aligns our framework with international risk management standards,  and recognises industry best practice. 

“It’s a significant acknowledgement from an independent organisation of the strength of our entire program,” says Rhys Swain, National Fire Program Manager.

After five years working with OBRM – to review governance and improve every policy, procedure and risk control associated with Bush Heritage’s fire operations, including extensive in-field assessments – an endorsed Fire Management Manual and an aligned training program emerged, both of which have been rolled out nationally. 

“It pulls everything into one document that our workers can refer to in the field, offering a robust outline of all the steps we must take before we throw a match, capturing not just risk to staff but organisational and risk to our neighbours,” says Rhys.

We’re the first conservation not-for-profit to achieve this endorsement and OBRM will conduct regular reviews of our program to maintain it, ensuring high standards and allowing research like the Chereninup study to be repeated. 

Sharing knowledge with partners builds a safe fire community

Now, our team are sharing the framework and conducting trainings with partners that have similar programs. For, Tom Vigilante, Healthy Country Manager working with Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC), the opportunity to adopt and adapt Bush Heritage’s endorsed policies delivers administrative efficiencies and helps scale best-practice fire management. 

Fire has always been central to Wunambal Gaambera Traditional Owners’ management of their Country, which is in the North Kimberley, Western Australia. Supporting its continuation is vitally important both from a cultural and ecological perspective. 

We have partnered with WGAC for over 14 years, supporting its care of 2.5 million hectares of land and sea Country. 

“Rhys’ team have also helped during fire season, spending time with the Rangers implementing burns, and building up people’s skills and confidence to allow them to take on more leadership roles in the program,” says Tom. 

From new Banksia seedlings emerging at Chereninup to landscape-scale fire programs grounded in cultural knowledge and obligation, this work shows how strong systems, shared learning and careful fire management can support both people and Country into the future.

We gratefully acknowledge OBRM for the endorsement, and Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation and Traditional Owners for inviting us onto Country and their ongoing partnership.