Bush Heritage fire program earns best-practice endorsement
We're the first conservation not-for-profit to receive endorsement for our fire management from the WA government's Office of Bushfire Risk Management.
Bush Heritage staff are leading the way when it comes to bushfire preparedness in Western Australia. Our team recently held two community fire forums on our Charles Darwin and Red Moort reserves, ensuring the local region is connected and prepared for future fires. We engaged with conservation groups, local Indigenous rangers and Elders, bushfire brigades, government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders.
Bushfires know no boundaries. They cross fence lines, roads, and can spread hundreds of kilometres.
To protect the vital ecosystems, and the native plants and animals found on our reserves, it’s essential that we collaborate with nearby landholders and managers when preparing for both prescribed burning and bushfires.
In Western Australia, all of our reserves lie within the globally recognised South-West WA Biodiversity Hotspot. A biodiversity hotspot is characterised by high levels of endemism and diversity that are also under significant threat.
The landscapes here are fragmented, with much of the vegetation cleared for agriculture, mining and urbanisation. This fragmentation, and many other factors such as climate change, shifts in Traditional Custodian-led fire regimes, and different land-management approaches, have created challenges for fire management in this region.
National Fire Program Officer, Lewi Marr, said discussions and decision-making around bushfire preparedness often happened “within government silos” and provided limited engagement opportunities for the broader community.
“It’s so important for people who are directly affected by fire and actively managing land, with critical on‑ground knowledge, to be consistently part of these conversations” he said.
To facilitate knowledge sharing and local fire preparedness, we hosted two community forums. One at Red Moort Reserve in the Fitz-Stirlings on Goreng Noongar Country, 130 kilometres north-east of Albany. The second at Charles Darwin Reserve in the Mid West on Badimia Country, 220 kilometres south-east of Geraldton.
More locally, Charles Darwin also sits within a smaller area surrounding Mongers Lake and Lake Moore, known as the Gunduwa region, of which stakeholders, facilitated through the Gunduwa Regional Conservation Association, collaborate on projects.
Mid West WA’s Healthy Landscape Manager, Shelley Foster, said fire risk was always at the forefront of landholders’ minds in these areas.
– Shelley Foster, Healthy Landscape Manager, Western Australia“The Gunduwa region is about 2.6 million hectares and encompasses parts of the biodiversity-rich Northern Avon Wheatbelt and Southern Yalgoo IBRA bioregions.”
“There are still a lot of unknowns about fire in this region, and knowledge gaps around the best way to carry out fire management in some of these vegetation types.”
Image Information
Bush Heritage Australia staff host a fire forum on Red Moort Reserve. Photo by Annie Leitch
Image Information
The forums provided a space for locals to discuss fire preparedness in the South West of WA. Photo by Annie Leitch
Leading community conversations
At our recent fire forums on Red Moort and Charles Darwin reserves, we hosted conservation groups, government agencies, bushfire brigades, researchers, and local Indigenous ranger groups and Elders.
At each reserve, participants spent two days learning from one another and strengthening these vital local relationships.
The participants explored fire history, landscape drivers, and practical management approaches through presentations and field visits.
“The forums were designed to bring voices together, creating a safe space where knowledge could be shared more openly across sectors and where practical, place-based experience could inform broader fire management approaches,” said Lewi Marr.
Image Information
People delivered engaging presentations over two days at each forum. By Annie Leitch
Getting everyone together ensures they're on the same page for planned burns or a bushfire.
"It makes a real difference when a bushfire starts, and quick, coordinated action is needed. By bringing people together ahead of time, the forums create a setting where connections can be made, trust can be built, and roles and capabilities are better understood,” said Lewi Marr.
Rick Ryan from the Department of Fire Emergency Services said the Charles Darwin forum delivered valuable and insightful information, which “greatly enhanced” his understanding of fire management practices.
“The forum also provided an excellent opportunity for participants to interact, share experiences, and learn from one another,” he said.
“Charles Darwin Reserve proved to be an ideal location for the event, particularly due to the accessibility for site visits, which added significant practical value to the discussions.”
Forum participants plan to keep working together, recognising the need for a more integrated, landscape-scale approach to fire management.
“There was strong recognition of the value of combining on-ground knowledge, monitoring and ecological research to inform adaptive fire practices, particularly in determining appropriate fire intervals, intensity and seasonality,” said Lewi.
Image Information
The forums provided a space for locals to discuss fire preparedness in the South West of WA. Photo by Annie Leitch
We’d like to thank everyone who attended, including Badimia Traditional Custodians, Goreng Noongar Traditional Custodians, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, WA’s Department of Fire & Emergency Services, the state’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, mining groups, researchers, fire ecologists and Kaurna and Western Mulga ranger groups.
We would also like to acknowledge the Gunduwa Regional Conservation Association, who helped fund the Charles Darwin Reserve forum.
