Walking the talk on Immediate Protection Areas
Matt Ruchel, Executive Director, explains that leaders need to walk the talk on Immediate Protection Areas in the March 2022 Park Watch.
The forests provides habitat critical for the survival of many animals and plants threatened with extinction. Greater Gliders, Powerful Owls, Burrowing Crayfish, Lace Monitors, Superb Lyrebirds and Platypus call the forest home.
But unless interim protections are formalised under the National Parks Act wildlife and habitat face continual threats from mining, logging and firewood harvesting.
Community consultations have now closed. Hopefully these forests will soon gain permananent protection for the forests.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to add your voice to the calls for the Strathbogie Ranges and Mirboo North forests to be protected, co-managed with Traditional Owners for conservation and cultural heritage.
We’ve worked for years with the community to make it clear that we want our forests protected under the National Parks Act for everyone, forever.
But the Andrews Government has been dragging its feet. It finally announced in late 2021 that the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC) would undertake scientific assessments of the values of the IPAs.
To date, only the reports for Mirboo North and the Strathbogie Ranges have been released.
Once these community consultations are complete, the government will turn its attention to Yarra Ranges and Central Highlands forests – which don’t even have VEAC assessments yet!
The current Phase 1 of the assessment will cover the Strathbogie Ranges and near Mirboo North, and Phase 2 for the Central Highlands and East Gippsland start is likely to follow the state election in late 2022.
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The Strathbogie Ranges IPA, is on Taungurung country and is made up of the entire Strathbogie State Forest located about 120 kilometres north east of Melbourne, east of the Hume Highway at Euroa. The IPA is approximately 24,000 hectares of public land, currently classified as state forest, of which 5000 hectares is Special Protection Zone.
There has been a long running and active campaign by the Save Our Strathbogie Forest (SOSF) community campaign, which VNPA supported, to protect the area from logging and other threats. The area is a hotspot for Greater Gliders, and a range of other threatened species including the Eastern Horseshoe Bat, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Powerful Owl, and Murray Spiny Crayfish, Grey Rice-flower, Tall Leafy Greenhood, and Hairy Hop-bush.
According to the VEAC Assessment report a Conservation Park is considered the most appropriate public land use category commensurate with the values of the central and northern parts of the Strathbogie Ranges IPA. For the remaining south-western part of the IPA, Forest Park is considered the most appropriate land use category.
Conservation Parks do not yet exist as formal land category but are proposed to replace nature conservation reserves under the National Parks Act, but will be introduced as proposed reforms of National Parks Act and the creation of new Public Lands Act. Local groups have long called for the area to be protected under the National Parks Act. More recently, these groups have expressed support for the formal recognition of Traditional Owners, the Taungurung Land and Waters Council, as custodians of the forest. In their assessment report, VEAC also clearly signal the possibility and desirability of Traditional Owners playing an active role in reserve management.
Conservation Parks:
According to VEAC, areas of the IPA in a Conservation Park would be managed for the protection of their natural and cultural values, while allowing access for a range of recreational activities. Important threatened species habitat, including many large, hollow-bearing trees, would have a high level of protection. Under-represented Ecological Vegetation Classes, including those in the Central Victorian Uplands bioregion in the northern part of the IPA and in the east near Lake Malaconotid, would also be added to the protected area system
When completing your community consultation survey, you may like to include some of the following points:
The Mirboo North IPA is on Gunaikurnai country about 150 kilometres east of Melbourne in South Gippsland.
The Mirboo North IPA (approximately 440 hectares) is part of the Strzelecki Ranges, one of the most heavily cleared bioregions in Victoria. It retains less than one third of the original extent of native vegetation and one of the lowest proportions in the protected area system, at just 1.5 per cent.
The Mirboo North State Forest provides habitat critical for the survival of many animals and plants threatened with extinction including the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act listed Greater Gliders, Powerful Owls, Burrowing Crayfish, Lace Monitors, and Platypus as well as the iconic Superb Lyrebird.
The VEAC assessment concluded that given the small size of the Mirboo North IPA, Regional Park would be considered the most appropriate land use category for the IPA. However, the recommendation noted that “… if size and management viability were not a consideration, the land use category commensurate with the identified values of the Mirboo North IPA is Conservation Park. As a conservation park, under-represented Ecological Vegetation Classes in the Strzelecki Ranges bioregion would be added to the protected area system and the IPA would be managed for the protection of its natural values, while allowing an appropriate level of access and a range of recreational activities valued by the community.”
Conservation Parks do not yet exist as formal land category but are proposed to be added as new name for nature conservation reserves under the National Parks Act, but will be introduced as proposed reforms of National Parks Act and the creation of new Public Lands Act. Regional Parks are not be considered as part of the formal protected area system.
With VEAC’s recommendation of the inclusion of the Mirboo North IPA into the existing Mirboo North Regional Park, alongside its finding that the area holds very high conservation value, it is clear that assurances must be made for future management.
Additionally, a Conservation Management Plan has been requested by the Mirboo North community to add ensure the timely and meaningful management of high conservation values and maintenance of ecological health of the Mirboo North IPA.
When completing your community consultation survey, you may like to include some of the following points:
The Victorian Forests Plan, mapping a transition out of native forest logging, was released in November 2019. In reality it extends native forest logging through to 2030.
As part of the package, the Andrews Government implemented Immediate Protection Areas (IPAs) to protect about 96,000 hectares of state forest from logging across the Central Highlands, Yarra Ranges, East Gippsland, the Strathbogie Ranges and Mirboo North.
But IPAs are yet to be legislated or have their tenure changed. Unless they are protected under the law these areas could again be subject to logging (for instance if a change of state government were to occur).
This would be a tragedy for the forests, and for the Strathbogie and Mirboo North communities, who organised campaigns out of footy clubs, art centres, and homes, to make sure their amazing forests were included in the IPAs.
Matt Ruchel, Executive Director, explains that leaders need to walk the talk on Immediate Protection Areas in the March 2022 Park Watch.
Matt Ruchel, Executive Director, explains that leaders need to walk the talk on Immediate Protection Areas in the March 2022 Park Watch.
The forest and its iconic inhabitants have inspired the local Mirboo North and district community to come together to protect this unique native landscape.
The forest and its iconic inhabitants have inspired the local Mirboo North and district community to come together to protect this unique native landscape.