Project researches Otways animals after planned burn

FOREST Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) is working with wildlife researchers as it undertakes planned burning in the Carlisle Heath in the Otways.
The planned burning in the heath, near Gellibrand, is designed to reduce the speed and intensity of potential bushfires in the area, reducing risk to both community and the environment.
As part of a Deakin University research project, FFMVic crews and researchers have installed artificial wildlife refuges within the footprint of recent planned burning.
The project is examining the benefit of providing artificial refuges in burnt landscapes for wildlife to forage in and shelter from predators.
Connecting patches of unburnt vegetation, the refuges are 50-metre-long wire mesh tunnels with small openings that allow small native animals to enter and exit at any point.
Motion-sensing cameras within the tunnels will record the wildlife, which is expected to include ground-dwelling birds, native rats and marsupials such as pygmy possums and the threatened swamp antechinus.
FFMVic is also working with the Conservation Ecology Centre to track the behaviour of long-nosed potoroos before and after fire in the Carlisle Heath.
Prior to recent planned burning, researchers captured a number of long-nosed potoroos, fitted them with GPS-tracking collars, and released them back into the bushland.
The data obtained via the GPS devices will give insight into their home range, habitat and food sources – and whether these preferences shift when fire moves through the landscape.
These projects link to ongoing research commissioned by FFMVic to identify critical habitat for at-risk wildlife in the Otways, with the results to be incorporated into strategies for future planned burning.
Before any planned burn, a potential burn site is assessed for biodiversity values and plans are developed to protect them.
FFMVic crews are adhering to appropriate physical distancing and hygiene requirements to ensure crews can safely continue important work across the state.
“The heath around Carlisle and Gellibrand is home to a range of wildlife, and we’re committed to protecting this wildlife and its habitat as we undertake planned burning that reduces the fire risk for the community,” FFMVic Otway district manager David Roberts said.
“By working with partner organisations to carry out wildlife research, we develop our understanding around the needs of native animals in different types of bushland and the effect of fire on them and their habitat.
“The data from these research projects will help guide strategies for future planned burning, to ensure our populations of native mammals can continue to thrive in the Otways.”