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The Forum > Article Comments > Academic over-reach lies at the heart of this summer's fire blackened landscapes > Comments

Academic over-reach lies at the heart of this summer's fire blackened landscapes : Comments

By Mark Poynter, published 18/3/2020

At the heart of the consequently weakened fire management capability, is a lack of practical experience of fire amongst the most vocal and influential conservation academics and eco-activists.

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We are suffering a plague of "scientists" overstepping the bounds of their expertise. It started with the Wentworth Group, which had some success in pretending to be the oracle of wisdom on water policy, and was influential in the introduction of the disastrous Murray-Darling plan. We subsequently got noisy "climate scientists" and those blaming our recent bushfires mainly on climate change.

The reason that academic ecologists are increasingly listened to at the expense of foresters, is that the former (who are generally on the public payroll) are increasing in numbers, while the latter are an endangered species.
Posted by Bren, Wednesday, 18 March 2020 9:20:52 AM
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“Those with practical knowledge and experience of managing forests have recognised for generations that the central plank in conserving their unique biodiversity is the capability to effectively deal with the fire threat. It is to be hoped that last summer's huge fires will enable our conservation scientists to learn this simple lesson, but the recent examples cited above don't provide much optimism.”

Indeed, it is difficult to hope when our conservation scientists, the ABC and popular media, politicians, and bureaucratic groupthink falsely attribute last summer’s huge fires to climate change, and then cap it off by advocating a zero emissions target by 2050
Posted by Raycom, Wednesday, 18 March 2020 10:35:11 AM
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We need to chart our own course, stop listening to acolytes welded to this or that ideological imperative.

Carbon in soil is a temporary solution, progressively released with the plough or seeding harrows.

All of the carbon stored in timber is released with burning or decay!

And as long as it is so stored? Stored whether horizontal or vertical!

Hazard reduction with herded goats is vastly superior to seasonal burning given its narrowing limitations, none of which are the province of (12 months of the year) cell grazed or herded goats.

They also clean out heaps of feral weeds as a bonus! Sometimes as a permanent bonus! Fires on the other hand, frequently promote them!

Goats need water, as do forest fires and that can be guaranteed with hugely extended environment flows, in the creation of sardine stacked, small upland dams that quite literally force billions or trillions of maximised, extra litres of water into the landscape of the driest, inhabited continent on earth!

And given that is the management paradigm? Extend normal flows for up to three years and beyond!. Force the sal table further down in the landscape!

(See the, once highly controversial, Peter Andrew's story on the ABC's Australian story)

Indigenous populations the world over have been selectively harvesting their own forests for millennia, without harm to either flora or fauna! Just the very opposite! (David Suzuki)
Alan B.
Posted by Alan B., Wednesday, 18 March 2020 11:46:03 AM
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Indigenous populations the world over have been selectively harvesting their own forests for millennia, without harm to either flora or fauna! Just the very opposite! (David Suzuki)
Alan B,
Until they started adapting to the western way of enjoying commodities they never had previously ! We don't see too many wanting desperately to go back to the days without commodities !
Posted by individual, Wednesday, 18 March 2020 1:26:23 PM
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Generally agree "Academic over-reach" is causing problems. Not only for land management either. It's across the whole spectrum.

With the problems showing up thick and fast now it'll be interesting to see if the causative law and regulation changes will be reversed.
With land management the EPBC act is one that created space for academics and activists to impose their irrationality and should be repealed entirely. Being a product of the howard government it'll be a tough one for the current federal government to admit needs to go. Irony of that is for fear of losing credibility they'll refuse the only choice that could give it to them
Posted by jamo, Wednesday, 18 March 2020 2:47:16 PM
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What an excellent, rational and well written article, from someone who seems to have spent his professional life managing the environment to BOTH utilise and safe it, as opposed pontificating about saving the planet while buggering it all up like most academic environmentalists.

Thank you for your insights, sir. Much appreciated
Posted by Alison Jane, Wednesday, 18 March 2020 7:23:26 PM
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