Native Forest Vegetation Survey – Deadline Monday, Oct 25

19 October 2021

Have your say on how WA’s unique native vegetation should be managed into the future. Deadline for comment: Mon 25th October.

WA Minister for Environment, Amber-Jade Sanderson, has released a draft Native Vegetation Policy for WA and is seeking public comment through a survey, which is open until Next Monday the 25th of October, 2021.

While the intention of this draft policy is welcomed, it lacks the necessary ambition to address the major issues facing WA’s native vegetation and the biodiversity it supports. The WA Forest Alliance encourages West Australians to respond strongly to the survey.

Our colleagues at The Wilderness Society have put together a helpful survey guide for supporters.

If you would like to advocate for the forests and woodlands in the survey, be sure to include these five points in the section where you can add your own submission.

1. The WA native vegetation policy should confirm and reflect the recent announcement that there will be no logging of native forests after January 2024 by stating that all native forests and woodlands will be protected in the conservation reserve system and managed under a forest conservation plan.

2. Forest and woodland ecosystems should be managed for protection and restoration of their biodiversity values and functions including by creating and reestablishing linkages and corridors.

3. The policy should explicitly prohibit the use of any material, including thinnings, from native forests and woodlands for biomass.

4. The policy should ensure that the current practice of prescribed burning be subject to urgent independent scientific review to assess the impact on forest ecology and biodiversity.

5. There should be no expansion of bauxite mining rather there should be an independent scientific review to assess the cumulative impacts of the clear-felling for mining in the jarrah forest.

Find the guide and survey here: https://www.wilderness.org.au/wa-native-vegetation-policy-survey-guide

Protect the tingles from prescribed burning, for good

Tingles are a large, ancient tree species that are only found in a small area in WA’s Southwest, close to Walpole. They can live for more than 400 years, reach heights over 55 metres and have the largest base of any eucalypt, and provide critical habitat to many threatened plants and animals. They are vulnerable to frequent fire.

In December 2024, Giants East, a tingle forest block in the famed Valley of the Giants, was torched as part of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)’s prescribed burning program.

More than 100 giant trees collapsed in the intense burn, with flames reaching the tops of many trees in one of the worst outcomes seen by WA’s prescribed burning program.

After persistent community action, three tingle-karri blocks, Nornalup, Coalmine and Mount Clare received a reprieve at the end of 2025 and were removed from the burn plan until July 2026.

But these blocks, and other tingle forests, aren’t safe forever. They could be on the burn plan for 2026-27. There must be a commitment from the WA Government to permanently protect tingles from prescribed burning and revise how fire is managed in these areas.

Over time, tingle forests self-thin and become naturally less flammable. Left unburnt, they are less of a fire risk than forests burnt in the last 30 years.

In a drying climate that is increasingly prone to bushfires, it’s important to be bushfire ready, but prescribed burning shouldn’t be the only tool in our bushfire prevention kit. It is vital that the Southwest’s prescribed burning practices reflect current science and a changed climate, and funding is directed towards rapid detection and suppression of bushfires.

Smoking collapsed Tingle after the giants east burn

It is of the highest priority that the tingles are protected from fire not just in this burn plan, but for good.

Please contact the Premier and relevant Ministers using our template to urge them to permanently protect tingle forests from prescribed burning. Enter your details to start writing your email.

Read more about the Giants East burn or about rapid suppression technology.