Shipstern fire prep assistance

Hi all, we are looking for some voluntary assistance for the three days after the Australia Day long weekend (i.e. 27, 28 & 29 January) to help complete the necessary fire prep in the Scribbly Gum and montane heath on Shipstern at Binna Burra section Lamington National Park.

Our fallback dates for wet weather are the Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday of the following week (i.e. 3, 4 & 5 February) and we may vene go again that week if we get enough interest and  the initial week is insufficient to complete the work.

We last planned burnt Shipstern in the spring of 2013 and it is now ready for burning again thirteen years later, but before we do we need to rake around a large number of hollow old growth Scribbly Gums so we don’t burn them all down which would potentially result in a negative conservation outcome and also make reopening the walking track a massively bigger task than need be.

The tick index is incredibly high out there at present and tick-associated illnesses are probably the most serious threat to one’s health when working in Lamington, so volunteers need to come prepared for working amongst the dense understorey.

We are proposing three days total work and are planning to put together a staggered deployment of people who can assist for either a day or two at the most. Two back to back days is a serious effort and those that chose to do so need to be physically fit and well hydrated before they undertake such a mission. Even one day from each person would be a great help to us so don’t feel that you have to commit to more than one day.

It is a minimum of a 2 hour walk in and maybe a 2 1/2 hour walk out each day, along with 4 to 5 hours of tree raking, but the views are spectacular and you will be helping to keep this special place and ecosystem in good health by facilitating appropriate low intensity planned burning over a regime of hot dry wildfires  

Accommodation options include;

• Overnight in Binna Burra barracks;
• Camping rough out on Shipstern for a night; or
• Binna Burra Lodge self funded options such as campground, Safari tent or Sky Lodge.

Organisations & Stakeholders contacted include QPWS Gold Coast Parks bases, QPWS SEQR fire team, Brisbane Bushwalking Club, Gold Coast Bushwalking Club, Lamington & Green Mountains Natural History Associations and First Nations group.

Reply by email or phone and contact is Ranger in Charge Lamington on 0448 175 627 or wil.buch@detsi.qld.gov.au

Regards Wil

Wil Buch

QPWS Ranger in Charge

Lamington National Park