General News
17 June, 2023
Scrub still decades away from recovery
Forty Mile Scrub National Park is still decades away from revival after a catastrophic bushfire tore through the lush bushland in 2019 and local state and federal politicians are asking what, if anything, is being done.
Forty Mile Scrub National Park is still decades away from revival after a catastrophic bushfire tore through the lush bushland in 2019 and local state and federal politicians are asking what, if anything, is being done.
The fire happened in 2019 after an unlawful camper lit an illegal fire in the area, the fire subsequently spread uncontrollably and decimated thousands of kilometres of bushland.
The park is described by the State Government as featuring “ancient and recent volcanic flows, open grassy woodland, the headwaters of several creeks, and a nearthreatened, isolated pocket of semi-evergreen vine-thicket”.
What remains now are overgrown, invasive species including lantana, a weed described capable of “smothering native vegetation and forming impenetrable stands.”
The severity of the damage sparked the interest of Member for Hill Shane Knuth who said greater resources need to be allocated to managing national parks.
“When it comes six months out from an election what we see continuously is the government of the day introduce either vegetation management laws which target the landowners that are trying to manage their land,” Mr Knuth said.
“They also introduce resuming more land for national parks… it seems like a great idea at the time, they tell everyone that is going to be well preserved for future generations but what it turns into is this – a breeding ground for feral animals and noxious weeds.
“This could be properly managed, but it is not because there are no resources to manage all these national parks that are coming into existence year after year.”
Kennedy MP Bob Katter said if the government was not capable of caring for the land, it should be left to the farmers.
Since the fire, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) have conducted various planned burn programs and pest and weed programs to restore and protect the natural and cultural values of the national park.
Despite these efforts, a spokesperson from the Department of Environment and Science said it will be decades before the area recovers.
“The national park contains fire-sensitive semi-evergreen vine thicket communities, which were significantly impacted by the bushfire,” she said.
“Fire sensitive semi-evergreen vine thicket communities do not recover well from bushfire and it will be decades before the extent of recovery will be known due to the severity of the 2019 bushfire impacts.”
