Australian Wildlife Conservancy Case Study

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy manages approximately 3-4 million hectares of land and was established more than 10 years ago. This land is leased from the government, meaning that the government guides their use of the land for a usual length of 50 years. They strive to reach their ultimate goals of restoring fire adapted ecosystems which are much more species-rich, control feral animals and eradicate weeds. Currently, over 1,700 species are categorized as threatened to becoming extinct. However, Ranger Tim White stated that 80% of his work is managing fire. Excluding fire has led to poor quality rainforests with low diversity and uniform structure. For example, the cockatoo grass is a key species the conservancy is attempting to restore.
The managed fires returning to Australia by the conservancy require the extent of the fires, when the fires take place as well as where to be managed. Early season fires tend to work better due to a more efficient dry season as well as smaller more frequent fires proving to be more effective. Generally, the fire will only burn grass that is around 3 years old, which has a denser understory. The more intense the fire they desire, the more frequent they throw matches out; either out of a moving car or off a helicopter. One method used for the controlled fire was with a small ping-pong type ball filled with potassium manganite crystals and adding glycol poison which creates a chemical reaction, causing a delayed fire to begin. The type of fire method used depends on the knowledge of the Rangers at hand of intensive fire history as well as the type of systems and landscapes targeted. Typically, less humidity, less wind and less morning dew provide for a better