New fire trails are being created on properties bought by Moreton Bay council as part of environmental land buyback program for controlled burns.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery says they have an environmental land buyback program to buy properties to restore and expand habitats.
“Fire plays an important role in ecological processes and can be used to enhance biodiversity and minimise the risk to native species from uncontrolled bushfire,” he says.
“The proposed fire trail works have been designed to balance hazard reduction with (ecological) protection.
“While some targeted vegetation management is required to manage the sites and mitigate risk, native canopy trees will remain, and over time be enhanced,” he says.
Most of the new trails will follow pre-existing trails, or ‘farm tracks’, and avoid or minimise their impact on the environment.
Qualified spotter-catchers will be present during the work to ensure wildlife are protected.
FIRE TRAIL SITES
Work will be carried out at the following sites from April to June:
2 Flowers Road, Caboolture.
309 Eatons Crossing Rd, Eatons Hill.
18 Jagera Court, Closeburn.
518 Bunya Rd, Bunya.
114 Collins Rd, Everton Hills.
Vegetation clearing will take place at 114 Collins Road, Everton Hills, and 519 Bunya Rd, Bunya.
“The construction of these trails will support council’s planned works on these sites by improving access for restoration activities and ecological burns as well as supporting bushfire response,” Flannery says.
“As we enter bushfire preparation season, the more we can do now to reduce the risk of having a severe season later in the year, the better.”
Last July, council expanded its land buyback policy to focus more on conservation-significant wildlife habitats and restoring native vegetation cover on cleared sites.
Since the program was introduced in 2020, more than 100 hectares of land has been secured, council says.
The council has a target of maintaining at least 42% of native vegetation cover.
Click here Land Buyback for Environmental Purposes Policy to learn more.
MORE COUNCIL NEWS: Greater bushfire protection needed for Morayfield South
