DBCA Prescribed Burns PHS260 and PHS195

Update Nov 4:

We recently attended a meeting with DBCA to discuss the upcoming prescribed burns in the Julimar State Forest.

DBCA confirmed that these prescribed burns will not occur until Autumn, 2026.

We sincerely appreciate the DBCA team for providing a valuable introduction to the core principles and processes behind their prescribed burn management strategy. We found the discussion to be particularly insightful and were grateful for the opportunity to ask questions throughout the session.

However, while the dialogue was productive, we left the meeting having raised more questions than were definitively answered concerning the specifics and local impacts of the upcoming burns (we simply ran out of time).

To ensure responsible and safe management, we have formally returned to DBCA with a comprehensive list of requests, including:

👉 Research & Rationale: Seeking the specific scientific research underpinning the burning strategy and the full ecological and safety rationale for why the prescribed burns are required.

👉 Burn History & Future Plans: Requesting the historical burn records, burn severity maps, and detailed future plans for the Swan Region, focusing specifically on Julimar State Forest (including proposed burns PHS260 and PHS195).

👉 Flora & Fauna Data: Seeking clarity on the flora and fauna data DBCA holds for the Julimar area and establishing a clear process for data sharing and collaboration.

We have successfully committed to further collaboration and discussion with DBCA – prescribed burning is a huge and controversial issue. We look forward to continuing the dialogue.

We’ll share updates as this vital conversation progresses.

In the meantime, keep sending emails asking questions of concern. Change only happens if we continue to use our voice.

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Update Sept 22: Thank you all for sending emails voicing your concerns on the upcoming prescribed burns in Julimar State Forest. We greatly appreciate it!

We received a letter from Stuart Smith, Director General of DBCA, which states that the burns are unlikely to commence before Autumn next year. He didn’t address any of our concerns or the inaccuracies of the burn plans, but has suggested we meet with Perth Hills District Manager to discuss further. We will arrange to to do so and keep you all posted!

 

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There are currently two proposed prescribed burns in the Julimar State Forest,  covering a combined area of 7528 hectares, which is 26% of the whole forest!

It is not clear of the exact burn schedules. In the burn plan documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, PHS260 will occur before 14 January 2026 and PHS195 was approved for a period greater than 12 months, to 14 January 2025, yet the 2025/2026 Burn Options Program lists the PHS195 project. We are aware of past prescribed burns in the PHS195 blocks, which we suspect are part of this burn plan. We are asking for clarity on the schedules of these burns.

We have identified several critical inaccuracies and significant concerns that must be addressed before DBCA proceeds with the burns (see below).

We encourage everyone to write a letter/email to DBCA to ask that they suspend the burns until our concerns are met, or preferably, remove the burns from the program entirely in favour of alternative, less destructive land management strategies that protect this vital environmental asset.

Please direct your concerns to:

Please also consider writing to local MPs & politicians:

Burn plans ›

Here you will find the high-level burn plans, PHS260 and PHS195, obtained by a Freedom of Information request. Both plans are combined in one document.

We have outlined the following issues with the plans:
  • The plans severely undervalue the conservation and biodiversity of the forest, which is described in Section A5 as having “some nature and conservation values.” This is incorrect. Julimar State Forest is a well-documented biodiversity hotspot and a crucial study area for numerous environmental projects, including surveys by DBCA itself. In 2022, it was formally recognised by the Office of the Appeals Convenor for Western Australia as an “area of outstanding environmental value.”  
  • The Forest provides essential habitat for at least 9 threatened animal species and at least 29 threatened/priority flora species.
  • The plans fail to mention the presence of the critically endangered Woylie (Bettongia penicillata) and the vulnerable Chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii). 
  • Three endangered Black Cockatoo species are recorded in Julimar State Forest, including the Carnaby’s Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris), which relies on the forest as one of only two remaining large breeding grounds.
  • Additionally, the plans overlook the presence of threatened and priority flora species, for example, Grevillea bracteosa bracteosa, Grevillea curviloba, Hypocalymma sylvestre, and Thelymitra stellata.
  • The plans vastly understate the number of artificial nesting boxes for the Carnaby’s Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris), citing only 5 (Section B2) when our sources confirm at least 40 exist in the vicinity of burn PHS-260.
  • The plans also fail to mention sensitive wetland areas significant to the forest’s ecosystem.
  • Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (WA) and the EPBC Act 1999 (Cth), DBCA has obligations to consider and protect threatened species and their habitats. DBCA’s own Corporate Policy Statement 88 – Prescribed Burning also requires biodiversity protection in fire management planning.
  • The plan to use aerial ignition is deeply concerning. This method is known to be devastating to ground-dwelling fauna, as it leaves few unburnt patches for animals to use as refuges. It also increases the risk of high-intensity fires that can cause significant crown scorch and reduce habitat quality. The Julimar State Forest incident in 2017 saw a planned burn become so intense it rained ash on nearby towns. Furthermore, aerial ignition increases the chance of the fire becoming more intense and harder to control, with the risk of fire escapes that can become damaging bushfires. A previous escaped aerial ignited fire decimated a Numbat colony in southwest Western Australia.
  • The scope and timing of these burns are highly concerning. Covering 26% of the forest, the sheer size of the planned burns places unsustainable stress on the forest’s biodiversity.
  • Burning in spring will destroy critical foraging areas for all species, particularly for Carnaby’s Cockatoos, which are already facing a starvation crisis. 
  • The plan suggests a preference for burning when the Fire Danger Index (FDI) is at 40-50% (High to Extreme) on days of ‘moderate wind strength’ and when fuels are ‘relatively dry’ (Section B1). Burning on elevated fire danger days increases the risk to the community.
  • The frequency of burns in the Julimar State Forest, combined with unplanned fire incidents and climate change, is subjecting the biodiversity to excessive and unsustainable stress levels
  • The plan’s assertion that the burn is “not contentious locally” (Section A5) is false. We are unaware of any public consultation with the wider Toodyay community.
  • We question why Chalice Mining is listed as a critical stakeholder, especially since their explorative drilling is no longer active within the forest, while the local community has been ignored. The community at large should be seen as a critical stakeholder.
  • Has the Yued Aboriginal Corporation (native title body) been part of this consultation?
  • We, Julimar Conservation and Forest Alliance, should also be considered a Stakeholder. 

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