Current Concerns

• Industrial Mining
• Prescribed Burning

The Threat of Industrial Mining

We ask that when the status of National Park is given, Julimar State Forest should be exempt from mining, and all existing mining tenements be terminated and future applications refused.

Ecological and Environmental Impact

Julimar State Forest is part of a 68,300 ha bushland corridor, connecting the Bindoon Training Area in the north to the Walyunga National Park in the south. The proposed clearing of 940 ha of vegetation for the Gonneville Project threatens this critical green corridor, disrupting wildlife migration—an issue that is particularly concerning in the face of climate change.

The mine’s hydrological disruption, continuous noise, dust, and artificial lighting could interfere with breeding cycles and force wildlife into unsuitable habitats, increasing the risk of species decline and extinction.

Threats to Water Resources

A major concern is the potential impact on the Avon and Brockman River catchments, which are essential water sources for local ecosystems and communities. These catchments feed into the Swan River system, which plays a vital role in the health of the broader region.

The geology of the Gonneville site presents serious risks of acid mine drainage—a long-term environmental hazard which generates sulfuric acid. This acidic runoff can contaminate local aquifers and surface water for decades, making water pollution one of the project’s most pressing concerns.

Sealing tailings dams (used to store mining waste) and waste rock dumps will be exceptionally challenging due to the geological conditions. If acid mine drainage occurs, preventing it from spreading into surrounding water systems will require extensive and ongoing environmental management.

Additional Environmental Risks

• Air and Water Pollution – The project’s mining processes could introduce harmful particulates and chemicals into the air and water. Dust rich in silica poses a long-term risk of chronic lung issues like silicosis. Preliminary geological data indicate potential asbestos in the ore body, creating serious airborne and waterborne pollution risks that demand strict environmental controls.
• Tailings Dams and Wildlife Risks – Mining waste ponds can look like natural water bodies, which, unfortunately, attract wildlife and have caused documented mass bird deaths in Australia.

A High Cost for Nature and Communities

The destruction of critical habitats, the contamination of water resources, and the disruption of local ecosystems and economies make it clear that the true cost of this project will be borne by the environment and the people of the region.

Prescribed Burning

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!

Part of the burn plan has already been conducted. The remaining burns will be conducted in Autumn 2026.

We have identified several critical inaccuracies and significant concerns within the high-level burn plans that must be addressed before DBCA proceeds with the burns. We are currently in conversation with them.

The planned use of aerial ignition is deeply concerning. This method is devastating to ground-dwelling fauna because it leaves few unburnt refuges for them to escape to, reduces food sources, and drastically reduces habitat quality.

Failure to Prevent Bushfires: Experts argue that frequent burning does not effectively inhibit major bushfires. Instead, it can make the forest more flammable in the short term.

Escaped Burn History: The risk of the fire becoming harder to control and escaping as a damaging bushfire is high. Several prescribed burns in southwest WA have escaped control, including the incident at the Weinup block near Perup Reserve in 2021. This was an extremely hot burn, ignited by aerial incendiaries dropped from a helicopter. It devastated the numbats’ habitat, destroying approximately 5,000 habitat trees and completely consuming the fallen logs that house their termite food source. Consequently, any numbats that survived the fire were left without food, cover, or protection from predators.

Ecological Decimation: Prescribed burns risk the decimation of vital ecosystems like the Wandoo Woodland. This destruction severely harms vulnerable native fauna, including the Chuditch and the Woylie, by removing their protective cover and making them susceptible to predators. Furthermore, these fires destroy essential foraging plants needed by species like the Black Cockatoo. A clear warning comes from the previous aerial-ignited fire in Weinup, which destroyed approximately 5,000 habitat trees and completely consumed the fallen logs that house numbat’s termite food source. Consequently, any numbats that survived the fire were left without food, cover, or protection from predators.

The Solution: Safe, Targeted Strategies
Ideally, we request that dangerous aerial burns be removed from the program entirely in favour of alternative, less destructive land management strategies, like rapid bushfire suppression technologies, that protect the Forest and the community.

We ask DBCA to:

• Suspend the burn plans immediately to allow for a full community consultation and a comprehensive reassessment.
• Significantly reduce the size of the proposed burns.
• Commit to not using aerial ignition methods.
• Accurately reflect the level of contention within the community.
• Recount all nest boxes within the burn sites.
• Rewrite the burn plan to accurately describe the forest’s conservation value and address the factual errors we have identified.

 More broadly, we would like to see:

• An in-depth independent study into the biodiversity and animal welfare impacts of current prescribed burning methodologies.
• More consultation with Traditional Owners regarding fire management, incorporating their time-proven traditional knowledge.
• Inappropriate prescribed burning targets abolished (e.g., KPIs on hectares burned and cost) in favour of more nuanced, adaptive practices.
• Review the appropriateness of prescribed burn frequencies for individual ecosystem types to assist wildlife habitat and threatened ecosystem recovery.
• Ceasing the use of aerial incendiary devices for prescribed burns, as they can quickly lead to loss of control and severe impacts.
• Replacement of the current broad-scale prescribed burn policy with a strategy focused on rapid bushfire suppression and only target specific burning near major human assets, prioritising the survival of our precious native wildlife.