Francesca,+Brianna,+Phoebe+and+Toni

-Lake Mountain Bushfires-

On the 7th of February, 2009, the Black Saturday bushfires caused considerable damage at Lake Mountain. Most of the forest was burnt and nearly every building except the main Visitor centre, ski hire and Bistro were destroyed.

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Some people say this area was not vulnerable to fire because of the snow, but that can't be true if so much damage has been done. There were lots of different types of plants and trees but there was also lots of unburnt wood and this made it a great place for a fire to stop.======

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But over the past year or so there has been lots of support and help, portable buildings were brought in temporarily and endangered species were assisted back into the wild. So I guess you could say Lake Mountain is slowly recovering and on its way to being good as new.======

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==**MAP OF AFFECTED AREAS:** In the map above you will see different symbols. The orange place mark represents our area of study, Lake Mountain. The other coloured symbols around it represent three species that are endangered in this area due to the bush fires. Any fire symbols surrounding this represent near areas that were affected by Black Saturday. Click on any place mark to read information about that area.== = =

**Some of the endangered species in Lake Mountain are the Alpine Tree Frog (left), Leadbeater's Possum (centre) and Pygmy Possum (right).**
=Here is a summary of each endangered animal we have chosen.=

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The Alpine Tree Frog is relatively small, growing to about 3cm in length. They can be green, brown or grey and have bright black stripes over their body. Before the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires they were present on the Lake Mountain Plateau. Its current whereabouts and status is poorly known. The recovery plan objectives for the species are “To determine the species’ status throughout its geographic range” and “To research the causes of decline”.======

**The Leadbeater’s possum**
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The Leadbeater’s possum is a small, nocturnal animal, about 10cm long and weighs about 90 grams. It is about the size of a small rat. There was a Victorian recovery project for the nationally endangered animal but it had a huge setback due to the Black Saturday bushfires. This project included nest boxes to be placed around their habitat to assist the species. But the fire was severe on Lake Mountain and very little habitat had not been burnt. The recovery team is now in the process of erecting replacement boxes for the ones that were destroyed. These boxes have been made out of heavy-duty material and have been tested for flammability. Hopefully it will be helpful for the species to be protected and easier for it reproduce. Once inserted they are going to be closely monitored to record how the species is recovering.======

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The Pygmy Possum is an endangered Australian marsupial and ranges in length from about five to 12 centimetres, weighing between 10 to 50 grams. They are nocturnal, eat plants and are excellent climbers. They cannot glide like some other species of possum, but are able to leap very far. There are several species of Pygmy Possum and all are endangered. The Pygmy Possum was known to exist in the Lake Mountain area pre-2009 bushfires.======

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The Leadbeater’s Possum became endangered after the Black Saturday Bushfires. A Leadbeater’s Possum’s favourite habitat is in the hollows of trees. Tree hollows form after about 200 years. There are not many trees that old, so Foundation for Australia’s Most Endangered Species (FAME) decided to set up a program for them. They placed 30 nesting boxes on the trees. On any given day at least half of the nesting boxes were being used. In 2009 when the Black Saturday Bushfires ripped though most of Lake Mountain, majority of the nesting boxes and trees were wiped out, alongside about half the population of the Leadbeater’s Possuns. Since some of the oldest trees have been wiped out in Lake Mountain, the possums that lived, have lost their habitat. People from the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) will assess the impact of the bushfires on the Leadbeater’s Possum (Victoria’s State Faunal Emblem) and take the necessary recovery actions to save their species from extinction. ======


 * Here are some nesting boxes. On the left is the nesting box after Black Saturday and on the right is a n****esting box before Black Saturday.**

==The Lorax's Lake Mountain Poem ==

There once was a time When the trees where green Lake Mountain was sublime And the earth was clean Well Black Saturday came And took the sunshine away The deadly flame Destroyed natures way Gone where the days Where birds flew through the trees The animal plays And buzzes with the bees Every inch in sight Was black as charcoal No sunlight <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Nothing in sight. Not a soul. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Then one marvelous day <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Along came the sunshine <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Washing the sadness away <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A green sprout grew on a dead vine <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Now it all grows brighter <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The trees grow on the slope <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">We can be happy <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">We can have hope <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But you must do your part <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">We need your support <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">We are going back to the start <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">So help us to save lake mountain ski resort

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