Ashley,+Georgia,+Madeline+and+Jemima



 Over 287,000 hectares of Victoria’s public bush land was burnt in the 2009 black Saturday bushfires. Almost 100,000 hectares of national and state parks and reserves managed by Parks Victoria and nearly 170,000 hectares of state forests and reserves managed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). Eucalyptuses trees are highly flammable and will blow up easily and this could be one of the reasons 38% of the forest was damaged. Marysville is rather close to the park and the fire picked up quickly with the strong wind that was around and would off been able to have crossed from Marysville, as they are a lot of grasslands around and trees. January is a day season and this is when the fires occurred. Being a dry season the fire would of picked up easily. The forest floor would have a lot of dry leaves and bark e.c.t. This would of have acted as a great fuel for the fire to burn constantly. Yarra Rangers National Park and is quite a mountainous area. Having a area with it high points and low points it only makes another way for the fire to easily get from one place to the other as it can roll down the hill, wiping out every thing in its path.

 Parks Victoria has completed a full assessment of the fire damage and the park is now in the motion of recovery and, rehabilitation and planning phases aim at rebuilding and reopening as quickly as possible. In the burnt arrears the risk of falling tree limbs has increased as the fire has weaken vegetation. Animal moment at night and increased traffic is now a problem. Flash flooding has been identified as a great risk and problem to the environment and visitors to the forest. Soil erosion on the sides of the dams could have been one of the causes of this. Soil erosion is a real threat to mammals that may have burrows, which are now covered over. Most animals have their babies in a burrow and is a safe refuge for them. It’s their home and which is now destroyed. This only leaves a lot of the fauna homeless. A big decrease in mammal population could be as a result. For the Yarra National Rangers Park fire ash is a huge problem as it is easily able to get into the Upper Reservoir. This is a problem for the marine creatures and where ever the water goes it’s a great hassle to try and clean it.

 Most likely the Yarra Rangers National Park fires started from where embers flew over from Marysville or the moment of the fire from Marysville. DSE and Parks Victoria have been trying very hard to recover the park to full health and seem to be doing a great job. At the moment staff have strived to reopen the Summit walk tack at Lake Mountain and access rails up to Mt St Leonards Mt Monda and Dom Dom Saddle [the Bicentennial Trail]. Cr5ambarville and some main walking tacks have been reopened including the Big Tree Walk and the Big Culvert walk. Donnellys Weir Picnic Area has been reopened and toilets are being rebuilt. Six of the rare marsupials the Leadbeater Possum have been found sat Lake Mountain. Many staff have dedicated them selves to the surviving possums by having a very successful feeding program every night. Out of the ashes of the fires a colony of the states most rarest plant, the Shiny Nematolepis was discovered in the O’Shannassy catchment. Recovery workers spotted yet another colony of the Shiny Nematolepis. This is thrilling news has confirmed that the plant can survive throughout very hot fires and in given time will be able to germinate and re-establish in the ash.  Workers are of to a great start and there should only mean one thing, a bright future for the flora and fauna of the Yarra Rangers National Park.


 *  The Leadbeater’s Possum is the Faunal Emblem of Victoria it was believed to be extinct until in 1961 when they were rediscovered in Marysville. They are listed as endangered, and are estimated to be less than 1000 left in the wild. They live in very mountainous, Bushy areas, and have been affected by the Black Saturday Bushfires. They have lost habitats due to the burning of trees with hollows in them Talking away crucial nesting areas. Leadbeater’s also have a natural instinct to retreat when they detect smoke. When there are fires in the future there will be nowhere for the Possums to retreat. **


 *  The Sooty owl is listed as Vulnerable after the fires and less than a thousand breeding pairs are left in the state. Sooty owls live in small rainforest pockets in big Eucalyptus trees. The Sooty owl was not threated very much from the initial fires but it is the after affect that has destroyed them. Like the Leadbeater’s Possum, many of their habitats – Hollow old eucalyptus trees – have been burnt to ash leaving them with not many home. Many of there prey have been affected by the fires as well. **


 *  Many animals in the national park are tree dwelling animals like birds and possums. Lot’s of the forest is old eucalyptus trees with deep burrowing places. So one of the main threats for the animals is loss of habitat. **

=**The Lorax’s opinion**=

**If the fire was of a natural cause, then the forest will rebuild its floors. **   **But if the fire was man made, there will be a debt to pay. **   **Be careful when you light a match, just in case a fire will catch. **   **The fire will rise and burn around; many innocent things will hit the ground. **   **I’ll stand there surrounded by ash, this beautiful land now a pile of trash. **   **Help the animals back up on their feet, or else no more of them you will meet. **   **If someone had deliberately lit that fire, I wonder if they thought about those poor leaderback possums and the lovely eucalyptus trees. Now the leaderback possums are nearly gone because all the eucalyptus trees have burnt down to the ground. I almost had to send them away. **   **But if the fire was had been a natural disaster, caused by something like lightning, then my only instruction would be to try to help the ecosystem rebuild it’s self and help it recover. Some trees, like eucalyptus trees, need the intense heat of the fire to help crack the nuts and spread the seeds. **