By BERTRAM LOBERT

IN August this year, local group Save Our Strathbogie Forest launched legal proceedings against the Victorian Government to stop the fuel reduction burning of several areas of important habitat for the endangered greater glider, Australia’s largest gliding marsupial.

Prior to launching the legal action, we asked the government to modify the burns to reduce the risk to the gliders.

None of our requests were agreed to.

The greater glider has been known to occur in the Strathbogie Forest for many decades and in recent years government scientists have shown the forest to be a stronghold for the species in Victoria.

The Victorian government asserts that the burns will not have a significant impact on the greater glider population in the forest.

Such a defense appears to contradict information published by both the Australian and Victorian governments.

For example, the Australian government’s greater glider conservation advice lists fire, particularly too-intense, or too-frequent fuel reduction burning, as having “severe” consequences for the species.

If the case is successful it may reduce or stop similar burns in particular areas critical to the survival of the greater glider elsewhere in Victoria and Australia.

The case is in no way attempting to stop all fuel reduction burning, as some comments in the media have claimed.

In our opinion, burning forest that is known to support large and healthy populations of a nationally endangered species, when the government itself recognizes that such fire poses a risk to that very species, represents poor forest management.

In this case, it’s the wrong fire in the wrong place.

The Federal Court hearing has been set for late January, 2024.

The statement of claim and the defense can be found on the group’s website: https://strathbogiesustainableforests.wordpress.com/.

We need your help to fund this important legal action – please visit the Chuffed fundraising page at https://chuffed.org/project/strathbogieforest-legal-action.