Cultural burning will take place at Wimbie Beach reserve this Friday to help remove an invasive weed, reduce the fuel load, and protect the cultural significance of the area.
The burn is scheduled to begin on Friday 23 August, subject to weather conditions. Batemans Bay Local Aboriginal Lands Council (LALC) is jointly managing the burn alongside Eurobodalla Council.
Andrew White of Batemans Bay LALC said Walbunja Rangers have run test burns and prepared the area to manage the on-ground component.
"This Walbunja land is very significant to the mob," he said.
Council's invasive species and biosecurity supervisor Paul Martin said the burn will clear the area and make access to the invasive weed, boneseed, much easier.
Under NSW's Biosecurity Act, Council's Invasive Species team has been controlling boneseed by hand since 2011.
"We inspect every property in the Wimbie Beach area and hand pull all boneseed we find," Mr Martin said.
"It's a highly invasive plant that will completely take over the bush if allowed. It could potentially destroy habitat and food sources for native birds, animals and invertebrates."
Mr Martin said fire will encourage boneseed germination which will be easier for his team to pull out post-burn.
The burn area will be approximately 15-hectares and slopes steeply from east to west.
"Fire travels slowly downhill; this is an ideal location to conduct this activity," Mr Martin said.
"Walbunja Rangers have been hard at it, establishing containment lines and clearing around bases of rough-bark trees to prevent fire from climbing the trunks."
Mr Martin reassured residents who may feel nervous at the sight of smoke.
"The fire will not be a wall of flame, rather it trickles along the ground and is personally tended to by the Rangers," he said.
"RFS have been notified, and we do not expect to use water, but it's there if required."
Cultural burning is also known as cool burning, where the burned area becomes cool to touch after the fire has trickled through.
"Animals and birds are able to move to unburnt areas as the fire moves along and repopulate the burned area once the fire has moved through," Mr Martin said.
Mr Martin said it was the first time Council has undertaken the Aboriginal cultural burning practice at Wimbie Beach. Also this month, Council and Walbunja Rangers successfully conducted cultural burns at Dalmeny-Kianga headland.
"We have been provided with the opportunity to listen to and learn from the Walbunja people using cultural practices that have been established for over 60,000 years," Mr Martin said.
"It is ultimately going to help reduce the soil seedbank of a control-order weed, enhance the vegetative condition of the reserve, reduce fuel loads and re-introduce Aboriginal cultural burning practices to a hugely significant area for the Walbunja people – it's a win-win for everybody."
Mr Martin said fire can only be used to manage Council's bushland reserves at specific times of year and on certain soil types.
"Our reserves are highly diverse with different vegetation; we must be careful and take everything in balance," Mr Martin said.
"If burns take place at the wrong time of year or in the wrong conditions, it can result in an increase in fire-favouring plant species, which can potentially make areas more susceptible to bushfires in the future."
Mr Martin said the weather forecast was ideal for burning with light winds, cool nights and mild days ahead.
"There will be some white smoke, but it shouldn't be significant," he said.
"The team will keep an eye on the weather over the weekend to determine the go ahead on Monday."
The Newth Place car park and access to the reserve will be closed during the burn which is expected to take up to two days. Nearby residents have been notified about the cultural burn by letter from Council.
Council has also established taped lines, known as transect lines, throughout the reserve to monitor vegetation changes over time.
