An interview with Vic Jurskis by by 2GB’s Jane Marwick on Thursday evening 12th December 2019.
About Vic Jurskis
Vic gained a degree as Bachelor of Science (Forestry) from ANU and was awarded the (British) Commonwealth Forestry book prize for academic achievement.
After graduation, Vic worked for NSW Forestry Commission as a labourer in forestry camps at Jenolan and Sunny Corner before being appointed as a professional forester in 1978. He worked in all types of native forests and woodlands at Casino, Murwillimbah, Urbenville and Cobar and was an active member of bushfire brigades, before being transferred to Eden as Officer in Charge of the Forestry Commission’s Regional Research Centre, where he led a program of ecological research. The Centre covered all research activities in coastal and highlands forests south of Sydney. From 1997 until 2002, he was employed as the Forestry Commission’s Regional Planning Manager at Eden, before being appointed as Silviculturist for the Commission’s Native Forest Division, responsible for forest management across the State.
In 2004, Vic was awarded a Fellowship by the Joseph William Gottstein Memorial Trust, to investigate eucalypt decline across Australia. In 2006, he received an award from Australian Academy of Science, to extend these investigations more widely. He produced many reports and recommendations including a major review paper that has been widely cited in the international scientific literature. Vic has published many other papers in scientific journals, presented papers as a representative of NSW Forestry Commission at several international conferences in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, and co-authored papers to other international conferences. He has given independent evidence at three parliamentary inquiries into land and fire management. Since retiring from the Forestry Commission in 2012, Vic continues to publish scientific articles and present papers at international conferences.
His first book – Firestick Ecology was published in 2015 and received favorable reviews in two international scientific journals. There were no negative reviews because the academic purveyors of conventional wisdom prefer not to draw attention to Vic’s work. Vic is currently working on his second book – Siberia to Eden: a family world history. He is a member of the Institute of Foresters of Australia and the Royal Australian Historical Society. Vic has a passionate desire to reinstate pragmatic, scientific land management in Australia, combining traditional knowledge and modern science.
Never before in recorded Australian history have there been so few burnoffs!!! Since 2010 when the Victorian royal commission recommended a minimum of 5-8% pa, no one stepped in to make bushfire service hierarchy comply with the royal commission & numerous earlier parliamentary & coronial inquiries. After 2010, instead of more burnoffs, there was a sharp drop – leaving Australia locked into fiery chain reactions – bad fires making their own weather – making it hotter, drier & windier. Embers & lightning spreading flames. So more bad fires make more bad fires & more bad weather… Apart from the horrifying devastation, the cost is apocalyptic – fires burn hottest in water catchments & alpine areas – our rainmakers & air conditioners. So initially there will be more heatwaves from our charred rain-making & air conditioning bush. Then worse droughts from damaged water catchments. After the heatwaves, millions of tonnes of carbon injected into the atmosphere create a cooling effect as carbon particles saturate clouds to the point where it is hard for clouds to rain, so it becomes more overcast & so cooler. Unable to rain, super saturated clouds build until they become a storm cloud or cumulonimbus. As they grow, they reach higher into the cooler upper layers of our atmosphere, & condensation can finally occur, but it is a stormy one with lightning & strong winds. So bad fires bring heatwaves, then storms & drought. This is 100% operation driven climate change. Note here, cool burning does not have this effect, but brings gentle rain & vibrantly healthy bush.
I wish the interview talked more about the theory of variable/available/3d fuel loads, instead of spreading misinformation about land management.
The basic old fire triangle needs to be considered as the “fuel” element being a variable. The main thing that makes it variable is the weather conditions and plant health. To suggest that doing a proper cool winter burn and removing the grass, leaves and sticks means that the forest is now fire proof is ridiculous! If the waether is dry enough the trees will dry out, their leave will be drier and every single part of that tree will be available fuel.
Why are massive rainforests burning? The indigenous didnt burn rainforests. The simple answer is they are too dry and now a normally un-burnable forest has become fuel. Why are the too dry? because our climate is getting significantly worse, we have less regular rain and we have more hot days.
Australia’s denial of climate change makes us the laughing stock, and further more an embarrassment and hindrance to the rest of the world in trying to ensure there is a safe/livable environment for future generations.
Hazard reduction burning some safety zone and perimeters is all we can do for now, broad scale burning will not help. The only long term solution is to do everything we can to reverse the affects of Climate change and get more water in our environment, the proven ways of this are to reduce emissions and plant more trees…. and why not focus on planting fire tolerant trees. https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/landscaping