Research into frequent prescribed burning in a globally important hotspot in southwestern Western Australia reveals a negative impact on endangered species.

We are constantly reminded by government agencies that the bush must be burned to avoid being incinerated in our beds. This has been made more urgent due to fires becoming more fierce and more frequent as a result of global warming. But we are not told of the havoc to wildlife caused by too frequent burning, nor of the desecration of ecosystems that rarely experienced severe fire before the arrival of Europeans. We are also not told that recent research shows frequent prescribed burning maintains the forests in a highly flammable state for up to 20 years.

A recent publication in the Australian Journal of Zoology by seven of Australia’s top biologists is highly critical of Western Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), which is charged with protecting and conserving the state’s unique southwest global biodiversity hotspot. The paper was sparked by a comment from the state’s then Premier, Mark McGowan, stating he had been informed by DBCA staff that a prescribed burn in 2021 had not killed any endangered numbats. This conflicted with DBCA’s statement that they “carry out no population studies of numbats either before or after........

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