Tom Fairman
@itsnotfairman.bsky.social
Ecologist × forester = forest scientist. Works with forests, fire and people in south-eastern Australia.
First time I've seen this acknowledged about Victoria: “The concern is what happened in Victoria, where the loggers left, but no money was spent on those forests. The idea of... just leaving forests without spending the money on park staff, restoration, or First Nations management, is a bad outcome"
So great to see this long term forestry project written up. Much to learn! theconversation.com/we-revisited...
We revisited a forest experiment that lay forgotten for 30 years. What we found was astounding
There is no silver bullet for managing forests, but this study answers some historic questions.
theconversation.com
This paper touches on a lot of my interests - utilising old (40+ years) forestry trials in the landscape to explore long term trends of alternative silvicultural approaches on biodiversity, water, and forest structure. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Alternative Silvicultural Systems Maintain Multiple Values in Tall Eucalypt Forest - Forest Science
Accelerating the development of more heterogeneous forest structures is an important goal of many contemporary forest management regimes. However, long-term silvicultural experiments that compare diff...
link.springer.com
Excellent work on a dire situation facing Alpine Ash in Australia. Also great to have some explaining of what Resist Accept Direct could look like. theconversation.com/can-we-keep-...
Can we keep Australia’s endangered alpine ash on the map? New modelling shows where to focus our efforts
A hotter, drier and more fire-prone future is putting these unique trees at risk.
theconversation.com
Flammability of native perennial grasses in temperate Australia is influenced by dryness, fire intensity, and species. Habtamu Getnet Gessesse, Alex Filkov, @itsnotfairman.bsky.social @trentpenman.bsky.social & Lauren Bennett connectsci.au/wf/article/d...
Flammability of native perennial grasses in temperate Australia as influenced by dryness, fire intensity, and species.
Background. Grasses significantly influence bushfire behaviour in fire-prone landscapes, yet their contribution to flammability under changing climate and
connectsci.au
Scientists hope an endangered listing may help preserve alpine ash forests, but the forestry industry is raising concerns that it could result in further decline.
Alpine ash endangered listing 'will do nothing to protect them'
Scientists hope an endangered listing may help preserve alpine ash forests, but the forestry industry is raising concerns that it could result in further decline.
abc.net.au
It was great to speak with Annie Brown from ABC Rural about the listing of Alpine Ash. We had a great chat, but one thing this article didn't get to mention is the importance of seed collection as one of the many strategies to steward the forest type. www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2...
Alpine ash endangered listing 'will do nothing to protect them'
Scientists hope an endangered listing may help preserve alpine ash forests, but the forestry industry is raising concerns that it could result in further decline.
abc.net.au
Scientists predict fire-sensitive Alpine Ash forests could be halved in the next 60 years as too-frequent fires prevent forest regeneration. Read: theconversation.com/australias-a... Via @theconversation.com by @itsnotfairman.bsky.social & @trentpenman.bsky.social
Australia’s alpine ash forests are now officially endangered. Can we save them?
One of the most widespread types of forest in Australia’s high country is facing an existential threat. We need bold action before it is too late.
theconversation.com
The Alpine Ash ecosystem of mainland Australia has been listed as endangered. This is pretty serious for such a widespread forest type. In this article we go into the reasons for the listing, and how active approaches to management can help with stewardship. theconversation.com/australias-a...
Australia’s alpine ash forests are now officially endangered. Can we save them?
One of the most widespread types of forest in Australia’s high country is facing an existential threat. We need bold action before it is too late.
theconversation.com
The Vic Auditor General has completed an assessment of the transition out of native forestry, & it feels like the message has been "data deficient". But what is known is that it appears that there has been an overall decline in job security for affected workers. www.audit.vic.gov.au/report/suppo...
Supporting the Transition from Native Timber Harvesting
In this audit we examined if the Forestry Transition Program is supporting former native timber workers, businesses and communities to transition from native timber harvesting.
audit.vic.gov.au
This article feels pretty close to a type of truth-telling about how fire management in south-eastern Australia has been discussed and debated the last few years. For fire scientists and ecologists alike, there is much to pause, digest and reflect on here. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Humbled to bea part of this paper on principles for developing evidence briefs for landscape fire management. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Developing evidence briefs for landscape fire management
For evidence briefs to provide value to the ecological management and natural hazards community and to the broader public, researchers and practitioners need clear guidance on how briefs must be deve...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
On this day that supports inclusive futures for women and girls in science, let's not forget all the women that were sidelined, ignored, or forced out of science because they: - had children - prioritised family/caring - did science differently - questioned boundaries & norms - fought the patriarchy
'Minding the forest gaps: uptake and use of single rope bridges over forest roads by arboreal fauna' Interesting to see this work on the use of rope bridges as a tool in production forests (rather than across large and major roads). www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Minding the forest gaps: uptake and use of single rope bridges over forest roads by arboreal fauna
Loss of arboreal connectivity can be detrimental to many forest-dependent species. Mitigation efforts focus on restoring opportunities for movement of arboreal mammals via rope bridges and other cr...
tandfonline.com
Was glad to speak with The Guardian about the impacts of frequent fires on ecosystems, and bang my usual drum about the need for a state level strategy on how we manage the inevitable change that is going to occur to many forest ecosystems. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘We shouldn’t be surprised’: bushfires in Victoria push threatened species to the brink
The impact of fires on wildlife can be ‘catastrophic’, with some plant species feared extinct
theguardian.com
“The debate doesn’t need to be ‘do we burn or not burn’. That is an old, simplistic debate. What we need to understand is how much we burn, where we burn and for what reason.” www.theage.com.au/politics/vic...
Opposition vows to overhaul state’s ‘flawed’ bushfire defences
Two destructive megafires within six years has increased scrutiny of the Victorian government’s “residual risk” approach to fuel reduction burning.
theage.com.au
"The concept of lighting a fire to maintain the health of a forest didn't enter into the legislation." www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
'Cool burns' protect land from severe fire so why aren't more happening?
Insurance has been a major stumbling block to the scaling up of cultural burning, but a breakthrough could be on the way.
abc.net.au
How many hollow bearing trees are in the forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria? Turns out about 1.5 million, with no difference between state forests and parks. This new paper is an amazing whole of landscape inventory of this crucial habitat resource. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
High resolution LiDAR and environmental variables enable fine scale predictions of hollow-bearing tree abundance across a complex temperate forest landscape
Hollow-bearing trees (HBTs) provide a critical habitat resource for hollow-dependent animals, many of which are threatened due to a range of natural a…
sciencedirect.com
Buried in yesterday's major announcements is that the State's land use assessment council, VEAC, is being wound up. The end of a long journey that began with the outstanding Land Conservation Council. www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/victori...
great editorial on risk aversion in forest management particularly on proactive fire management vs reactive fire suppression. Equally relevant to southern Australia. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Managing public lands requires a new kind of leader
Click on the article title to read more.
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Interesting to see this report reporting that closing the native timber industry in Victoria has cost $1.5 billion (so far). It's good to contrast this to earlier estimates (and it's a gold thing I have a long memory!) www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/victori...
weeklytimesnow.com.au
Nice to see this expert elicitation on strategic fuel breaks being published. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Strategic fuel breaks: uses, features and perceived effectiveness in south-eastern Australia
Fuel breaks are strategically placed modified strips of vegetation that are widely used within fire prone forests around the world. They are used for a range of purposes, including active fire supp...
tandfonline.com
Finally someone is looking into the obsession with the word "Great" when it comes to natural assets. Same story for national parks - does my head in that we have a Great Otway, Great Koala, and Great Forest National Park (well that last one doesn't actually exist) www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...
‘It’s become a bit meaningless’: why does Australia have so many new Great Walks?
Whether a clever marketing ploy or truly great by nature, these walks are attracting hikers in increasing numbers
theguardian.com
Kirsha Kaechele spoke at the Forestry Australia conference last year and it was a real treat. She brings an insightful outsiders perspective to the otherwise mind numbing forest war debates. www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion...
Good to see coverage of tree fern sales. I tend to agree with Prof Baker in this - Tasmania's tree fern sale system seems pretty good, particularly in how it raises fees for tags which then goes to fund monitoring and research. Victoria is another story, though. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Why Tasmanian ferns hundreds of years old are on sale in UK garden centres
Thousands of native tree ferns are harvested from Tasmania's forests for export each year. Some say the trade saves ferns from destruction, while others accuse the industry of greenwashing.
abc.net.au
Great to see the range of perspectives on how we manage ash forests for resilience in the future. Though I don't reckon opinions are divided in that we need new thinking and approaches. www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast...
Opinions divided on how to save our precious mountain ash forests
New research has found Australia's heat-stressed forests are rapidly thinning, and could even be producing carbon emissions. It comes as the government prepares to release its 2035 emissions targets and a climate risk report later this month. But local researchers, politicians and Traditional Owner…
sbs.com.au
"Mr Dimopoulos said Parks Victoria had the funding required to maintain the new national parks. "Parks Victoria are well funded and have all the resources they need," he said." The same old story: more National Parks, and no new funding to actually manage them. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Victoria set to have first new national parks in more than a decade
Conservation groups are celebrating proposed legislation for three new national parks in Victoria but not all bush users are happy.
abc.net.au
The Victorian Government is establishing a suite of long promised national parks but quite interesting to see the last paragraph sends a pretty clear message about the prospect for any future parks. www.premier.vic.gov.au/best-bush-op...
Great to see the Guardian picking up this great new research on forest density and based off decades of silvicultural measurements in Victoria. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Victoria’s mountain ash forests could lose a quarter of ‘giant’ trees as temperatures rise
Eucalyptus regnans – which regularly reach 60 to 80m tall – lose about 9% of their trees for every degree of warming, research finds
theguardian.com
